trade show Exhibit floors are often the lifeblood of an association meeting, but it is becoming trickier to attract people to the booths. Many times attendees just fly down the aisles or worse, they just want to collect the tchotchkes. Every year, you keep telling yourself, there has got to be a better way, and now there is.

Here are a few suggestions to make your next trade show really stand out:

Make it Easy for Attendees to Find the Booths They Want to Visit

Rather than making each attendee go up and down the exhibit space, like a person in a grocery store, rent computer kiosks at the entrance of the exhibit hall. Attendees can use these touch panel kiosks to enter the company name or classification they want to visit and bam, the location of the booth and the best way to get there are presented to the participant.

In a hosted buyer situation, attendees can look up their own name and print the schedule of booths they plan to visit on that day. 

Provide Quiet Space for Relaxing and Networking, Right on the Exhibit Floor

Most planners don’t want to give up their precious space to anything other than a paid booth sponsor. But look at it this way, if you create a quiet space, with an Internet Cafe, chairs and couches, and even massage chairs, you have a much better shot keeping attendees on the floor. And when networking with others, attendees might learn about some really cool booths they may have overlooked and want to go visit them. 

Make it Easy to Get Online

Everyone wants a fast, robust Wi-Fi connection, wherever they are. It is important to allow attendees, as well as, exhibitors to have a Wi-Fi network array that is dependable, fast, and secure. Don’t limit participant’s access to the Internet to just the meeting space or their hotel rooms. That is the fastest way to get them off the trade show floor. 

Feed Them Well

Put the food and beverage right on the trade show floor, and try and get food that represents the different countries or states of the booth exhibitors. Put out snacks and beverages once the lunch period is over. The venue may not like it, but food is the one way to get them there.

Throw a Party, Gaming, or Some Fun Event

Try to come up with someway that attendees and booth sponsors can interact without being in the traditional sales mode. Throw a party at the end of the conference right on the trade show floor. Put up gaming consoles and encourage attendees to compete against each other. Have a scavenger hunt or icebreaker game. Whatever it is, it needs to be fun.

Encourage Each Exhibitor to be Green AND Creative

Offer them the opportunity to rent iPads as interactive kiosks. Ask each exhibitor to reduce the amount of paper and giveaways, but rather focus on one grand prize, such as airline tickets, hotel stays, or gift baskets. Ask them to be very creative with their booth and let them know there will be a prize for the most creative booth. 

Are you exhibiting at a trade show in California? AV Event Solutions can assist you with state-of-the-art interactive technology tools, such as kiosks, iPads, network arrays, and much, much more! Contact them today!