Kristin Affatato Magic Chef

Kristin Affatato elevated the success of MCA Corporation's trade show marketing program by convincing upper management to incorporate less product into its new custom trade show exhibit. Here's how:

As the new Director of Marketing and Brand Management at MCA Corporation, Kristin Affatato was charged with revamping the 85-year old Magic Chef appliance brand to create a presence that demonstrates the company's evolution into a marketing-driven company. The first step was to get the brand into more brick and mortar and online stores—which meant connecting with retailers.

Kristin turned her attention toward MCA's best opportunity to impact retailers—its custom trade show display at the International Home + Housewares Show. "In past years, MCA showed everything in its booth. It was product overload. Visitors didn't know where to focus," says Kristin. There was no clear message or brand statement and product appeared to be placed randomly in the booth.

"Just because you can show it doesn't mean you should show it," says Kristin.

Magic Chef trade show exhibit design before

MCA custom trade show exhibit design before

Kristin created a strategy to present a more streamlined and organized image to retailers by being selective about which products were shown in the exhibit—and designing a new, streamlined exhibit to show them off. Her success hinged on getting the entire team onboard—from sales and sourcing to marketing and product management.

Kristin's approach to achieving buy-in was to let the exhibit speak for itself. She created a PowerPoint presentation that enabled team members to compare images of the previous year's exhibit with renderings of the custom trade show exhibit from 3D Exhibits she had in mind.

Magic Chef trade show exhibit design after

MCA custom trade show exhibit design after

"People tend to be fine with an exhibit while they are at a show, but if you give them some distance and show them the images again later, they are more likely to recognize the booth's shortcomings," said Kristin.

Here are Kristin's recommendations for other trade show exhibit managers and marketers who need to convince management to rethink their trade show exhibit design or product display strategy—and gain consensus on the new direction:

  1. Create a visual presentation where people can see the before right next to the after. "Seeing your old booth juxtaposed against your new concept is a very powerful way to communicate. It enables stakeholders to come to the conclusion that there is opportunity for improvement on their own—which is way more powerful than if you have to convince them," said Kristin.
  1. Talk everyone through the key issues—using the images to illustrate your points. Some of the major points in Kristin's presentation were: a brand can actually get lost if there is too much going on, too much clutter devalues the visitors perception of the brand, and too many small messages are confusing—not helpful.
  1. Identify potential objections and have a strategy in place to accommodate those needs. Kristin understood that while she didn't have to have the entire Magic Chef line on display in the exhibit, she needed a way for the reps working in the exhibit to demonstrate the breath of the line for customers. Likewise, she could eliminate small graphics only if she provided another way for the reps to access detailed product information for customers who expressed interest. She accommodated these needs by integrating tablets into the booth. That way, reps could access the entire Magic Chef catalog and all product sell sheets whenever a customer requested more information.
  1. Demonstrate the value of the plan you are presenting. Kristin outlined her overall objectives such as to make the exhibit a destination and to make the product displays visually appealing. Then she brought her plan home by sharing how her strategies and tactics would achieve those objectives.

What tactics and tools have you used to convince management to approve a major change in the way you manage, staff or run your exhibit program? We'd love to hear. Email me at lsinicki@3DExhibits.com. If we use your story, we'll send you a 3D Exhibits t-shirt as a thank you gift.

 

Magic Chef trade show exhibit design after 2