Introduction
In today’s Blog, we’ll see the 25 best and most creative ideas for trade show booth that you can use to attract that perfect trade show booth audience.
As a trade show booth marketer, your success starts with the people who come to visit your booth. These are the people that are interested in learning more about you based on what you’ve got going on in your exhibition booth. So it’s important to make your vendor booth attractive enough for attendees to stop by and check it out.
First, you need to know what type of people you want to stop by! Let’s see below;
4 things to remember when analyzing your trade show booth ideas and audience
- Know your audience!
- Know who will be attending the trade show!
- Why they might be attending and what they need!
- A segment who you can serve and why!
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25 best & creative ideas for trade show booth to attract more audience & make sales
1. Use Visual Appeal
Having an attractive booth is the first step to providing a great event experience.
Graphics should be appropriate and eye-catching.
When it comes to graphics, layout, size, placement, and materials matter.
Also, make sure your booth staff is well-groomed and well-versed in your products or services and the audience profile. they should have matching shirts or other means of identifying themselves as part of the booth staff.
2. Interactive Content (Simple content for trade show exhibit)
Interactive touch screens like Tablets scattered throughout your booth are a perfect way to engage with tradeshow attendees on their own terms.
They can come up to the touch screen and engage with the pre-programmed content.
The content offered can be interactive demos, videos, surveys, quizzes, or prize entries.
They’re a great way of generating leads especially if you offer things that attendees will really want. Share if you are liking these top creative ideas for trade show booths.
3. Valuable Giveaways (Trade show giveaways)
Everybody loves tradeshow swag. some attendees go with the strategy of just collecting it.
Make sure your booth has something desirable, whether it’s valuable, useful, entertaining, or fun.
The more people that want your giveaway, the more likely you can generate buzz about it and attract more audiences to your booth in the process and make more sales. This is an important point when planning unique & creative ideas for trade show booths.
4. Trade show games
Everybody loves the idea of a game competing to win.
Simple but effective, games can be used to attract attendees to your booth in droves.
They can range from simple games like trivia, jumbo board games, or golf putting, to casino-style games like prize wheels, roulette wheels, or slot machines. Just make it fun!
Successful gamification will offer rewards, inspire competition, or both. So choose based on what your audience might really enjoy. Share these creative ideas for a trade show booth with your people.
5. Contest (Trade show fashion)
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Step up and try your skills.
A contest is a form of competition that requires skill to win. it’s usually paired with a prize that is equivalent to the amount of skill needed to compete. it can be in the form of a game but it doesn’t have to be.
Contest ideas include guessing the amount of something in a container, photo contests, one that involves searching for clues to solve a riddle, a matching contest, the highest score in the game, etc.
6. Quizzes (Trade show events)
A quiz about the event, your company your product or service, or the city the event is taking place in can be a popular draw to your booth.
Quizzes are entertaining and engaging. they can trigger our competitive instincts and give a memorable experience with your brand. the best part about a quiz is that it is also informative when done right.
Quizzes can also be used to qualify your audience as potential leads or customers. Share if you are liking these creative ideas for trade show booth.
7. Competitions (Trade show competition ideas)
You can hold more structured competitions in your booths and allow your audience to judge them.
What would your audience love to see people compete on (think cooking, playing, music, singing, making up somebody’s hair or face, etc.)
You can prearrange contestants before the show event and then advertise that the audience will be the judge.
It can provide a lot of fun and entertainment, and when you add in the fact that they get to judge, you know you’re going to gather a crowd. This is a valuable point when planning creative ideas for trade show booth.
8. Trade show entertainment
Entertainment can cover a wide gamut of styles and budgets.
A simple search turns up quite a list. there are magic shows, Rubik’s Cube, art displays, chocolate carving, robots, caricaturists, comedians, musicians, and the list just goes on.
You can scale down to something like dancing robots, patrolling the trade show floor, or having entertainment locally in your booth. make sure the value of the entertainment is in line with the type of audience you’re trying to attract. Share if you are liking these creative ideas for trade show booth.
