Every year, the NADA Show brings together over 20,000 dealers, executives, and decision-makers, with more than 500 vendors competing for their attention. If you’re investing in a booth, you already know the stakes are high. But here’s the truth: just showing up isn’t enough.

I’ve spent more than 30 years helping companies maximize their impact at NADA, and I can tell you with certainty, the vendors who win are the ones who market their booth like a product. That means building pre-show excitement, engaging attendees the moment they hit the floor, and making sure your booth is a “must-visit” destination.

Here’s your step-by-step guide to doing exactly that.

1. Build Pre-Show Buzz That Can’t Be Ignored

Your first chance to win is before the doors even open. Attendees are planning their schedules weeks in advance, and if you’re not part of that plan, you’re going to get lost in the crowd.

Best Practices:

• Email Campaigns: Send targeted emails with clear booth information, teaser offers, and a reason to stop by. Utilize landing pages that incorporate videos, demos, or giveaways to capture potential customers’ interest.
• Website & Email Signatures: Every touchpoint matters. Create a NADA landing page on your website and ensure that every employee’s email signature includes your booth number.
• Advertising & PR: Run pre-show ads in industry publications like AutoSuccess or Fixed Ops Magazine. Issue press releases announcing your presence and what makes your booth worth visiting.
• Social Media Campaigns: Use LinkedIn and other platforms to create excitement. Share behind-the-scenes prep, promote giveaways, and tag posts with #NADA and #NADA2026 to join the conversation.
• Retargeting Campaigns: Drop a pixel on your NADA landing page and run retargeting ads for 30 days leading up to the show. Stay top-of-mind for dealers as they prepare.
• Appointment Setting: Encourage pre-scheduled meetings. Vendors who show up with calendars full of dealer appointments always outperform those who rely on walk-up traffic.

2. Drive Attention During the Show

With just 19.5 hours of expo time and hundreds of booths to choose from, you need to make your space magnetic. The goal is to stop attendees in their tracks and give them an experience worth talking about.

Best Practices:

• Daily Email Reminders: Send booth reminders and invitations every morning to keep your location fresh in attendees’ minds.
• In-Booth Experiences: Create demos, games, or mini-sessions that make people want to engage. Interactivity always beats passive displays.
• Giveaways That Matter: Think beyond pens and stress balls. High-value tech prizes, Vegas-themed contests, or branded items people actually use get remembered.
• Food & Beverage Activations: Coffee bars, snacks, or cocktail hours are proven traffic drivers. People naturally gather where food and drinks are offered.
• Celebrity or Industry Figure Appearances: Bringing in a professional athlete, celebrity, or well-known industry personality for autographs or photos is a surefire way to create buzz.
• Social Media Live Updates: Post photos, videos, and highlights directly from the booth. Share real-time updates to build FOMO for anyone who hasn’t visited yet.

3. Turn Your Booth into a Destination

Your booth shouldn’t just be a spot on the floor; it should be a destination that attendees make a point to visit. The key is combining strategic promotion before the show with high-impact engagement during the show.

When you execute these strategies, your booth transforms from just another vendor display into an experience that attendees seek out, talk about, and remember long after the event.

Coming Soon: Post-Show Marketing Secrets

Of course, what happens after NADA is just as important as what happens before and during. Post-show marketing is where vendors turn conversations into deals, and it’s where most companies drop the ball. In my next article, I’ll share proven post-show strategies, including the campaign that has been one of the most profitable for over a decade. Stay tuned.

Final Word

NADA is the biggest stage in the automotive industry. You’ve already invested in your booth, now it’s time to invest in making sure people know about it, visit it, and leave talking about it.

If you’d like to see how we’ve helped vendors like DMS, BG Prod, and Rapid Recon fill rooms, pack booths, and generate measurable ROI at NADA, visit CactusSky.com or reach out to me directly.

Let’s make your NADA 2026 booth impossible to miss.