Most marketing people think that customers and prospects come to exhibitor booths to learn about products and services. But what they come for the prizes – the merch. Some exhibitors try to make this distribution quick and easy: spin a wheel, win a prize, scan a badge, or collect a business card.
That’s a mistake.
The aim should be to keep people in the booth longer, rather than just grabbing their info, handing out swag and sending them on their way.
When people see others hanging around a booth, they get curious and want to check it out themselves. What am I missing out on?
So how can you make people stay? Here’s a fun booth idea for trade shows.
A QR code hunt.
Hide QR codes all over your booth space – 5 or 10. Each code can link to specific products, videos, whatever. Attendees have to find all the codes to win the prize. Hide the codes among products on display, or under tables, on computer monitors, behind chairs, on employees’ sleeves or backs, in marketing materials, or under stacks of brochures. Anywhere that people will hang around and look with their phones out.
You’ll have attendees crawling on the floor, turning over chairs, or peeking behind screens to find hidden QR codes.
PS – this idea comes from the Marketing Ideas Newsletter by Tom Orbach – Tom publishes new ideas every week.
It’s good stuff.