9. Trade show Prizes
Prize giveaways are usually done via a raffle, scratch-off, or some other game of chance. In this case, the value of the prize will most likely determine the attraction you receive from the giveaway.
Make sure that there is a game of chance involved and that you have a system for collecting. entries and like everything else we’ve listed make sure the prize is appropriate for your target audience.
Prizes can be electronics, vacation packages, sporting goods, your company’s products or services, utility items, tools, tickets to entertainment, etc. just be unique and be relevant.
10. Pre-Show Media Coverage
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Pre-show media coverage can be used to generate interest in your other methods of attracting an audience.
If your presence at the tradeshow event is compelling enough because of the giveaway or announcement or entertainment or competition, then you could draw media attention before the event.
One way to find out is to draft a press release detailing your compelling reason for attending the trade show event and what you plan to do there.
Distribute it to media outlets that you know are covering or have covered before the event. offer media pre-event interviews and invite their attendance to the trade show event to cover it live. you can also probably win some love from the event coordinator for the added exposure of the event as well. Share these creative trade show booth ideas with your people.
11. Free Wi-Fi Access at the trade show
Next in creative ideas for trade show booth, we’ll talk discuss free Wi-Fi access.
if the tradeshow event or hotel does not offer free Wi-Fi for attendees, create a mingling space at your booth with free Wi-Fi access.
you can display the Wi-Fi password at various places in your booth so attendees need to come around to get it.
you can rent a 4G internet provider for a few days to be able to offer Wi-Fi access to your booth attendees
using the time that people are near to network with them.
12. Free Phone Charging Station
If tradeshow attendees are engaging with their smartphones during the trade show, they’re going to be using up a lot of their batteries. when their battery gets up, they’re gonna be looking for more power.
If you have a place set up where people can lounge and recharge, both their phones and their bodies, you’re sure to attract a crowd. you can then take the time to mingle, pass out literature, offer product demos or just engage in conversation. Share these unique ideas for trade show booths with your people.
13. Pre-Show Outreach
according to a study by the Commission for exhibition industry research, exhibitors that conducted a pre-show campaign increased the conversion of booth audience to qualified leads by 50%.
use your email lists, social media, websites, and other communication channels to reach out to those you would like to see at the tradeshow.
send out invitations for meetings or product demos, give VIP access to your entertainment, hint at a special announcement, or offer only available at the tradeshow.
do what you can before the show to let people know you’ll be there and why they should see you.
14. Comment Wall (Portable trade show walls)
have a physical wall on your booth to allow people to write personal messages or comments on. encourage passers-by to come to write something.
this can be used to gather unique Intel about show attendees, based on what is written, and it’s fun to browse the wall and read what other people write and we’ll be sure to attract a crowd. Don’t skip more info on simple and creative ideas for trade show booths. Read below!
15. Formal Invitations
use formal invitations for your most important leads and customers that you would love to connect with at the tradeshow.
send out an invitation like you would to your wedding or your kid’s graduation
if possible, including free trade show tickets or other super beneficial perks to attending the trade show as your guest.
this is one of the ways you can pull out all the stops and create an experience for someone that you are really trying to impress.
if your budget allows for it, create a VIP experience of the trade shows, starting with the formal invitation. these offers can be very hard to refuse. Share these best ideas for trade show booths with your people.
16. Food and Drink in the trade show
Next in creative ideas for trade show booth, we’ll talk about food and drink.
what better way to attract people to your booth than to offer them refreshments?
trade shows get very busy and a lot of people don’t get around to eating or drinking they sure during the day. by providing a refreshment stand of some kind, you will inspire people to stop by and take advantage of it.
take this time to engage with them and perhaps qualify them for your sales.
ideas can range from simple water bottles and chips to more elaborate coffee artists and bartenders. just be sure you’re mingling in the refreshment area.
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17. Trained and Outgoing Staff
because of your efforts promoting your booth, there will be a large amount of traffic in your booth. the last thing you need at that point is for your staff to be too shy or introverted to talk to anyone.
train them on how to approach people openly with curiosity and look for ways to connect with attendees. make sure you’re training before the show gives them the answers to their questions.
