Center of Attention

Give it Away

Many exhibitors try to send a bit of that booth atmosphere home with visitors, in the form of giveaways. Don’t give away something just because other booths are doing it—make sure gifts are firmly tied to your brand. “I’m not a firm believer in trinkets,” Mealey says. “If it promotes brand awareness, that’s good, but there are a certain number of people who are there to fill their bag.”

The same rule holds true for raffles. Raffle off your product or service, or another item that directly relates to your business. By doing so, you accumulate a list of potential sales leads who are interested in having your product or service. Raffle off a television, on the other hand, and you generate a list of people who want a new television.

Companies can also generate sales leads by finding out customers’ interests before a show even begins. Some exhibitors buy a list of attendees in advance and send a survey asking them about their interests, along with a radio-frequency microchip. Visitors wear the chips on their show badges. When they approach the booth, the company’s radio receiver alerts a computer to bring up the visitor’s name and interests. Booth staff then greet attendees by name and tailor conversations to each visitor’s interests. And knowing what intrigues a visitor can help a company give the right gift.

Sometimes the most memorable giveaways combine company information with fun and timely events. At a trade show in Las Vegas—for his own company’s exhibit this time—Driscoll used embedded video technology to add images of individual visitors to footage of the Stardust Hotel demolition. The souvenir tapes also included Showcraft promotional materials, Driscoll says, adding that the tapes were very popular. “It’s a booth traffic generator,” he says—and at a trade show, traffic means business.