The number one question we are asked as Event Professionals and though of course it is worded a little differently, it amounts to – How do I get more people to my booth or stand without physically dragging them there?
Top 10 Emerald Tips for Gaining Event Footfall
Smart Idea
It is a smart idea to run ‘effective’ competitions over social networks during the event rather than asking for the vintage ‘business card in a bowl’. I am a big fan of those who offer services around their product as rewards as it is a great way to preserve the value of your core service while giving something appropriate away.
Giveaways
As I mentioned giveaways we go neatly to – A well thought out on Branded Giveaways can still have a lasting effect. Whenever I get something Cool, useful and different at a show I immediately attach the genius behind its inception to the company it represents. Being associated with something clever and unique inadvertently makes your business seem smarter. That said beware the meaningless un attached ‘off brand’ giveaway that has nothing to do with the product it represents. In my opinion branded pens and key-rings from a supplier of Tech for instance is as bad as it gets, no creativity and thought process, simply going through the event norms will not capture your audience.
Charity Giving
Though slightly more paperwork here in the UAE than back home, donating to charity is still such an amazing proposition. It immediately shifts perceptions and attitudes and channels a very positive image about your business. Why not ask for social actions or data collation at your booth in return for a charity donation. Ramp it up by and inviting a few charity workers who can thank stand visitors for leaving their details and supporting such a good cause. People are more willing to do good than you might think.
Relaxing Workspace and Re Charge Areas
Orange Telecom did this well at a stand in Ad:Tech in London last year. This is how powerful giving plugs and comfy working stations is to attendees. I still remember that booth, it was the only place where you could sit and spend some time working and relaxing. There was no staff from the company. Just the space. Yet the message was so powerful and everyone at the exhibition knew that the Orange stand was the place to go to recharge physical and mental batteries. People left with a great feeling about Orange.
Bespoke Futuristic Stand Design
A bespoke futuristic stand design is exceptional at drawing in audiences and the possibilities and styles are endless. Your stand itself is your first impression, so make sure you get it right. There’s such a huge range of choices available with colours, branding, materials and imagery, your exhibition stand can be tailor made to your ideal concept. Couple this with the right lighting, sound and tech and your exhibition stand will be extremely eye catching and gain huge amounts of attention thus generating that much needed footfall. Stands of the future will be in my opinion full LED blocks – Wood will be a thing of the past. The future is fully transferable, changeable, adaptable and Intelligent Smart stands that are are linked to cloud based content portals in order to change the whole look and feel of the whole stand at the flick of a switch, BTW this tech is not 10 years away, more like 2. Food for thought. Come speak to us for more on this article [email protected].
Buy Premium Ads on Event Mobile App
If you read the Event App Bible, you know by now that premium sponsor opportunities are increasingly recurring features in event mobile apps. With growing adoption of event mobile apps, this is a great way to secure precious advertising real estate in a very relevant and timely fashion. Once again the message of that advertising placement needs to be carefully considered. A weak or merely promotional message will not add a lot of value. A well placed Ad combined with an offer will bring people to your booth.
Free Internet
It gives me shivers to think that in 2018 I am still writing this. Yet wifi connectivity is still a major issue in the industry. I actually can recall only a handful of events out of thousands attended where wifi worked perfectly, was simple to log into and was actually reliable. Forward thinking exhibitors can capitalize on the lack of good coverage most exhibitions have by providing their own wifi for free to attendees. Not being a devoted fan of freebies, complimentary wifi needs to be tied in some way to your product and service. You can collect leads by giving away free accounts and present branded screens and visuals to login to the service. Now its a 2 way trade off.
Product Samples
Giving away a little bit of your product or service is one of the most adopted exhibition tactics. After all, meeting your customers in person is a unique opportunity to get them to touch and feel your product. This is a great incentive to drive more people to your stand that is completely in line with your product or brand. A good example – Come to our stand for a free copy of our latest brochure that has voucher discounts on our latest stock is sure to get that much needed attention.
Tech Tech Tech
You can’t say it too much but the stand that has the greatest gismo’s, LED Screens, VR, AR, and helpful drones flying around will always win the attention battle. The key to all of this Tech is to ensure the Theatre of it all does not lose the message it was hired to do in the first place. Emerald has recently launched Emerald TV (ETV) an online data platform that allows you to create all of your own content on one easy to use portal (like Netflix for businesses) and brand approve all of your content ahead of the show. It can be formatted in a second while adding and removing images, files, videos and sound bites in real time with ease. Once you have this cost effective ETV data base you can ensure everything going to your Screen, Hologram, Drone and Touch Panels is 100% current and approved. No more changing content last minute at shows with a team of highly paid experts weilding super computers.
Super Activation
Over the years I have seen some interesting activations on stands and I always revert to my favorites, activations that create such havoc they can only be described as Super. The best crowd pleasers I ever saw that ticked all the right corporate boxes were The BP Magicians that used magic to depict a storyboard of the product they were hosting. They use modern LED Technology with a well rehearsed magical spectacle that can produce a 15-20 minute extravaganza that will flock the attendees to your booth 4 or 5 times a day to attentively learn about your business. Another unstoppable crowd pleaser is Titan The Robot. I have been lucky to work with this all singing and dancing Tech masterpiece many times in the past and to this day I have never seen anything or anyone completely take over an exhibition Hall. These high impact Branded Activations are not only guaranteed to bring people to your booth but they will ensure your product is in the face of every attendee. I would go as far as to say you would be better to place your hard earned marketing budget into a super activation rather than a Gold or Platinum sponsor of an event. Some branded boards as you walk in the door for me doesn’t cut it.
In Conclusion driving attendees to exhibition stands is not an easy one. It requires creativity, smart communication, and ever-changing tech awareness. The tactics described in this article will surely be helpful for those event professionals willing to help their exhibitors go the extra mile.
Now time to go and share the post with the world, or come to speak to us direct.
We love a problem. [email protected]
Emerald Proud Supporters of Expo 2020.
