International fashion trade shows as platforms for experiential branding

Branding has traditionally been a staple interest in fashion marketing research, although it has only been studied from the perspective of business-to-consumer markets. Recently, however, corporate branding has sparked the interest of industrial marketing scholars, who have demonstrated its potential benefits for companies, including a sustainable competitive advantage and increased customer loyalty. Based on interviews with representatives of 18 Scandinavian fashion companies that have attended trade shows, this article explores experiential marketing activities and their potential branding outcomes during international fashion trade shows. To this end, the study provides a new perspective on fashion branding by identifying the main experience providers in trade shows, and their contribution towards Customer-Based Brand Equity. In conclusion, the study contributes to the fashion marketing literature by providing a novel perspective on branding, and by demonstrating the use of experiential marketing in enhancing brand equity during international trade shows. Moreover, the emergent stream of literature on trade shows as experiential marketing is extended with an account from the exhibitor perspective. Finally, the studies of industrial branding are built on by illustrating the ways in which experiential marketing at trade shows can contribute to brand equity.