Adapting Your Marketing Strategy To A Digital Mindset

Adapting Your Marketing Strategy To A Digital Mindset…

Trade shows have historically been a key tool for companies to build a buzz about new products, as customers, media and influencers get face to face time with new products and innovations. However, with many of this year’s major industry trade shows being delayed, cancelled or suffering from reduced attendance if they do go ahead, companies now need to rethink their marketing strategies to ensure that the product developments that they have invested so much in still reach the market.

In the current turbulent climate, many companies will simply hit pause on their marketing campaigns and soak up the loss of a cancelled trade show. However with some logical adaptations, and through moving your marketing strategy to a more digital mindset, we would suggest that it is still achievable for you to ensure your key messages and new technologies still reach your target audiences.

Consider for example, leading automotive and technology firms such as BMW, Porsche and Samsung, who, following the cancellation of events like Geneva Motor Show and the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, opted for online launches, virtual press conferences and product unveilings instead. Whilst these brands will have extensive budgets and resource that enable them to quickly adapt marketing strategies to high end unveilings, it is still possible to execute this strategy and deliver excellent results on a much smaller budget.

The Benefits Of A Digital Strategy Are Vast And Include:

• Universal Accessibility
• Increased and ongoing exposure of brands, products and services
• Wider Engagement
• Pre-packaged presentations enable you to tightly control messaging
• A reduction in costs through the use of electronic media
• Faster response to the end user
• Extremely low risk
• Increased ability to measure and collect data

So what digital options would enable you to ensure your new technologies still reach their target markets without an exhibition? We have listed some topline ideas below.

Product Unveilings

• Create a short video, animation or digital presentation of the products you were due to launch. Unveil online, target customers via bespoke email marketing campaign to target customers and through a virtual press conference.
• Were you due to exhibit new demonstrator components? The product manager can present these on video via social media and your website.  
• Take it a step further and create a virtual tour of your planned exhibition stand.

Media and PR

• Virtual Press Conferences – unveil your new technologies and present your corporate messages through video conference to the media. This does not need to be live, pre-recorded is perfectly acceptable.
• Create a digital press pack consisting of the press releases, images and videos that you were due to unveil, and distribute this to the media. Set up and timetable media interviews that can be conducted over phone or email.
• Send product samples directly to target media (and prospective customers) so that they can see the technology first hand.
• At the very least, ensure regular press releases with images and statements detailing your new launches are released.
• Think about securing media early. Everyone is in the same boat, and everyone is looking to secure key spots to replace lost opportunities. Work with media planners, PR’s and publishers to secure access before you’re crowded out.

Virtual Marketing (Online advertising)

Consider placing display adverts and banner ads within key digital magazines and generate an email marketing campaign to advertise your new technology and ensure your brand is in the consumers mind. Again as above, it is an idea here to secure key advertising space early.

E-Commerce 

An online store can be a great tool for selling existing products and technologies and for enabling customers to purchase from home.   Once the store is live, promoting the new asset through PR and advertising is a priority. 

Be Seen on Social Media

Social media platforms allow you to transcend boundaries and reach out to millions of people across the globe – potentially more than you would have seen face to face at a trade show.  If you do not already have existing social media platforms, then set them up and use these platforms to launch content on new products and technologies. If nothing else, use platforms to stay connected.  Step back, re-strategize and look to create and deliver compelling content at a regular pace.

In Conclusion

These are unprecedented times and the next months will certainly be challenging.  However, even before Covid-19, it was clear that the shift towards digital marketing challenges was gathering momentum and the pace of this trend will only increase due to current circumstances.

We believe it would be a lost opportunity to assume that successful businesses will revert to their normal routes of marketing and that no strategic action is necessary.  On the contrary, a web shop that will bring in revenue 24/7, an online unveiling of the technology you were due to launch that can be rolled out to press and customers alike, extensive digital visibility during a time when competitors are standing back, these are all investments that will ensure your brand strengthens its market position, even without trade show attendance.

So what to do next? Simply reach out to 100% Marketing and we can talk you through options and ideas in confidence and in more detail.

Please take care and stay safe.