The competition for attention at trade shows and events can be tough so you need to get creative. This month, we have put together some great ideas to help you engage with people and make a memorable impression.
At Honeycomb Agency, we specialise in personalised promotional products. This way, instead of simply handing over a branded notebook, water bottle or keychain, you can have a delegate’s name or tagline embossed on it.
Personalisation can take place at an event and it offers the following advantages:
- People will spend a bit more time with you while they share their details
- They will have to return to collect their item, which gives you a second chance to have a conversation
- You are handing over a highly memorable gift that will be kept for longer
- The person who receives the gift is more likely to talk about it with other people
A personalised gift can be exchanged for favour; for example we recently helped a client by coming up with an idea to create a monogrammed notebook in return for delegates completing a survey. This way, email information was captured and some essential research was completed as part of the event.
- Be Insta-worthy
Everything is content and people love the opportunity to grab a snap of themselves doing something fun.
Depending on the event and the target audience, you can set up a fun backdrop, maybe even with some branded props. This is something the Barbie movie did well, with cinemas putting out lifesize Barbie packaging for people to take their snaps in. It generated something referred to as “earned marketing”, with people hashtagging left, right and centre.
We can help you come up with a fun strategy that involves a mix of branded merchandise and banners/backdrops.
- Give branded snacks
Trade show delegates get hungry. Imagine if they were walking about eating snacks out of a packet with your brand on it. You’ll have people asking, “Where did you get those?”.
Tasty snacks and fun packaging can bring in the crowds; just make sure you have enough to hand out!
- Enter to win
Raffles and other competitions are another excellent way to create engagement at a trade show. Your prize can be a swag of high quality goodies like a beach towel, branded wine or a bluetooth speaker with your logo on it.
As well as getting noticed, you’ll have the chance to grab people’s contact information so you can follow up after the event to let them know who won and share a special offer or update about your business.
- A reason to stop
A brilliant way to have people gather at your booth is to provide a phone charging station with a few different plug options. Delegates who need power will need to spend a few minutes standing around; they may as well have a chat with you!
Some more ideas to get people to slow down are:
- A water bottle refill station (and free water bottles)
- A fabulously comfortable chair or some lounges so people can get off their feet for a minute
- A mobile five-minute massage station (talk to people while they are in the queue)
- A skill-tester for a prize (again, if you have people lining up to watch, your brand is getting noticed)
- A barista handing out free coffees
Find a way to hand over a piece of branded merchandise after people have stopped and they will remember you well after the event.
Before your next trade show, think about an experience that will match the theme of the event and get creative with some show-stopping ideas. Once you have people’s attention, you can talk about your products or services, or arrange to sit down with them at a later date.
Need help with a clever strategy for your next trade show? Contact Honeycomb Agency today.
