“Trick-or-Treating” at Trade Shows and the Magic of Experience
Increasing foot traffic to your trade show booth by focusing on offering a unique and interactive experience
As leaves turn golden and temperatures drop, the spooky season is in full swing. My husband and I bought our first home 2 years ago in a community that goes all-out for Halloween. We learned some hard lessons that first year:
Get the good candy. You’ll be stuck eating any unclaimed Dots.
DO NOT allow the children to reach into the bowl and grab their own candy (one brazen, 11-year-old gremlin nearly cleaned us out).
In the immortal words of Stephen Sondheim, “Ya Gotta Get a Gimmick.” (You’re welcome to the five of you who know what I’m talking about.)
As a kid, I rarely went trick-or-treating. I preferred fall festivals. The trick-or-treat routine bored me. Ring doorbell, wait for candy, repeat. Fall festivals on the other hand meant games like Pumpkin Bowling, Candy Cornhole, and Lawn Dart Balloon Pop. Each game was different, AND we still got candy. Even as a kid, I wanted more than candy. I wanted an experience.
So what does this have to do with your trade show booth?
Adults are overgrown children. It’s an open secret that you MUST have swag at your trade show booth. Company-logo-laden bags, coasters, and koozies are go-to favorites. And they’re fine, but fine doesn’t drive foot traffic or aid lead generation efforts.
Indeed, fine generates a LOT of waste. This is the dark side of swag culture. Booths practically beg passersby to take a few extra tumblers or pencils, because for the love of all that is good, NOBODY wants to fly that swag back to Ohio.
Swag is fun and all, but nobody is stopping to listen to a 5 min sales pitch if all they’re getting is a branded koozie. Experiences on the other hand will get you noticed.. Experiences spark conversations, connect us as humans, and get bored attendees to approach a booth with their friends in tow, exclaiming “You’ve got to try this thing!” Among a sea of candy corn and Dots, people notice Pumpkin Bowling. (Especially if they win a cool reusable tote bag after bowling a strike!)
The punchline is you should plan your booth with the following mentality: Focus on what experience you can bring to your trade show booth to stand out, attract foot traffic, and be remembered.
Of course, at Trade Show Labs, we’d love to help you get started. From our Tablet Jeopardy game to virtual reality race car sims, we specialize in interactive technology that drives foot traffic to your trade show booth and generates leads. And hey, if you’re going to lean on swag, our Social Media Vending Machine is the perfect blend of handing out swag and that oh-so-important experience.