18. Trade show Booth Location
this might be a no-brainer but I wanted to mention it anyway for anyone that may be new to exhibiting at trade shows.
where you are on the show floor matters.
if you’re tucked in a corner without much foot traffic you’re going to have a poor show.
when working with the event coordinator try to get as close to either the floor entrance, main aisles, any lounge, networking areas, restrooms bars, food courts, or any other area where you can reasonably assume that there will be a decent amount of foot traffic. Share these 25 creative ideas for trade show booth with your people.
19. Trade show demos
In this point of creative ideas for trade show booth, we’ll talk about Demos.
have you ever been walking through a store and noticed a crowd gathering in a certain area?
you’re attracted by the crowd and go closer to get a peek at what is going on.
in the middle of this crowd is a guy chopping up fruits and veggies with a cool-looking knife.
you just got sucked in by the power of the live demo.
giving live demo products at trade shows is a great way to draw an audience, especially if you can also make it entertaining.
people will remember your demonstration long after the event. it’s also a great way to sell direct if you brought inventory to sell.
take the opportunity to record any live demos you do at a trade show.
these creative ideas for trade show booth can be used to promote your products long after the exhibition is over.
20. Special Announcements
making a special announcement at the trade show is a great way to draw a crowd to your booth, especially if you did a good job with pre-show marketing.
this is going to be a one-time shot to get that big crowd to gather, so plan ahead what your strategy will be with this crowd.
have your staff prepared to answer questions about the announcement after it’s been made. be sure to record the announcement so that you can use it in your marketing efforts after the event is over. video of this type can be repurposed into other content marketing pieces to help grow your business. If you are liking our blog, do share these 20 creative trade show booth ideas with your colleague and friends.
21. Celebrity Appearance
having a celebrity attend your trade show is an awesome way to draw a crowd, but depending on the celebrity it’s going to require a huge budget. this is probably best combined with the entertainment tactic.
if you could book a performer to do an event during the trade show, ask them if they’d be willing to mingle in your booth for a while and sign autographs.
since you’re already paying them to be there, it might not be too much more to get this added on. Share these creative ideas for a trade show booth with your people.
22. Meetup Area
In this point of awesome ideas for the trade show booth, we’ll talk about the meetup area.
do you have room to add small networking or mingling area in or next to your booth?
having an area where people can stop and rest or speak in private with each other is usually in short supply and on a trade show floor
by providing this, along with refreshments, your booth will become an unplanned destination.
take advantage of signage and graphics to really spread your company’s message in this area.
23. Lounge Area
provide a comfortable lounge area and some refreshments and you will see quite a lot of attendees over the course of the trade show.
these last two tactics can be expensive, because of the added trade show floor space you’ll need to buy. some businesses might be better served offering a lounge as their booth instead of a traditional booth.
this really depends on your goals for the trade shows. either way, it does a great job of attracting attendees. Read more points below from the 25 best & creative ideas for trade show booth.
24. Educational Workshops
In this point of creative trade show booth ideas, we’ll talk about educational workshops.
if you can teach something valuable in a decent amount of time, you should be holding workshops that regularly scheduled times in your booth.
people attend trade shows for many reasons, but one of them is to learn.
teaching gives you the opportunity to showcase your expertise and provide value for those who attend.
value is the essence of relationships and relationships are the essence of business.
25. Use Videos (Trade show videos)
videos are a versatile tool in your tradeshow arsenal. they can be used to draw attention to your booth, they can be used to show product or service demonstrations, and they can be used to communicate with your audience.
if you’re going to use videos, be sure to have them professionally created and be very mindful of sound.
you want people to be able to hear them without being blasted by them. Share if you are liking these creative trade show booth ideas.
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Conclusion of the 25 creative ideas for trade show booth
trade show success depends on attracting an audience to your booth.
these 25 creative ideas for trade show booths are time-tested to work and use them in combination to really explode your results.
If you need help with your trade show marketing, keep reading our blogs and support.