Mastering effective marketing strategies is essential for success and the Script Development learning track at Expo! Expo! IAEE’s Annual Meeting & Exhibition 2024 delivered powerful insights for professionals seeking to elevate their marketing approach. This comprehensive track provided attendees with a deep understanding of the latest trends, best practices and cutting-edge strategies for successful marketing. Covering everything from digital marketing and content creation to brand management, attendee acquisition and customer engagement, participants gained practical insights on how to leverage the latest marketing techniques to drive business growth and success.
Three outstanding sessions from this track highlighted different aspects of modern marketing strategy and offered practical, actionable strategies that attendees could immediately implement to craft their own success stories.
More Platforms, More Problems: Simplified Social Media Marketing Using A.I.
Sherron Washington, Founder and CEO of The P3 Solution, focused on how marketers can streamline their social media marketing strategies by identifying the right platforms, simplifying tactics and leveraging AI tools. She also addressed common challenges marketers face with social media, including platform overload, unrealistic expectations and implementing tactics without proper strategy.
Sherron compared different social media platforms to familiar concepts:
- Facebook as “The Watercooler” (communal space for nurturing professional/casual relationships)
- LinkedIn as “The Boardroom” (professional networking to establish credibility)
- Instagram as “The Show Floor” (visual showcase for products, services and lifestyles)
- TikTok as “The Stage” (creative entertainment platform)
For each platform, she outlined industry relevance, target demographics, goals (visibility, lead generation or sales) and recommended posting frequency.
Sherron also offered tactics to simplify social media efforts such as careful implementation of trends, content curation rather than creation, using “edutainment” for engagement, reverse engineering posts and posting with intention.
Sherron concluded by offering suggestions for various AI tools to help with platform selection, expectation management and strategy development that include ChatGPT, Jasper, BuzzSumo, HootSuite, Sprout Social and Canva AI.
Key Takeaways:
- Focus on selecting the right social media platforms based on industry relevance, audience demographics, specific goals (visibility, leads, sales) and required effort rather than trying to maintain presence on all platforms.
- Simplify your social media tactics by curating rather than creating all content, using “edutainment” for engagement and posting with clear intention to align with your overall strategy.
- Leverage AI tools like ChatGPT, Jasper and social media management platforms to streamline platform selection, manage expectations and develop effective strategies that reduce complexity in your social media marketing.
Personal Branding (For People Who Aren’t Celebrities)
Personal branding and LinkedIn trainer Leanne Calderwood focused on demystifying personal branding for professionals who are not celebrities. Defining personal branding as “the intentional amplification of your personality traits so that you can set yourself apart, build trust with your audience, and attract more leads and opportunities,” she addressed common concerns about personal branding, including uncertainty about where to start, feeling intimidated, questioning its effectiveness and concerns about time constraints.
Leanne debunked these five common myths about personal branding:
- Personal branding is about creating an image (instead, it should be authentic)
- Personal branding competes with corporate branding (they can complement each other)
- You have to be on social media to build a brand (there are many offline options)
- Personal branding is time-consuming (many branding activities take less than 10 minutes)
- Personal branding is all about you (it’s actually about who you’re trying to influence)
She also provided a framework for identifying what to include in a personal brand by exploring eight areas of personality: characteristics, skills, talents, strengths, passions, values, beliefs and traits. Leanne highlighted that finding one focus point to amplify – whether that’s a strength, passion, belief, story, experience or unique selling proposition – will differentiate you and resonate with your target audience.
Throughout the presentation, Leanne emphasized that personal branding should be intentional, authentic, and aligned with how you want to serve others. She noted that 83% of customers prefer to do business with someone they know and trust, reiterating the importance of building relationships through personal branding.
Key Takeaways:
- Authentic personal branding is about intentionally amplifying your genuine personality traits and strengths to set yourself apart and build trust with your audience as opposed to creating a false image or persona.
- Your personal brand and your company’s brand can work together synergistically rather than competing; strong personal brands can be seen as assets to organizations by creating stronger relationships and providing additional opportunities.
- Personal branding doesn’t have to be overwhelming or time-consuming! It can be built through small, consistent actions (many taking less than 10 minutes) that focus on your unique strengths and the specific value you provide to those you’re trying to influence.
Attracting New Audiences: Marketing Strategies for Trade Show Success
Damaris Piraino, Senior Director of Trade Show Marketing at the Plastics Industry Association, and Bill Zimmer, Vice President of Strategy at 360 Live Media, showcased marketing strategies used to revitalize NPE: The Plastics Show after a six-year hiatus. NPE is the largest plastics trade show in the Americas, typically drawing more than 50,000 attendees from 133+ countries every three years.
The comprehensive marketing approach presented by Bill and Damaris is guided by six core principles:
- People First
- Make It Personal
- Be Relevant
- Be Interested
- Activate Others
- Push Yourself
Damaris and Bill detailed a multi-channel strategy that included rebuilding their contact database from the ground up, implementing targeted audience segmentation across 15+ industry segments, developing a compelling creative theme (“Made For You”), and executing an integrated marketing plan.
Their marketing efforts included website optimization, email campaigns (250+ emails with 97.51% deliverability), robust social media engagement (700+ posts generating 32M+ impressions), exhibitor guest pass programs, international marketing partnerships, paid media campaigns, and public relations efforts that generated 3.5 billion in total readership. They also highlighted the importance of creating new experiences like opening parties, women’s breakfasts, and programs targeted at future industry leaders.
The results were impressive: NPE 2024 attracted more attendees under 40 than any previous show, doubled C-suite attendance compared to the prior event, and 89% of attendees reported attending for the networking opportunities.
Key Takeaways:
- Effective trade show marketing requires a people-first approach with targeted audience segmentation. NPE’s strategy of creating personalized messaging for 15+ industry segments and additional demographic factors enabled them to effectively rebuild their audience after a six-year hiatus and attract a younger, more diverse audience.
- Successful trade shows must leverage multiple marketing channels simultaneously. NPE’s comprehensive approach included website optimization, email marketing, organic and paid social media, exhibitor partnerships, public relations, and international marketing efforts – all working in concert toward common goals.
- Trade shows must balance attracting new audiences while retaining core attendees. NPE accomplished this by developing both fresh experiences (opening parties, women’s breakfasts, Future Leaders programs) and maintaining industry-focused content (sustainability features, recycling demonstrations, and relevant keynotes), resulting in both more attendees under 40 and doubled C-suite participation.
Join the Conversation at Expo! Expo! 2025
As we look ahead to Expo! Expo! IAEE’s Annual Meeting & Exhibition 2025 taking place 8-10 December in Houston, exhibitions and events professionals are invited to experience the same caliber of transformative learning showcased in these presentations. Whether you are looking to master digital marketing strategies, develop your personal brand to stand out in a competitive industry or discover innovative approaches to audience engagement, Expo! Expo! 2025 offers practical, actionable insights you can implement immediately to elevate your events, streamline your marketing efforts and connect with new audiences.
