Oceanside, CA – Building a viral buzz among customers is a feather in the cap of any trade show marketer, and best-selling author Jonah Berger will help organizers increase the odds of such a “spontaneous” boost for their shows in his keynote address at the Trade Show Executive (TSE) Fastest 50 Awards & Summit in Chicago. TSE is honored to bring Prof. Berger to Chicago through the “XPerience….powered by Freeman” sponsorship and is grateful to Freeman for their support of the keynote session.
Berger has built a name in the business world as an expert on how companies can catch lightning in a bottle and turn their products into the talk of the town. He is an assistant marketing professor at the prestigious Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, and he wrote a book on the topic called Contagious: Why Things Catch On, which reached No. 3 on the Wall Street Journal’s best-sellers list.
Social media plays an increasing role in promoting the trade shows and other products that “catch on” within their industry sectors – and the honorees at the Fastest 50 are no strangers to thriving in cyberspace.
But Berger doesn’t look so much at “how” things go viral rather than “why.” After all, social media is in large part a platform for word-of-mouth advertising. Just what is it that prompts people to tweet, blog or even talk amongst themselves about one exhibition while filing and forgetting the marketing collateral for some other show?
Berger has condensed his findings into some basic recommendations that can position a show where it is most likely to grow from initial concept to water-cooler topic to must-attend. It turns out there is more to it than crafting glitzy ROI numbers.
Attendees will start the day at the Fastest 50 with some fresh angles and practical ideas for designing a marketing message that will ensure their shows will remain the place to be for the industries they serve.
Berger’s keynote will set the stage for an entire day of speakers and audience discussions on the concepts that will keep exhibitions growing at Fastest 50 speeds, which makes the Fastest 50 Awards & Summit a great investment in the future.
The Fastest 50 Awards & Summit will take place May 8-10 at the Swissôtel in downtown Chicago. Registration details are available at www.tradeshowexecutive.com
Reach Darlene Gudea, TSE president at (760) 930-9111 or dgudea@tradeshowexecutive.com; Diane Bjorklund, TSE vice president of events, at (630) 312-8915 or dbjorklund@tradeshowexecutive.com
