No Show Floor, 1,000+ New Prospects

The Challenge

NeuraLabel builds on-site printers and label-printing services for chemical, food, and packaging manufacturers, and PACK EXPO was its biggest event of the year. Two new printers were due to launch at the 2020 show. Then the pandemic shut down in-person exhibits, and the 20x20 booth, the travel, and the floor traffic that normally fed the pipeline disappeared at once.

The company still needed prospects to see the product, get their questions answered, and reach a salesperson. With a three-person team and a near-zero budget, the task was to identify what the booth actually did for the business and rebuild each function for a screen.

The Approach

As Director of Marketing, I led the concept and the launch plan. We broke the booth into five jobs and rebuilt each one inside an interactive 3D showroom that prospects could walk through the way they would a real booth, browsing product areas and pulling up individual printer models by scanning QR codes.

• Draw a crowd: a walkable 3D showroom, promoted through email and daily social posts announcing each day's live demo
• Answer questions on the spot: real-time chat with the NeuraLabel team, live in the room
• Show the product: live and pre-recorded demos, plus the unveiling of two new printers inside the showroom
• Create urgency: a limited-time show special bundling a Sirius printer with a Virgo finishing system, a free rewinder, and an extended warranty
• Book the follow-up: private meetings and live demos booked in real time, with sales contacting attendees while they were still active in the event

The Results

Six months after the show, the virtual showroom had generated more than 1,000 new prospects on a near-zero budget, with no travel and no booth build. The two new printers debuted to that audience inside the room, and the bundled show special gave attendees a reason to act during the event rather than after it.

The five functions now double as a planning checklist for any event, virtual or in person: draw a crowd, answer questions, show the product, create urgency, and book the follow-up.