We’ve been doing these awards for almost year now and the response has been great. In fact, we constantly get asked for more detail on why an event won the award it did. The marketing managers we hear from are always looking to improve, and are hungry for the best ideas out there, especially those that are tried and proven by their colleagues.
You ask. We deliver! Moving forward on our Awards, we’ll be periodically featuring marketing gurus from around the world, who will provide a deeper look at the “why” of one of our award winners, and an explanation of the top moves that set them apart. We’ll begin with our very own Mad Man, (and COO) Steve O’Keefe. Take it away, Steve.
Greetings Music Makers, Dreamer of Dreams,
One of the great joys of working at InGo is seeing the parade of amazing events, and the creativity that goes into each one. Let’s dive into one of our award winners for June and you’ll see what I mean.
ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair) Miami
ICFF Miami is an expansion of the wildly successful ICFF NYC franchise, and an event organized by Emerald Expositions. Lead by Kevin O’Keefe, ICFF stands out for many reasons, but here I’ll look at three top moves in particular, that I think contribute to ICFF’s amazing success.
Extraordinary Content
First off, Kev is an artist. He and his team always lead with the work of the artisans. You can see this play out in his choice of imagery. Every page puts his customer’s work front and center. This focus emphasizes the fact that this shows is about the artist and their creations.
Another Gorgeous ICFF Exhibitor
Top Move: Make sure your site leads with the work of your exhibitors. That’s what people are going to see, and what your exhibitors value.
Use of Color
You can also see the artistry in his use of bold colors. He wants to convey the sense of engagement via warm vivid tones which look great on our high def screens. My favorite is how he uses color to extend the brand of ICFF, but simultaneously localize it to it’s new setting; the aqua blue of the southern ocean is everywhere, bringing to mind Miami. The cosmopolitan black chic of ICFF NYC is replaced by the gentle, welcoming blue.
Anyone for a swim in tranquil blue, waters?
Top Move: It’s not possible in a post-Apple world to leave out the humanities and emotive design of your website. What is your branding saying?
Engagement
The ICFF team was the first to embrace advocate marketing. Realizing that the one-way communication of traditional marketing was creating disappointed attendees and frustrated exhibitors, they began to shape an interactive experience between all parties, driving social traffic and buzz 30X higher than much larger, competitive shows; and all the content was organic. They doubled the size of the show in 3 years and now are regionalizing it. ICFF became “the show” in interior design because they let their attendees be part of the conversation.
ICFF Miami is no exception to their winning formula. You can see InGo’s “Who’s In” persistent on every page. Inviting the prospect to engage with their fellow attendees, exhibitors and prospects.
ICFF, where the beautiful people are….
Top Move: Let your attendees be part of your brand. People go to live events to see PEOPLE!
This year ICFF is taking their show to the next level again. It is introducing a new InGo product which allows exhibitors to know which customers from their network will be joining them on site. The power of social networking is brought to the live event experience.
