For brands exhibiting at Retail’s Big Show, the event itself is the obvious focus.
There are booths to plan, products to showcase, meetings to schedule and conversations to prepare for. And with more than 41,000 retail professionals expected in New York for NRF 2027, there will be no shortage of opportunities to connect.
But the opportunity to reach that audience doesn’t have to begin when the show floor opens.
The weeks and months leading up to NRF 2027 are an opportunity to start the conversation before you ever step into the Javits Center.
Start the conversation before the show
Retail leaders attending will arrive with plenty of priorities already on their minds. They’re researching new technologies, evaluating solutions and looking for ideas they can bring back to their organizations.
That makes the pre-show period valuable for more than promoting your booth number.
It’s an opportunity to put your brand in front of the people you hope to meet while they’re already thinking about the challenges and trends that will shape their year.
Whether that’s AI, retail media, customer experience, supply chain or another area relevant to your audience, sharing useful perspectives ahead of NRF 2027 can give people a reason to engage with your brand before they encounter you on the show floor.
Don’t make the booth the beginning of the story
A booth conversation can be valuable. But it’s unlikely to be the first time a prospective customer has heard about a company, and it doesn’t have to be the last.
The content and conversations surrounding NRF 2027 can create additional touchpoints before, during and after the event.
Before the show, brands can build awareness around the issues their audience cares about. During NRF, those conversations can continue through meetings, booth interactions and event-related content. Afterward, the same topics can provide a natural reason to stay connected.
That creates a longer runway for engagement instead of putting all the pressure on a few days in January.
Think beyond the show floor
NRF 2027 is one of the biggest moments on the retail calendar, but the conversations taking place around it aren’t limited to the convention center.
Retail professionals will be researching trends, sharing ideas and evaluating potential solutions before they arrive. Many will continue those activities after they leave.
For brands, that creates an opportunity to build an NRF strategy around the entire journey:
Before: Build awareness around the topics and challenges your audience is already thinking about.
During: Use the event to connect, listen and deepen those conversations.
After: Keep the conversation going with relevant content, insights and follow-up.
The goal isn’t to turn every interaction into a sales conversation. It’s to create enough meaningful touchpoints that your brand remains part of the conversation as retail leaders continue researching and evaluating what’s next.
NRF + SmartBrief partnership
SmartBrief’s relationship with the National Retail Federation goes back more than two decades, giving brands an established connection with the retail community. Through NRF-branded SmartBrief newsletters and dedicated event coverage, SmartBrief helps keep retail professionals informed about the news, trends and ideas shaping the industry.
For brands, that established relationship offers something that goes beyond event visibility: a way to align with a trusted source of industry information and become part of the conversations retail professionals are already following.
Ready to build your NRF 2027 strategy?
Download SmartBrief’s NRF: Retail’s Big Show Marketing Opportunities.