Within the variety of disciplines of Below The Line, the organization, planning and execution of events is one of those that generate the greatest expectation among the public, as well as being one of the brands’ favorites.

At the end of last year, the investment destined to event marketing in Mexico was 12,450.9 million pesos, that is, 24.3 percent of the 51,879 million pesos that were invested in the BTL industry, besides being the second most important service. offered by agencies in the country.

Seminars, congresses, conferences, exhibitions, fairs, conventions, product presentations and festivals are some of the types of events that a brand, from the hand of a supplier, can develop for specific promotional purposes.

Trends in events

While a festival is very different from a seminar or convention, there are certain elements or trends that converge in the vast majority of events, and more in response to the demand of audiences to receive memorable experiences, which is ideal for brands that have , as one of its main objectives, to motivate an emotional connection with its audiences.

In this sense, Eventbrite and Global Meet and Events Forecats of American Express suggest the following trends.

• Convenience: that is, that the place where an event takes place has easy access routes, such as roads, airports, nearby hotels and other points that make their arrival and departure simple and optimize times.
• Non-traditional locations: museums, squares, not very used establishments, lounges, among other enclosures or outdoors are some of the sites that can work to improve the experience when dealing with unusual places to make an event, but which are sure to be attractive for the attendees.
• Use of new technologies: virtual reality, for example, is one of the most required in events of various kinds; thus the lived moment is maximized, as well as the emotions experienced.
• Live broadcasts, via streaming: César Monzón, Sony’s Digital Business Manager in Mexico and Latam mentioned in an interview that, thanks to this type of resource, a brand can increase interaction in social networks, as well as awareness and preference for the firm.
• Activation of sponsorships: acting as a sponsor in an event allows the development of other marketing actions at par, such as activations, direct marketing, delivery of promotional items, among others.
• Development of mobile apps of the event: create applications that show schedules of bands presentations and the scenario where they will be, that allow to select the groups of interest and emit alerts when they are close to going on stage, informative content about the event, among other types of Data optimizes the experience even more.
• Sustainable actions: applying circular economy actions such as the creation of thematic vessels, made from barley husk or compostable materials, is a trend that has been well received, which, in turn, bring added value to the consumer, improve branding , help the environment and make attendees feel identified with the brand.

Another aspect that, besides being a trend is a key factor and indispensable in any event, is the security for all attendees. In this regard, Fernando Famanía, Co-Ceo of the Ifahto agency mentioned in an interview that, in Mexico unlike other countries, it is a little care that should be a priority for brands and suppliers to guarantee not only the good execution, experience and results of the event, but also to safeguard the integrity of each and every one of the attendees.

Source: Lizbeth Sierra – InformaBTL

The visual and sensorial aspects in a store are fundamental to be able to specify the sale and generate brand positioning.

The visual aspects in a store are fundamental to be able to specify the sale and generate brand positioning.

Visual merchandising is a strategic tool that involves the generation of an attractive, sensory and emotional environment to encourage purchase in the user using all available physical space.

The consumer should be attracted to the products displayed in the store, for that it is important to ensure that the visual aspects are in harmony and that they are in trend.

To be able to make the purchase, it is important that the items in the store are organized and ranked around the concept of this. These elements involve the products, lighting, furniture, showcases, typography and colors on the signs, among others.

IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF VISUAL MERCHANDISING

Aromas: The sensory senses are important in the shopping experience, therefore, companies select a particular aroma that is present in all its premises and even impregnated in the clothes so that the user can easily identify it.

Lighting: Depending on the products of the store you can find a different lighting and according to the theme of the place. Department stores tend to have more dynamic lighting, while specialty stores such as boutiques tend to be more subtle in terms of lighting to highlight certain products.

Signag: The graphic immersed in the store has a very important identity component, however, the function of guiding the customer inside the store is also important. The testers, boxes, counters, section of shopping bags must be well distributed to ensure that traffic is agile.

¿WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VISUAL MERCHANDISING AND WINDOW DRESSING?

In both cases, what you want to achieve is to project a consistent brand image and that the buyer can recognize it just by looking at the appearance of the store, colors, smell, furniture, among other things.

This is why the choice of all these elements should be consistent with what the brand wants to convey to consumers and how they want the competition to see it. The colors as well as the typography, are aspects that determine the style of the products as well as the personality that is wanted to transmit to the objective public.

WINDOW DRESSING AND VISUAL MERCHANDISING

These two activities need to work aligned to the brand concept. The visual merchandising what it achieves is to retain the user in the store thanks to all the visual and sensorial elements and to encourage it to the purchase, the key is to create a close environment with the client, who feels comfortable in the store and who returns in the shortest possible time.

On the other hand, window dressing is responsible for capturing the greatest possible traffic in the surroundings close to the store. This action is responsible for attracting the attention of buyers who are a few meters away from the store and who in passing are interested in the products by the type of showcase assembly found in the showcases.

The value proposal must be identified and be able to mark what is the trend for the consumer and the item in which the store is located. If it is a clothing store, the armed showcase should have the latest trend in that area and make it look like something unique.

Similarly, stores such as toy stores, accessory stores, sports, among others, create a context around their products and the space itself in the shop window. While the experience that emerges from the products is more real seen from outside the showcase, the customer will enter without any doubt.

Source: Perú Retail