5 Approaches to Trade Show Magic
The following is based on notes from a lecture that I only gave once.
5 ways to approach developing Trade Show material:
• Close-up Magic that has no link to the company you represent but entertains.
• Fixed Set
• Magic that uses the product as the prop
• Common Language
• Brand driven
CLOSE-UP MAGIC
This is what you do when the client sees you purely as entertainment or ironically when you know the clients business so well you can talk intelligently about it outside of any scripting.
FIXED SET
This is the method used by the Trade show legend Eddie Tullock. You have a fixed set of effects which you have scripted so that you can insert any companies name into the presentation. This is the simplest and obviously fastest way to do it, and it is good to have a selection of effects that fit this category. The benefits of this approach is that you are performIng material that you know well and therefore can hit the ground running. In fact this approach often develops over time as you create material using some of the other approaches, you will keep the strong material and learn how to adapt it to fit the client. However as the Trade Show market becomes more sophisticated, the differentiation between client’s products and services becomes less defined and the market place becomes more crowded, the result can seem ill thought out and clunky, as you crow-bar the message onto the magic.
PRODUCT AS PROP
Magic with the product itself is the second approach and is useful for product launches, making the product appear etc. You are limited in your selection of material however as the size of the actual prop can be a factor.
COMMON LANGUAGE
In this approach you are looking for words,phrases etc in the clients marketing material that cross-reference into magic. 99% of the time there is quite a bit. In magic you create a problem and then resolve it, card selection etc. products and services do the same thing, they provide a resolution to an existing problem.
BASIC EFFECT = Common Language examples
PRODUCTION (appearance, creation, multiplication) = Produce increased profit
VANISH (disappearance, obliteration) = Problems disappear
TRANSPORTATION (change in location) = Movement of information
TRANSFORMATION (change in appearance, identity) = Re branding
PENETRATION ( one solid through another) = Market penetration
RESTORATION (Making the destroyed whole) = Unbroken service
ANIMATION (movement of the inanimate) = Breath life into an old service
ANTI-GRAVITY (levitation, change in weight) = “No strings attached”
ATTRACTION (mysterious adhesion) = Symbiotic approach
SYMPATHETIC (sympathetic response) =Work with you
INVULNERABILITY (injury proof) = Fully Protected / secure
PHYSICAL ANOMALY (contradictions, abnormal) = Unique
SPECTATOR FAILURE (magicians challenge) = Without our help….
CONTROL (mind over the inanimate) = Take control
IDENTIFICATION (specific discovery) = Finding the solution
THOUGHT READING (mental perception, mind reading) = Know what your thinking
THOUGHT TRANSMISSION (thought projection) = Information delivery
PREDICTION (foretelling the future) = Guaranteed outcome
E.S.P (unusual perception, other than mind) = Empathetic
List from The Trick Brain by Dariel Fitzkee – page 25
It is a great way to get your imagination fired up and even if you only use one effect that has been developed using this technique it will start to make you consider new material. Material developed this way will probably eventually fall into the first category as you will find that the message is relevant to several different clients . Using this kind of approach makes the job more interesting and saves you having to alter old material which can sometimes prove difficult and appear forced.
BRAND AWARE – Experience marketing
In this final approach you are dealing with the brand and brand values of the client company. This differs from the common language approach as it doesn’t necessarily use the product or the marketing language used to pitch a product or service. Instead it focuses on the overall approach and sensibilities of a company, which is often outlined in their mission statement. The company may also have a story to tell and magic can be used to highlight elements of this story. In the same way that a company has a visual branding, (logo, colour scheme etc.), they will adopt a position in the minds of their client base through strong emotional branding.
A good example of this is Harley Davidson, which sells “the ability for a 43 year old accountant to dress in black leather, ride through small towns and have people be afraid of him”
They aren’t selling motorbikes, they’re selling an experience. What this approach allows you to do is build on the experience that great branding has created. It is a much more theatrical approach and opens up a whole new spectrum of possibilities. It requires a lot of thought and imagination and sometimes a whole new performance character can evolve.
It will appear that the magic has grown from the brand, and this offers an exciting approach to developing presentations. Your aim is to create a unique experience for the spectators that will evoke an emotional response they will link directly to your client.
