Creating great exposure for our clients at a trade show is what drives us at Highway 85 Creative, but because we are client focused- sometimes we forget about our own. As part of our 2017 goal of getting our brand out to the world, we decided to take part in ExhibitorLIVE 2017. Exhibit houses, marketing agencies and technology companies from around the world come to Las Vegas every year to show off their own exhibiting skills.

We have been creating unique and creative exhibits for hundreds of companies for the past twelve years but this would be the first time we were exhibiting ourselves. Not to mention we were going to be surrounded by the biggest and most successful exhibit companies who undoubtedly were going to bring their “A” game.

Trade Show Display Campaign: Let’s Roll Together

What could we bring to ExhibitorLIVE that would make us stand out among the other exhibit companies? For the past year, we have been sending advertisement agencies a skateboard as part of our “Let’s Roll Together” promotion, and the feedback was great. We thought it would be a good idea to build off that momentum by creating an entire skateboard theme around our exhibit. “Come roll with us” would be our campaign to encourage people to collaborate with us and get a glimpse of what we do.

 

Now we just needed to create a booth that can translated our message. We decided to go all in on the skateboard theme by making skateboard versions of our business cards to display. We added two custom-built stands that would hold longboards, two LCD televisions- one showing our work and capabilities and the other playing a video of what goes on internally at Highway 85 Creative. We topped it off with furniture made from traffic signs to create the ultimate urban environment.

We also gave away longboards to those who asked our staff what we did (at Highway 85) and collected six business cards from those they talked with. Asking us what we did not only helped people understand our roles but it gave us the opportunity to break the ice and get to know what others did as well.  To make things even more fun, our team was spread out, walking the show floor, and met with vendors. Finding us was a bit of a challenge but people were enjoying the thrill of the hunt.

By day two everything was going better than expected. We were having fun, giving out longboards and even making friends with future clients and vendors alike. We didn’t think it could get any better, but it did! A camera crew rushed our trade show booth as a man with a microphone handed our Chief Creative Officer, Guy Zwick, a plaque for Best in Show – New Exhibitor. Our hard work and creativity had paid off.

Our major take-a-way from our first show as exhibitors was that creativity goes a long way. Even with such a short time to prepare, we were able to produce something that made a big impact. More importantly, we came together like a family and showed everyone that we really love what we do.