Interactive In-Booth Activities

What are your fondest memories of a trade show or marketing event? Does that sound like a strange question? If you don’t consider “fun” and “trade shows” synonymous, than perhaps you’re not doing it right! Moving your trade show booth beyond the normal “scan information, collect business cards, hand out literature” mode requires a little effort, but the payoff is worth the investment.
The 2009 EXHIBITOR show offered the latest products, services and exhibiting trends. Our EXHIB-IT! team saw a plethora of impressive banner stands, truss systems and learned a lot about panel systems and why it makes sense to add more pieces to our rental inventory. However, the most memorable experience by far, was the Danceheads booth. The concept is relatively simple, give show attendees a genuinely fun activity to engage in, allow them to participate use as many of their senses as possible and you’ve got them hooked. As our designers sat in front of a green screen and were videotaped lip syncing “ I like big…” the crowd flocked to see what was going on. Honestly, to tell you the name of that really great panel system I saw, I’d have to pull out the printed material I picked up, or open the follow up email they sent. But I remember Danceheads…
Another recent experience was a networking event we recently attended. Now, don’t get us wrong, we are all for meeting as many qualified prospects as possible as quickly as we can, but this marketing event was about building relationships with a few rather than meeting the many. The “Business After Business” event was held at a local fun center. In the time we typically collect many business cards to follow up with later, we collected only a handful. But, we spent a couple of hours riding go-carts, wall climbing, and bumper boating while developing a real relationship with that handful of contacts. I am far more likely to use Gil for company investments now that I’ve spent some time with him, than I would have with just a business card. And for an IP voiceover phone with video capabilities, I’ll call Jimmy for sure. That time spent goofing off with a few potential clients has me convinced that it they need graphics, design or a trade show display they will contact me.
So for your next show, think outside of the box. Invite a massage therapist to entice attendees with a chair massage, or hook up the Wii and post a winners bracket. The time you spend building relationships and having fun has the potential to turn a prospect into a client.

Are Trade Show Displays Essential?

Very often when walking through a trade show I hear exhibitors utter the fallacy “we don’t need a display” or “a display won’t help us”. Another misconception I hear frequently is “a nice trade show display or exhibit will sell my products for me”.

Let’s quickly discuss the importance of investing in a trade show display and get a realistic idea of what the display can and if properly designed will do for you. Is it necessary for exhibitors to use a trade show display and professional graphics?


The main purpose of a trade show display is to GRAB the ATTENTION of the show attendees. Think of a packed show floor with aisles of ten feet booths, and remember that it takes the average person 3.8 seconds to walk ten feet. Now, in that 3.8 seconds, how do you plan to get an attendee to notice you, rather than your neighbor? What are you going to do to make them STOP and talk to YOU.

A professionally designed trade show display is meant to tell an attendee (hopefully your prospect) a few things about your company:

• Who you are
• What you do
• Why they should do business with you.

If you are busy (and hopefully you are) people need to see at a glance why they need to wait to speak with you or at least take information about your company. Your graphics and your booth should be captivating, comfortable and convey your message. Your trade show booth is an extension of your company, it is important to remember to treat it as such.