Top 7 Technology Trends

Engagement is a key buzzword when designing marketing strategies for tradeshow events.
Technology features have become a major part of tradeshow displays for innovative
exhibitors, helping to enhance recognition for brands, products, and companies. To help
 determine the best marketing investments for your next show, we created a list
detailing seven of the top tech trends that are becoming tradeshow industry standards!



Mobile Apps



Capitalizing on the short time frame of a tradeshow is essential, and innovations in
mobile apps allow exhibitors to geo-locate attendees and track consumer behaviors.
 Applications can send targeted notifications based on the location of a smart device,
 alerting an attendee that your booth is close by. The sheer amount of smartphone usage
 makes mobile applications a smart tradeshow marketing investment, as impressions will be high.

Event Software Programs


Two primary elements of tradeshow events are face-to-face marketing and lead generation,
 but planning and execution are just as crucial to success and ROI. Event software, like
 etouches’s platform, offers full project management, from booth design to managing mobile
app functions. During the planning process, event software can streamline communication
and provide an optimal timeline for project managers to keep their team on track. Data
 analysis can be done on a larger scale during an event, when it’s most useful, with the
 help of targeted software programs. Preparing for a tradeshow can elicit a seemingly
 endless checklist, and event software systems allow your company to be detail-oriented
 without stress and complications.


Touch



One-on-one engagement is a common denominator at exhibitions, but touch technology is
 creating more ways to facilitate visitors. It’s hard to imagine a world without a
touch-activated smartphone attached to our palm, but in 2007, less than a decade ago,
 the iPhone had just entered the market. iPads and touch monitors followed, creating
highly effective engagement tools. Tailored presentations can be delivered to specific
 users, based on data input and answers to inquiries. Companies can now market
differently to a 25-year-old engineer than to a 40-year-old graphic designer, in a
 matter of seconds. For businesses that need to market to multiple niches at the
 same event, this tech resource can prove to be quite valuable.



Social Media


The hashtag is not dead! Using tools like Twitter and Instagram can not only promote
brand recognition before and after a tradeshow, but also right in the middle of it.
A TweetWall, or InstaWall, is a projected feed of a certain location, hashtag, event
account, or company account that is constantly updating. Social media introduced
up-to-the-minute news and constant communication to an entire society; it’s a smart
 move for marketers to capitalize on the instant exposure. An impeccably-hired social
 media manager will use a TweetWall to their full advantage, making your tradeshow
 booth the place to be and the place to post.


Digital Signage

If social media, touch screens, and apps aren’t part of your trade show plans, try to
 incorporate digital signage. This technology isn’t as new, but it’s still a common
trend because of the versatility it provides. An LCD monitor can replace expensive
 and wasteful brochures, as the one-time purchase will last for years. Content can
adapt from show to show, and the time frame to create new content is minimal
compared to printed material.

Phone Charging Stations


All that posting will leave your booth visitors with sore thumbs and drained batteries.
 Come to their rescue with a climbing trend, phone charging stations. Companies,
like GoCharge, rent out a variety of charging stations to fit your booth space
and design. Your booth will become a desert oasis in the eyes of an event-goer
if their smartphone has a remaining battery life percentage in the single digits.
 The stations, like tradeshow displays, can be customized with graphics, thus
creating another in-the-moment branding opportunity.



Wearables


Wearable technology is great for fitness/data enthusiasts, but the principle has
also created an innovative tradeshow solution to time-consuming information collection,
 and made excellent use of the ever present nametag/lanyard combo. Poken is a company
 that manufactures small data collection devices, which attach to nametag lanyards
 and introduce an assortment of new and exciting trade show additions. With
products on both the exhibitor and attendee sides, a simple touch between the
 wearables prompts a data transfer that makes lead retrieval easier than ever.
 The exhibitor devices can be placed anywhere in the booth space, allowing
 the visitor a hassle-free way to download content for later review, with a
simple tap. RFID chips in badges are another wearable tech trend that can
track wait times, consumer behavior, and market analysis to improve show layouts
 and marketing investment strategies.

The tradeshow industry has seen a revival recently, growing by 4% each year, with
$25 billion spent on displays and exhibitions in 2014. Although tradeshows are not
a new concept, tradeshow marketers must adapt to the technology that influences our
 society in order to engage a new, tech-driven generation. Applying tradeshow trends
 will enhance not only the visitor experience, but also improve the efficiency and
effectiveness of marketing plans.

About the Author - Paige Geer, an employee at Indy Displays, is passionate about sales
, writing, and digital marketing. When she’s not utilizing and developing skills at work,
 she’s learning and researching at home next to her loyal dog, Gunner.