During the March 2026 marketing review, Asymmetric proposed a geofencing ad strategy to help PaperTube capture trade show audiences without incurring booth costs. PaperTube attends 3–4 trade shows per year in a "walking" format — a rep (Amy) networks the floor and collects business cards — but has never run concurrent paid media to amplify that presence.
The immediate context was Natural Products Expo West (Anaheim), where Amy generated ~40–50 leads. The next near-term opportunity identified was a show at McCormick Place (Chicago).
See also: [1] | [2]
PaperTube participates in trade shows by walking the floor rather than exhibiting, which is significantly cheaper but limits reach. The sales rep's personal outreach cadence (sample kits, emails, phone calls) is the primary follow-up mechanism for leads collected. There is no paid media layer to:
Meta (Facebook/Instagram) is the recommended primary platform. Attendees tend to scroll Instagram and Facebook during slow periods at shows, making Meta well-suited for in-event reach. Google geofencing is also viable.
| Ad Set | Targeting | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| City-wide | Target persona (job title, industry) across the full metro area | Before and during the show |
| Geofenced | Anyone within ~1-mile radius of the event center | During show dates only |
The city-wide set captures attendees before they arrive; the geofenced set hits them while they're on-site and most contextually receptive.
When PaperTube has a booth presence in the future, ads can drive traffic directly to the booth (e.g., "Visit us at Booth #X"). In the current walking format, ads should focus on brand awareness and a soft CTA (e.g., landing page with a quote form or sample kit request).
PaperTube has access to the Natural Products Expo West conference brochure listing all exhibiting companies. This list can be used for:
Note: Enriched contacts may not be the same individuals who attended the show, but they represent the right companies and personas for targeting.
For the ~50 specific contacts Amy collected at Natural Products Expo West, Asymmetric proposed augmenting her personal outreach cadence with paid ads:
The goal is to increase touchpoints without stepping on Amy's personal outreach. The rule of thumb cited: ~7 interactions before a prospect reliably recognizes a brand.