Trade Show Booth Transforms into an Oasis by adding Water

Hydrating the Staff, a Simple Solution to Improving a Trade Show Experience

All day long trade show staff is working, the constant inaction with customers and the long trade show days fatigues booth staff.  Their voices get weaker, energy levels drain, and they need a refreshing drink. Water energizes the body, keeps the voice from disappearing and the staff hydrated.

Consider a trade show is like the Sahara Deserts, a wasteland of carpeted trade show booths covering a concert floor.  Construction dust lingers in the air from build out the day prior, traffic of people with different colognes, hair conditioners, and product fragrances fill the air you breathe. The constant chatter between attendees, vendors, and booth staff wear at your voice.  It does not help that you entertained vendors the night before at the hotel bar and are up early working the trade show floor.

Water, which makes up 90% of your body, is excellent for refueling the mind, lubricating the voice, and is an inexpensive drink.  Having water available in your booth will allow your staff to work better and reduces them going on excursion trips seeking out something to drink.  A case of water can be purchased at a local convince store.  Excess water can be passed out to other vendors or attends the last today of the show.

Transform your booth into an oasis by adding water and watch your competition wither away from exhaustion and fatigue.  

Dale Obrochta is a professional trade show presenter who uses promotional balloon entertainment to build trade show booth traffic. He is a leading entertainer in the balloon entertainment industry who consistently works trade shows and corporate events. Magical Balloon-dude Dale is balloon entertainment at its best!

Trade Show Giveaways – Create a Buzz and Draws Attention

Selecting the right giveaway can create a buzz.

All around the trade show floor, you hear, "Excuse me, where did you get that?" The craze for the giveaway is creating a buzz on the floor.  I can be a light flashing pen, ball, balloon animal, or a puzzle.  Vendors from the trade show floor seek out a new gimmick and promotional item to keep them occupied while working the trade show floor.  Attendees collect anything that looks interesting, but vendors who do many trade shows a year have seen it all, and when something new appears, everyone must have one.

Now, the purpose of a giveaway is to draw attention to a booth, and having a unique giveaway will create a buzz.  You will quickly learn that if you have an exciting giveaway, vendors will start showing up at your booth. Other vendors will direct people over to your booth.  Personally, I have seen vendors holding or playing with another vendors giveaway and have somebody asked, "Where did you get that?"  The vendor directs them to your booth.  That is one reason why I instruct booth staff never to play with another vendor's giveaway while in the company booth.

Customized balloon giveaways are like magnets to vendors – they quickly seek out the entertainer making the creations and want one for themselves or their booth.  Which is a great marketing tool for your booth have another exhibitor advertise your giveaway?

Whatever the giveaway you chose to look for uniqueness and creativity that will cause a buzz on the trade show floors.  Skip the pens and pencils and look for something that will give you the bang for your buck and create a buzz.  If it is not going to create a buzz, why give it away?

Unique Giveaways Draws Attention

Travel up and down a trade show floor, and you will find an endless supply of pens, paper clips, and candy.  Everything you don't need or want will be given away. The purpose of a giveaway is the gimmick to draw somebody into your booth space.

Words spread quickly among vendors when a cool giveaway is on the floor.  Some vendors opt to hide the really cools stuff and only present it when a "potential" customer enters a booth.  Many times on the last day of the show vendors, handout everything just to avoid the cost of shipping the material back.

Some companies give away the same thing every show.  Does not matter what the show is, how long of an event, or how much money they are spending to participate, the giveaway will be the same. Others work very hard to associate the giveaway with a theme of the show.  Quite often, these wacky giveaways go to the kids or brought back and given away to office staff. 

Successful vendors customize the giveaways, so there is a broader meaning to the gift than just a pen.  Manufacturing companies will engrave names, cut out sports logos, or hire entertainers to create a unique giveaway that are cherished, not simply discard back at the hotel.

Water, food, gift cards are all part of the trade show giveaways that attract attention to a booth.  Many times, you have no idea what the giveaway is because it hidden behind a display, tossed on a table or booth staff is playing with it.

Do not rely on a giveaway to draw attention to a booth. Look at a giveaway as a thank you for stopping into my booth and talking with me about my product and service. Present it as a thank you and not as a snatch and grab object like some many companies do.