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L I V E P R E S E N T A T I O N |
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Exhibitor: BASF AG
Creative/Production: Impact Unlimited, Dayton, NJ, 732-274-2000, www.impactunlimited.com; Larue Design, Albuquerque, NM, 505-243-9160
Show: National Plastics
Expo, 1997
Budget: $120,000
Goals:
 Reinforce BASF AG’s reputation as an innovator in the plastics industry.
Generate awareness of the BASF brand in U.S. markets.
Draw traffic to the back of the hall and increase leads.
Results: 
Created a fashion show that demonstrated plastics innovations.
Received news coverage on CNN and Fox News.
Generated more than 1,100 leads, a 95-percent improvement over 1996.
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 ince few Americans could identify German-based BASF AG as a world leader in plastics, name recognition topped the company’s list of objectives for the 1997 National Plastics Expo (NPE) in Chicago. Knowing that the national show had the
promotional power to put BASF on the U.S. map, the company hoped to increase brand awareness and reinforce its reputation as an innovator in plastics technology.
Eager to meet its goals, BASF turned to Impact Unlimited of Dayton, NJ. The exhibit- and event-marketing company knew a booth filled with techno babble wouldn’t do the trick, so Impact opted for the unexpected — creating an all-plastics fashion show that would have made even Donna Karan do a double take.
Based on its theme — Planet Innovation … Fashioning a World of Innovative Solutions for Plastics — Impact Unlimited created a promotional campaign that culminated in a series of in-booth fashion shows with models decked out in extraordinary costumes made of BASF plastics.
Business Models
After accepting the challenge, Impact Unlimited discovered that because NPE used a seniority-based ranking system to assign booth space, BASF would have to accomplish its objectives from an undesirable location in the back of the hall.
“To make matters worse, the company’s main competitors, who were stationed front and center in the hall, had a history of amazing exhibit attractions,” says Patricia Hennigan, Impact Unlimited’s managing producer. “BASF had to come up with something really unique to generate attention, establish its innovative message, get people to the back of the hall, and create a memorable experience.”
To pique the attendees’ interest, Impact sent out pre-show mailers that lured them to its Planet Innovation Café, which featured five tables with computer stations positioned around the runway.
Twice an hour, the booth lights dimmed, theatrical lights warmed the stage, and a video played on a nine-monitor video wall behind the stage. A host opened the seven-minute fashion show, introducing four models donned in six different costumes made of a variety of plastic products. Designed by Larue Design, each costume highlighted a specific division of BASF, such as consumer goods, automotive, and recreation.
Clothes the Deal
Creating awareness and reinforcing BASF’s creative capabilities, the primo plastics show enticed thousands to visit the booth. Compared to 1996, BASF’s booth traffic increased by 40 percent, and lead counts rocketed to 1,100, up 95 percent.
BASF’s exhibit also was featured on CNN and Fox News, taking a Heidi Klum-sized stride toward its goal of increased U.S. visibility. According to judges, Planet Innovation was “a fantastic example of an educational and entertaining program clearly linked to the company’s goals and products.”
It just goes to show you, that with enough creativity, you can make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear — or in this case, a couture gown out of a car manifold. e
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