SITUATION:
A new provider of online foreign exchange services was facing their industry’s most influential trade show. The company’s unique approach could save companies big money, but they were having a hard time getting noticed against bigger, more entrenched competitors. With a small budget, how could they make a splash at the annual show?

SPARK:
When we came on-board, the company was already preparing an evening event at the nearby aquarium, to further introduce themselves to key trade show prospects.
        The venue intrigued us, especially the sharks. Add in the idea of the company reducing clients’ exchange fees and suddenly we had a great hook: “Take a bite out of FX costs.”
        We built a theme for the show around sharks and integrated that with the evening event. As a show floor give-away, instead of stress balls or pens, we gave out a chomping shark toy (see left), with the key message and contact info on decals attached to the stem.

RESULT:
The shark toy was the hottest thing at the show. People mobbed the booth and the client’s message was still being passed around at the airport two days later. The evening event was filled to capacity and a record number of new clients signed up for the service.