Marketing professor Aaron Sackett explained to Specialty Fabrics Review what it means to activate attendees and offered tips for how vendors at trade shows can engage with their potential customers.
From the article: The term “activation” is bandied about a lot in the sales and marketing world these days, according to Aaron Sackett, a marketing professor at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. It can mean different things to different people.
“Basically, creating activations means to spark connections in people’s minds,” Sackett says. Sometimes these connections lead to sales, particularly if the activation creates an identity that resonates with the customer and satisfies other important criteria, such as price. In a trade show or event environment, an activation could be as simple as a compelling backdrop that attendees want to photograph or be photographed in front of (i.e., a selfie). The act of taking the photograph and the photograph itself might reinforce a positive association with a brand and act as a reminder. But, Sackett adds, “it’s important to target your activations to specific brand attributes and/or any barrier to sale.”
