Associations hold conferences to advance the association’s agenda and engaging its attendees, but unfortunately that doesn’t happen without money. You can’t hold a conference and achieve your goals without the money to pay for it. That’s where offering exhibitor videos can help.
I’ve talked about other videos that associations use to make their conferences memorable; promotional videos, conference experience videos, and membership videos. The Exhibitor video is different in that it can bring significant non-dues revenue to your conference, allowing your association to add more benefits to the current event or even help pay for the next event. It’s your choice.
Exhibitor videos are produced for your vendors. These videos highlight the vendor’s benefits and allows them to market directly to your conference attendees. This can look like normal television advertising, but it doesn’t have to be, and that’s where you can set your conference apart. Here are three ways that your association can use exhibitor videos to increase its next conference’s revenue.
1) Sensational Booth Videos
Having a professional-quality video playing in the booth can increase a vendor’s visibility and traffic. Many vendors will pay a healthy amount of money for any edge they can get in the trade show market, so these videos are a great way to add some extra revenue.
This video produced for Mercury Marine at the Miami Boat Show is a good example:
2) Exhibitor Promotional Videos
Want to add a must-have bonus to your sponsorship or vendor package? Allow the vendors to produce and display a promotional video in-between sessions! You can even add them on specially placed monitors throughout the conference for an additional fee. These videos not only benefit your vendors, but also give your members a look at quality products and services.
Potential vendors often pay a hefty premium for this level of access.
3) Explainer Videos
Perhaps the best use of exhibitor videos is to mix education and promotion. When you simultaneously teach your members while promoting the vendors, you’ve got a winning formula. The ideal vendors for explainer videos sell something that your members use on a regular basis, but they might need more information to use effectively.
For teachers, this product or service could be the latest classroom technology. For dentists this could mean a brand new tool that allows for additional speed and efficiency. When you produce explainer videos for your vendors, they will be seen as a trusted advisor, not a shameless promotor, and that combination will make a huge difference in their sales.
No matter what you choose to do with your exhibitor videos, quality is of utmost importance if you are going to charge premium prices. Your vendors will accept nothing less than the best when showcasing their products and services. Don’t try to add these types of videos to your conference without upgrading your equipment and video personnel, or your vendors won’t sign up the next year. Thankfully, you can include the cost of production in your price to the vendor so that the money you put in your pocket is pure profit for the association. That’s just being fiscally responsible.
If you have questions about exhibitor videos, you can leave a question in the comments or visit: conferences.associationstudios.com.
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