When you are in the thick of all the noise and chaos that are typical of a trade show it is easy to get discouraged by how difficult it can be to rise above all that commotion and attract attendees to your display stand. In fact, if you get too discouraged and find it very difficult to find people to patronize your trade show display, you might get turned off of exhibiting at trade shows altogether. This is not a positive thing, because trade shows offer all kinds of value to your company, as we have already demonstrated several times on this blog.
So, what you need are a few tricks up your sleeve; ways that you can attract visitors to your trade show display and get more visibility and exposure for your company and your brand. Because, after all, a huge part of exhibiting at a trade show is to get your name out there, your products seen and your reputation bolstered by a slick presentation and impressive offerings. But, first you have to get the people.
To do this, it might be a good idea to invest in a few ‘gimmicks’ such as offering a giveaway or putting on a small show. These don’t have to really be seen as ‘gimmicks’ if they are connected well to your offerings and your brand identity, however. So, just make sure that you don’t go for something completely out-of-whack like teaching a monkey to do backflips or something.
If you opt for the giveaway tactic, you should make sure that you are giving away something desirable. High-technology always works well. Or if you can attract a celebrity of some kind and give away a dinner then that works great as well. Make sure that the rules of your giveaway clearly state that entries must happen in person at your booth.
Use this to gather information about what visitors think about and know about your brand and also to generate leads. Then utilize an audio announcement and large countdown that is visible from afar to announce winners. Winners, too, should have to be present.
The best way to run this is to have multiple items to giveaway and do it every hour or so. This keeps people around your display stand nearly at all times between those signing up and those waiting to hear their names called. Because this will attract substantial attention, it is best to capitalize on this attention by running effective demonstrations of your products and services. Don’t just let static graphics do the work for you, capture the attention of this crowd of onlookers and make sure you can maximize their interest.