Savvy Food & Beverage Brands Are Increasingly Bringing Digital Creators Into the Mix
To Millennial consumers, trade shows seem like old school functions with little relevance to their customer journey. Historically, a trade show had a strictly B2B function. But in 2019, offline strategies like trade shows and conferences have maintained their purpose and modernized alongside the evolving digital landscape. So how do you get a younger generation invested in your trade show marketing? You make that experience as Instagrammable, authentic and meaningful as possible. It’s time to work with Millennials on their terms for your product’s benefit.
Consider the Evolution in Trade Show Audiences
In recent years, trade show attendees have shifted from buyers, distributors and manufacturers to publications, influencers and even everyday consumers. Take the Summer Fancy Food Show for example. This year, you could find direct consumers and content creators mingling alongside buyers at the booths.
In order to keep up with the evolving audience drawn to these trade shows, brand representatives should be ready to market and engage in a B2B as well as B2C capacity. While you can’t always anticipate who stops by, taking the extra step to personally invite some of your brand ambassadors to learn more about your product will ensure you are prepared.
Differentiate Your Brand Visually
So how can you get these content creators to take you up on that invite and come to your booth? Better yet, create content about their experience with your brand? You make sure your trade show display elicits an actual experience.
You may not be able to control what content comes from someone’s experience at your booth, but you can own the information flow by coming up with something that’s worth creating content for. Create a memorable experience focused on great visuals. Spindrift’s display this year was a perfect example. Their display looked like a rainbow, with a bodega-like refrigerator which delivered a note of authenticity. Natural fruit flavors were color coordinated. In one simple display, the brand was able to stay true to visually demonstrate its mission — celebrating the amazing taste of real, simple ingredients every day — and stand out from the other beverage vendors.
Leave a Good Taste in Their Mouth
We know that Millennials value authentic experiences, so we recommend having influencers share their candid reaction when first trying or experiencing your product. Don’t try to control the moment or have the influencer share a canned reaction. Both you and the content creator want to make sure the audience feels like they’re also experiencing your brand or product first-hand.
Build on that taste with some valuable brand immersion and product education. We saw great examples of this at the Fancy Food Show — Particularly at several booths who were providing wine tastings from unique locations like the Basque region of Spain. This created an opportunity for influencers and attendees to not only try the product but also learn the original story of the brand — This lends itself to content inspiration and additional coverage. What separates your Getarian wine from others? This is your opportunity to tell a story that will stick with the creator and foster brand loyalty.
Sustaining Momentum After the Show
Take it one step further and see how you can engage with the influencer once they’ve left the show. To top off a perfect experience, there are two major things an influencer should leave with: Product knowledge and next steps.
Providing the creator with full-sized products whenever possible will leave them feeling more special than just having left with a sample and also encourages continued content creation.
Additionally, both the brand and the influencer should have a clear understanding of what the next steps are. Are there upcoming campaigns this creator would be a great fit for? Should they be educating their audience on the product in addition to introducing it to them? If your brand is regional, can you set up key influencers with a visit?
Give creators a meaningful experience, a tangible takeaway and a reason to remember your product. Millennials respond and communicate differently than other audiences and it’s important to remember two key principles when marketing to this audience: Visuals matter and authenticity reigns. Therefore, your marketing must be genuine and steeped in an experience. Meet these new marketers at trade shows, give them a great experience and you will in turn be your brand’s best ambassador.