Forfatter: Cathrine Pierce

Big industry events can feel like a game of visibility: who has the biggest stand, the flashiest booth, or the boldest giveaway?

But here’s the truth – to really stand out it’s not all dependant on your presence on the show floor.

By adopting a clever mix of creativity, visuals and a well strategized deployment plan, a wider campaign can help you get the best return on your investment.

With the right mix of digital tactics, you can take your exhibition messages and campaigns beyond the show floor. Let’s explore why and how you can bring in your wider audience and ensure your brand gets noticed, beyond your physical stand.

Why invest in your digital presence?

Investing in your digital presence helps boost your brands visibility at a strategic time. Before, during and after the event, as well connected campaign builds credibility, drives engagement, and creates more measurable opportunities for growth.

Importantly it drives people towards your owned platforms, whether that is your stand or your website.

With exhibitions you never know who is going to pop by your stand, but digital campaigns deliver more specific results:

• Pinpoint targeting – reach only the audiences that matter
• Trackable ROI – get the data on what’s working
• Lead generation – build connections beyond the event week
• SEO lift – boost your visibility long after the show
• Guaranteed eyeballs – have your name seen beyond the physical stand
• Smarter spend – options for every budget
• Use repurposable content – create talking points by using videos, interviews, and articles that keep working for you. It is important to remember that content is not a ‘single-use’ item. Develop insightful content and it can be used repeatedly across different platforms and spark conversations when they matter.

What tactics should you consider?

Here are some top tips for boosting your digital presence and gaining brand awareness beyond the show floor. All of these can be deployed during events to connect and extend your message:

Own the spotlight with video interviews

Step into a professional studio, sit down with an industry editor, and walk away with a polished interview that runs on a top outlet.

Go hyper-targeted with digital campaigns

LinkedIn, Google, Schibsted in Norway – wherever your customers spend time, you can be there too. Define who you want to reach, set the budget, and let precision campaigns do the heavy lifting.

Make news travel further with sponsored articles

Got something important to say? Place it directly in front of your audience during the conference. Speak with the media sponsors of an event and ensure your updates land with the right people at the right time.

The takeaway

A physical stand might look impressive but supporting it with a connected and strategic digital presence gives you additional opportunity, flexibility, and quantifiability. By choosing the right mix of media and messaging, you can push your brand beyond the show floor, reach the right people, and make your event budget work harder for you.

If you’re an international company looking to enter Norway, visibility matters. But it needs to come through the right channels in a way that builds trust. In Norway, earned media still carries significant weight. It remains one of the most effective ways to establish credibility with investors, local partners, and future employees.

So how do you get covered by a respected outlet like Dagens Næringsliv, Teknisk Ukeblad, Aftenposten or a regional newspaper? And does this kind of media coverage matter?

Norwegians Still Read Traditional Media Outlets

Norway has one of the highest rates of news readership in the world. In 2024, 58 percent of the population read online newspapers. Among university-educated Norwegians, 80 percent follow the news daily, and 90 percent weekly.

And they are not just reading passively. Forty percent pay for online news subscriptions, placing Norway at the top of 47 countries surveyed by Reuters. Trust in media also remains high with 55 percent of Norwegians saying they generally trust what they read[1].

Positive media coverage therefore offers a unique opportunity to increase awareness and trust for your company. If you have something meaningful to say, your audience is listening.

A Different Kind of Storytelling

What often earns media attention in the UK or US, like grand announcements, bold personalities, headline-chasing angles, may go unreported in Norway. Norwegian media tends to prioritise stories that have local or national relevance. Public interest, economic impact, and policy alignment often take precedence over company promotion. Praise is measured and claims are examined carefully.

A recent BI study highlighted the subtle influence of Janteloven (the Law of Jante) in Norway and how it encourages media scrutiny on ventures that fall short, debt and failed projects. The Law of Jante is a social code that discourages individual success and standing out, promoting humility and conformity instead.

As a result, celebrating company successes are rare, unless the success positively affects the country or a local economy [2].

That doesn’t mean good news is ignored. But for your company to be featured, your story must offer something concrete. Norwegian journalists look for clear connections to the local economy, jobs, technological innovation, or the energy transition. A press release on its own won’t be enough. So, think about how you can build out the story to include interview opportunities, provide data to back up the story. Of course, good imagery also helps.

What Makes News, and What Doesn’t

Media interest tends to grow when your story includes investment in local communities, knowledge-sharing partnerships, or demonstrable benefits for Norway’s energy ecosystem. Journalists appreciate transparency around risks and outcomes, realistic projections, and a tone that avoids hype.

An example is when we collaborated with UK based BIG Partnership to manage local media activation for their client STR, announcing the opening of their new Norwegian facility. The result was a well-rounded media footprint that delivered exactly what STR needed: visibility in key outlets that matter to their industry and community. Coverage was secured in Energi24, Maritimt Forum, Haugesund Avis, and Radio Haugalandet, offering a blend of trade credibility and local resonance.

This media activation shows that when the framing is clear and the relevance is strong, international companies can gain meaningful visibility in Norwegian news outlets.

Want to Be Featured in Norwegian Media?

At Project Neon, we can help you tell your story in a way that fits the Norwegian context. We work closely with international companies to clarify their message, identify relevant outlets, and shape stories that speak to Norwegian values and priorities.

We guide you on tone, timing, and approach. We help you focus on what matters to local readers, from innovation and job creation to long-term contributions to the sector you operate in.

We are based in Norway, but our experience is global. We understand the expectations of both international executives and Norwegian journalists, and we know how to bridge that gap. Done right, media coverage can do more than raise your profile. It can open doors to new partnerships, signal long-term commitment, and build trust with the people holding the power to shape your current or future investment in Norway.

That’s what we help can you achieve. Not with spin, but with real stories that resonate.

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[1] https://www.ssb.no/kultur-og-fritid/tids-og-mediebruk/artikler/norsk-mediebarometer-2024

[2] https://www.bi.no/forskning/business-review/articles/2022/01/skal-vi-fa-mange-suksessfulle-grundere-ma-det-bli-kult-a-feile-ogsa/