What comes to mind when you think of an exhibition? Endless rows of cookie-cutter booths with basic signage and uninspiring product displays?
Exhibition booths are a fantastic means to activate your brand and boost exposure, but how do you stand out in an expo surrounded by thousands of others? Bangkok is home to a plethora of world-class MICE business, bringing in over 35 million visitors to the city. Riviera shares their top 4 tips to guarantee your booth’s success.
1. Define the Objective
What is the purpose of your booth? Consider what you would like the consumers to take away. Do you want to educate them about your brand? Generate new leads? Debut a new product? Confirm a clear goal, so that you can craft the journey based on what you want to achieve.
2. Make an Impression
Incite an emotion or reaction by creating a memorable experience. A multi-sensory booth that takes the consumer on a journey strengthens their association to the brand. Interactive displays and technology are a fantastic means to engage with your consumers and capture their attention. Creativity aside, be sure to maintain visual and brand consistencies throughout. Working with trusted vendors makes all the difference, as the feel and quality of your booth will represent your brand just as much as your product or service.
3. Amplify Your Exposure
Capitalize on your interaction with the consumer by creating visually-captivating experiences and create an opportunity for them to shout about you. Let the consumers be the mule to broaden your reach as they naturally take your offline presence, online. Watch it spread like wildfire.
4. Make an Impression
Incite an emotion or reaction by creating a memorable experience. A multi-sensory booth that takes the consumer on a journey strengthens their association to the brand. Interactive displays and technology are a fantastic means to engage with your consumers and capture their attention. Creativity aside, be sure to maintain visual and brand consistencies throughout. Working with trusted vendors makes all the difference, as the feel and quality of your booth will represent your brand just as much as your product or service.
Premier Event Agency, Riviera, are experts when it comes to booth design having over 14 years of experience as Asia’s leading event management company. With offices across Thailand, Singapore & Greater China, their team are driven and full of passion to create something unique for each client, helping them scope out what best fits their needs. Don’t let your next trade show booth slip under the radar, leave a lasting impression on your consumer. Be bold.
As China’s economy transforms itself, becoming less export-focused and integrating new fields like electric vehicles, e-commerce, and cashless payments, its footprint in Thailand (and throughout the ASEAN region) continues to expand.
Chinese brands such as Xiaomi, Huawei, Alibaba and the Bank of China have already staked out strong positions in the Thai market, suggesting that marketers in ASEAN companies should take a closer look at the methods they employ.
To get a better understanding of Chinese market behavior, members of Vero’s Bangkok team went to Shanghai and met David Wolf, Managing Director of Allison + Partners’ Global China Practice. The following are our key insights from our workshop with Mr. Wolf:
CHINESE CONSUMERS ARE OVERWHELMED WITH BRANDS
Chinese consumers may be the most sophisticated in the world. A plethora of options, including the world’s largest mobile device market and the most car brands available in any country, mean that Chinese people need to be informed and skilled at choosing where to spend their money.
Chinese consumers expect brands to regularly change their products and add new features. This may be why Apple is less successful in China as other countries, since their infrequent product launches and updates can’t compete with brands like Xiaomi who update their MIUI firmware almost every week. Brands who don’t regularly renew their products or services tend to be forgotten as consumers gain loyalty to those that do.
LinkedIn is prospering in China. This is partly because they localized their service, but it’s especially due to their frequent additions of new and improved features. Successful Chinese online companies like WeChat also make constant effort to tell different stories about their product which appeal to different segments of Chinese consumers. In other words, when doing business in China, companies know they have to earn the consumer’s loyalty every day.
CHINESE BUSINESSES SEE THE WORLD IN THEIR TERMS
“China’s leaders believe it is now their turn to lead the world. [And Chinese companies] truly believe in their own leadership, and will tend to see other countries not always as equals,” Wolf explains.
Perhaps as a side-effect, Chinese companies tend to under-recognize differences between foreign markets and their own. When expanding operations into neighboring countries, they often duplicate the product and/or service that works well in China, changing the language without adding features to meet local needs and preferences. “They treat the business environment, the media, and even the culture as if it were essentially the same as theirs”, said Wolf.
Assumptions that business and media environments work similarly outside of China can lead to PR miscalculations.
In China it is common to pay media figures to promote and attend corporate events, which could cause a scandal if attempted in many other countries. Chinese companies expanding their business into Thailand will need to study the local media landscape and the PR industry’s role in it, a process for which those in the industry can act as valuable guides.
CHINESE COMPANIES KNOW WHY THEY’RE COMING TO THAILAND
Thailand is geographically close and has similar market conditions to China, making it attractive to Chinese companies because their homegrown products are more likely to find success here compared to the US and EU.
