White goods manufacturer Indesit created a mini-threatre at this month’s Comet Live Show to convince the electrical equipment retailer’s 500 store managers to sell customers up to its popular Hotpoint brand of appliances.

Production company Line Up transformed the Indesit exhibition space into a two-tiered 3D theatrical experience, where professional presenters and actors staged a show called ‘Hotpoint – making life easier’ to visitors. The move shows the increasing creativity and sophistication that’s being put into business-to-business events, and the growth in the use of theatrical techniques to get across key brand messages. Meanwhile, the show itself is a great example of companies using events to train and educate employees in more and more innovative ways.
 
The second tier of the Indesit stand, which was positioned above the stage, was surrounded by LED panels and a 62-inch plasma screen TV that hid a team of four technicians. Giant 3D props, such as fruit cartons and oversized duvets were lowered down to the presenters to emphasise the benefits of trading up to larger Hotpoint models. Moving graphics on the plasma screen and the LED marquee corresponded with the performance on stage.
 
The presentation opened with a short film, also created by Line Up, taking a humorous look at the benefits of selling up to bigger appliances. The film featured real customers thanking Hotpoint for the extra time in their lives they had gained since moving to bigger washing machines, which means fewer washloads, and bigger fridges, resulting in fewer trips to the supermarket.  

Jayson Weston, marketing communications manager at Indesit was delighted with the live experience. “The presentation was informative and engaging and left a positive and lasting impression on the delegates,” he said.
 
Line Up’s Duncan Beale explained the aim was to create a totally different experience for visitors to the stand. “We wanted to present Indesit in a whole new light to Comet store managers. This entertaining show communicated key appliance benefits in a far more engaging way than a traditional exhibition stand.”
 
The vibrant message delivered was backed up with key facts figures related to the benefits of trading up into Hotpoint products, for Comet managers to take back to their stores and use when interacting with customers.