Video is one of the most tried-but-true tools you see used with many trade show banners today, and for good reason. Video productions remain an excellent way to draw people into visit your convention displays and get them excited about your products – which means if you focus on producing the best videos for your trade show displays, that focus can be a terrific investment!
Good videos at trade show displays can:
- Turn your company’s story into an actual narrative to interest people.
- Showcase innovative new ideas or production techniques.
- Utilize charts and infographics to add quick factual content.
- Turn walkbys into visitors by catching their eye.
However, there are still definite rules – or at least guidelines – to follow when you’re looking to employ video at your trade show banners and convention displays. Here are our recommendations for making the most of it.
But first, an important point:
Budget Matters In Videos For Convention Displays
It would be nice to believe people care more about facts than production values, it’s just not the case. If it’s at all possible, you should try to hire an outside agency to produce your video. Even a cheap local studio will have better resources than you’re likely to have lying around the office.
It’s totally possible to put together your own video using personal cameras, public domain music, and a computer, but it’s going to look cheap. If you’re focusing on producing the best videos for your trade show displays, and you have a low budget, it may be better to have no video all than to have an amateurish one playing in front of your trade show banners and displays.
Now, with that out of the way:
Producing The Best Videos For Your Convention Displays
You can’t simply repurpose existing corporate promotional vids. The most effective videos at trade shows are made specifically to be played alongside your trade show banners.
- Keep them short and sweet. Your video ideally should be well less than five minutes, especially if the area around the screen is mostly standing room. You can’t put on a long production like you might in a boardroom.
- Use plenty of images and fast editing. Remember, you’re trying to catch the eye of people passing by your trade show booths. Your video should be fast paced, rarely going more than a few seconds between cuts. Keep it varied.
- Don’t rely on narration. It’s fine to have a narrator, but there’s a good chance he won’t be heard over the din of all the nearby convention displays. Use frequent text overlays so those who can’t hear can still follow what’s being discussed.
- Reinforce with data. Don’t drown your video in graphs or you’ll bore people, but the occasional cited chart or (preferably) animated infographic can enhance the presentation. They should be bright and colorful, almost bordering on cartoony.
- Be upbeat and positive. Negative messaging at trade shows will generally just drive people off. Keep it light, energetic, and optimistic.
- Newsclips add credibility. If at all possible, insert relevant news clips or even article scans about your business. It still gives you a good semi-unbiased source for information in your promotional materials.
Leverage Your Convention Displays’ Videos
Our final advice is pretty common sense: don’t restrict your videos to being used only with your trade show banners. Give out CDs or thumbdrives with them included. Upload them to YouTube or whatever other social sites you use. Get them out there. Many of the same techniques that make them effective on the trade show floor will also make them good for online sharing.
All in all, video can be a very effective boost to the effectiveness of your trade show banners and convention displays. Focus on catching peoples’ interest, and you’ll see a return on that effort.
For more, rethink your display foundations or how to build engagement with guests.