“Smart Chinese companies understand that they can benefit from operating in neighboring markets where customers look like their own – young people in Asian cultures who are more prosperous than their parents,” Wolf says. They can more easily identify promising market gaps in ASEAN countries. They also perceive Thais as friendly people who are easy to work with.”
As a result, we can expect a continued influx of Chinese companies into the Thai market in the years to come. Marketers who know how to work with these companies, and act early to build Chinese connections, stand to gain the most. With all this in mind, marketers should keep a close eye on how the economy is going to expand its footprint in the region and play a bigger role in their markets.
*Over 130 different car brands and 952 different cars available on the Chinese market. Forbes, 5 Stunning Facts About The Chinese Car Market You Need To Know, 16 May 2016
This blog was based on a Workshop in Shanghai titled “Winning strategies for working with Chinese audience and Companies” by David Wolf, Managing Director of Allison + Partners’ Global China Practice.
ALEXANDRA DUCROT IS A PR EXECUTIVE AT VERO THAILAND.
DEREK WELLS IS A COPYWRITER FROM THE US, CURRENTLY BASED AT VERO VIETNAM.
Why you should know what a KOL is
Ever heard of the term KOL? Most people outside of China have not – it stands for Key Opinion Leader. If you’re familiar with influencer marketing, you already have a basic understanding of what a KOL is. A KOL can be anyone from a well-known celebrity, socialite, a blogger, or industry expert, but they are all deep into Chinese social media and its many intricacies.
So what makes a KOL in China different from an influencer in the West?
THE GREAT FIREWALL PRODUCES RISING STARS
First it is important to understand that the Chinese online ecosystem has developed much differently due to many popular social media platforms, like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and Snap-chat being blocked in China. Because of this it makes it trickier for many brands to directly reach consumers in the way they do in the West. However, for social-media savvy individuals, this impediment has worked in their favor.
SHOW IT, SEE IT, BUY IT – DIGITALLY OF COURSE
The other main difference that has shaped the market is the rise of eCommerce and the ease in which individuals can connect with followers and sell online through different social media platforms. China’s digital ecosystem is massive, and optimized for mobile pay, just see the chart below from Boston Consulting Group highlighting just how integrated China’s digital platforms are. KOLs , more than brands, have made the most of this digital landscape. On live-streaming platforms a KOL can present a product, post a link on their live video, which connects directly to an eCommerce platform such as Tmall or Taobao where viewers can instantly make a purchase. Now, many KOLs even have their own Tmall or Taobao store, and can make millions in a matter of minutes.
NO SHAME
Another big advantage KOLs in China have is that Chinese consumers are less put-off by blatant advertising and paid sponsorships. An influencer in the West may be harassed for such behavior, and labeled as a “sell-out,” but not in China. Chinese consumers are apathetic to this style of promotion and many expect it. Turning to their favorite fashion bloggers to easily buy the hottest lipsticks and handbags on the market – and why wouldn’t they? The product has been tried, tested and shown to them by someone they feel they have a personal relationship with.
The benefits to brands who work with KOLs
- Trust: as mentioned before, KOLs have spent years building up the trust of their followers. The good ones have carefully curated their content and partnerships to establish a niche for themselves and build their personal brand. If a KOL trusts your brand, their loyal followers are likely to as well.
- Better targeting options: Chinese social media platforms such as WeChat offer poor advertising options with limited targeting. If you can find the right KOLs to work with, you will see a much higher ROI than if you advertise through WeChat moments.
- Captive audience: Unlike traditional advertising where you may have 2-3 seconds to catch the attention of your target audience, people are actively tuning in to watch KOLs. They’re not searching for keywords on Baidu, they’re watching KOLs tell them what they should be buying and what brands to follow.
What platforms do KOLs have at their disposal?
WeChat – The messaging app that is so much more. WeChat allows users to send personal messages back and forth, and also has a Facebook-ish newsfeed in it as well. Brands can access the platform but because of the closed off, and more personal nature of the app, it can be tricky for brands to utilize it. That’s where KOLs come in. They can create and official, verified account to push out content to their followers as often as once per day.
Weibo – Although we hate to do it, this is the app marketers in China will compare with Twitter. News and information here can be circulated among a bigger audience faster.
Live-streaming – There are several popular live-streaming platforms, including Youku, Tencent Video, Yi Zhi Bo, and these give KOLs immediate access to their fans and the option for two-way communication. Viewers can type requests, questions and even send money to the KOL in real time.
While it is getting more expensive to work with KOLs – depending on a number of factors 1 post can cost between 5K – 50K RMB – the benefits are extensive. As more and more Chinese become accustomed to receiving their information through these KOLs, brands must strategize accordingly.
Olivia Plotnick is a Marketing Manager at Brandigo. Brandigo is a global brand and marketing agency. They combine strategy, creative talent and business know-how for fresh, inspirational, personalized marketing and communication campaigns for businesses already in China, or those planning to enter