Three Ways to Drive More Traffic and Spur More Engagement at Your Trade Show Booth

Trade show freebies are a sure fire way to draw someone into your booth, but coming up with an item that will keep attendees around a little longer and get them to engage more than they would with a quick grab-and-go item is harder to accomplish.

By putting forth some extra creative juice in coming up with an interesting twist on a promotional item you can drive more traffic and spur more engagement with your trade show booth, which can only lead to a higher probability of gaining a new prospect or customer.

Here are three ideas to get you started:

Make Your Item Interactive

When you interact with an exhibit or presentation, you're more likely to remember it because you weren’t watching or listening as a bystander. This is why many presenters at a conference will ask audience members to do something like close their eyes, write down the answer to a question or stand to complete a task.

Because interactivity breeds permanence whether that means remembering the experience or establishing a new habit, building interactivity in to your trade show booth is a solid practice for having attendees remember your name and what your business does.

One company that exhibited at the National Restaurant Trade Show in Chicago put this idea to the test with their trade show item of a LEGO piece. This company specialized in building restaurants, so to bring the trade show community in to the main activity of their business, they sent out a unique mailer with their logo stamped on a canvas bag that contained a LEGO brick.

The recipients were then asked via a custom printed card in the bag to visit the company’s booth and bring their LEGO to the trade show. In the booth, the attendees helped the company build a unique structure. Not only was it a fun, memorable and interactive experience, but this promotion drove home the point that their business BUILDS restaurants.

Provide an Incentive

Building off the idea of interactivity, don't just hand someone a promotional product with your company logo on it. Combine the promotional product with an incentive to win more if attendees get involved with your booth and products. A prize for participating and engaging with your company is a powerful win for both you and the attendees.

The National Association of Home Builders used this tactic to encourage rebuilders/remodelers to sign up for their certification program at the National Home Builders Show with a Puzzle Traffic Builder promotional item. In partnership with six other companies on the Remodelers Strategic Council, they gave registered attendees a puzzle tray with instructions on how to gather pieces from the six participating businesses exhibiting at the trade show. The incentive to paricipate was that the first 50 attendees to complete the puzzle and deliver it to the Remodelers Council booth could take their certification test (a $195 value) at no charge.

The incentive idea was successful and profitable. In addition to the 50 attendees who got their certification exam free of charge, 107 other builders/remodelers signed up for the test as well. 

Provide Something Useful for the Trade Show’s Activities

Everyone knows that the most valuable promotional items are the ones an attendee considers useful. If it is useful, people will hold onto it and use it thus seeing the brand time and time again. However, if you could provide a promotional item that was useful at the trade show or conference itself, every attendee might see it and will come flocking to your booth to get theirs. The key is making sure it’s heavy on the side of interactivity so attendees do in fact put it to use and remember your brand.

Popular fast food chain Jack in the Box, used this idea at a trade show where they wanted to stand out from the many other fast food restaurants exhibiting. The theme of the show was baseball and the trade show coordinators arranged for pro baseball players to show up to sign autographs. Jack in the Box capitalized on the opportunity by giving attendees a bag that contained a Jack in the Box branded baseball with a Sharpie pen so their trade show booth guests could immediately put their items to use and get a keepsake out of it as well. Every time guests took their baseball out to show people their autograph, they thought of Jack in the Box. This promotion was a hit!


If you need more ideas for a way to uniquely present your promotional products to drive traffic and spur engagement at your trade show booth, give us a call at 847-398-5500 or send an email to dona.blunt@newportpros.com. 

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