Continuing Relevance of Traditional Public Exhibits

There are two ways of looking at it. On the one hand, the imposing development of science and technology has made mostly everything a lot easier than they were a decade ago. Sophisticated communication technologies have literally collapsed distance and turned the world into a virtual captured market. This should have made advertising and brand promotion significantly or at least relatively simple.

But that is the other side of the coin, that other way of looking at it. Considering the volume of information and the congested communication traffic on the Internet, in addition to traditional communication media, there is simple too much going around. In this highly saturated world, competition is the name of the game. The worldwide web has simply turned social interaction and commerce into a battle for attention with originality or uniqueness, creativity and boldness playing intricate criteria over product or service quality. 

Well, when we live in a virtual world that is exactly what we get--- virtual.

Against the Advertising Grain 

Of course remnant of traditional public relations, marketing and advertising practices continue to persist if not as alternatives, as simply safe-keeping measures of those left behind in the digital world. 

Today, public exhibitions continue to remain relevant as a means means of public promotion and visibility. In fact, in Singapore, exhibition companies are still among the more established, and therefore still successful firms in the country. This says a lot about a supposedly dying industry against the overwhelming force of social media. 

And technology has not made physical exhibitions any easier. It still requires the careful planning, research, and strategy along with great execution and a philosophy of uniqueness and creativity. After all, regardless of what technology or form is utilized, standing out in a crowd is simply a challenging task. 

Exhibitions as ‘Real’ Brand Activation 

But make no mistake, the relevance of public exhibitions and the continuing success of exhibition design companies in Singapore does not mean it is still a dominant over-all public relations practice. In fact, the objectives of public exhibition have become very specific

For instance, one of the more common purposes of public exhibitions is brand activation, campaigns and events that enables a brand to engage directly with consumers and build a loyal brand community around your product or service. These activation activities often include interactive opportunities for consumers like trying on a shoe or apparel, tasting a food or beverage which of course cannot be done over the internet. 

Exhibitions and trade shows differ from other platforms since it provides opportunity not only to showcase their products and services or communicate their key message but to actually demonstrate their products, technological advancements and services to its target audience. In other words, it is venue for face-to-face interaction and actual, real consumer engagements. Or put more simply, such public exhibitions are ways of allowing consumers to actually experience a product beyond the virtual realm. And in many ways too, it is, if at all, still an integral supplement to on-line advertising and marketing.