One of the basic ingredients to a successful trade show experience is the amount of people that stop by your booth; the more people you are able to talk to the more potential customers you will have. This makes having creative ideas at work in your trade show exhibits even more important than ever. You can turn your booth into a must-see with just a few innovative concepts and designs.
Promotional prize wheels are a proven strategy for attracting people to trade show exhibits. Convention halls are often dull and dreary and attendees are often bored by row after row of virtually the same displays; a promotional prize wheel, which can be customized with your company name and logo, can inject a splash of color and excitement into your exhibit, making it stand out from others and drawing people in. Basically, the only requirement to spin the wheel is that the visitors provide their name and contact information, every spin wins a prize and every prize carries a promotional message.
Money machines are another very effective idea for catching attention and drawing people to your exhibit. Money machines work by having an attendee step into a transparent booth while an attendant counts down into a microphone; then a whirlwind of dollar bills, coupons or vouchers blows around the attendee while he or she struggles to grab as many as possible. Money machines can be integrated into your marketing strategy easily; for example, let the attendees collect as many vouchers as possible in 30 seconds, then let them trade a certain amount of vouchers of a spin of the prize wheel.
Envision yourself as a trade show attendee; you’re tired, bored and probably more than just a little hungry. Suddenly you get a whiff of freshly popped popcorn. Customized popcorn machines are one of the best marketing ideas, who can resist the smell of freshly popped popcorn? Not only does the tantalizing aroma bring people to your booth, but the bags can be customized as well. Once other attendees see someone enjoying the popcorn they will search frantically until they find your booth.
Organizing a video game contest is another way to increase your booth traffic, provide entertainment, engage in conversation with potential clients and collect their contact information. Because only one person can play the game at a time, you and your staff have an opportunity to chat with those waiting to play, giving you another opportunity to tout your product. Offering promotional items as prizes for the top five scores of the day encourages people to provide their contact information.
The key to drawing more visitors to your trade show exhibit is to understand what motivates them. The ideas discussed above focus on people’s instinctive curiosity, hunger, competitive spirit and attraction to games of chance. Any of these ideas are an easily implemented and cost effective marketing strategy that will generate more booth traffic and more sales.
Ideas to Increase Booth Traffic at Your Next Trade Show by Steve