Fintech is one of the least huggable industries there is, and people still tell Michael Bugno they got their COVID shot from his company. It isn't Pfizer. It's Fiserv.
How does a payments giant make one person at a booth feel known? Michael started at Walt Disney World, where the whole point is one guest feeling special. Now he runs that instinct across anywhere from 100 to 300 trade shows a year, from bank conferences to the National Restaurant Association show.
What you will hear:
Why "What do you do?" gets answered with "How can I help you?"
What still says Fiserv when every logo comes off the booth
How calls before the show, a playbook, and one senior leader on point keep everyone aligned
Why off-site dinners and cocktail hours give him more time with people than the show floor
How a school donation, a ball cap, and a Padres locker room tour show people you were listening
Why music is his answer when money is no object
Michael Bugno is VP, Experiential Client Programming at Fiserv. He started at Walt Disney World and spent years at Comedy Central and Food Network before moving into enterprise events.
00:00 Fintech and experiential in the same sentence
02:06 From Disney to Fiserv, and the Pfizer mix-up
04:30 Banks, payroll, and the coffee shop on the corner
07:15 Asking small business owners if they like their Clover
08:31 On stage at Disney: when he knew events were different
10:11 Hospitality does not take a big budget
11:52 Why "What do you do?" became "How can I help you?"
13:44 Strip every logo off the booth: what still says Fiserv
16:27 Color is the brand: orange, blue, and Clover green
17:55 Square logo, curved Clover, and greenery in the booth
21:07 Designing for one person among tens of thousands
23:54 Preparing the people who staff the booth
26:07 The lead up: goals, a playbook, one senior leader
27:10 Where to reinvest: off-site beats the booth floor
30:30 Collecting dots: the touch points behind every event
32:16 Padres tours, school donations, and the little things
33:34 Money is no object: start with music
35:00 Why you remember a conference concert six years later
36:01 Banker by day, front of the stage at night
37:15 Where to find Michael
Keywords: trade show strategy, experiential marketing, brand experience, fintech events, trade show booth design, off-site events, event marketing
#TradeShowMarketing #ExperientialMarketing #EventExperienceExperts #FinTech #Exhibitus
