So you’ve booked your company to have a booth at a live event! This summer, we celebrate the opening of many live events in the United States, and soon to follow, Canada. I’m sure if you’re reading this, you’ve been to a million events, and are either looking to upgrade your booth or are perhaps wondering why, over the years, you don’t seem to get much foot traffic or interest in the current booth that you have. As a result, perhaps your sales are down or you return with as much product as you brought to the event.

 Over the years, we’ve attended hundreds of events and have seen booths that stand out and booth spaces that flop. One of the biggest issues we tend to see is a booth space that is dark, uninviting or flat out boring. You know what we’re talking about. There’s always that booth at a show that has a simple fold out table, no table cloth, a sales rep in a lawn chair, and a stack of brochures right next to them. The sales person looks bored, unengaged and is on their phone or eating a sandwich from the snack bar, and so event attendees simply pass by with zero interest in learning about what product or service is for sale. 

Creating a fun, exciting and inviting booth space doesn’t need to cost a lot! At times, it’s a matter of simply reconfiguring the space, adding some more lighting or brighter colors, and perhaps an engaging activity or giveaway to get passersby' to give you just a moment of their time so you can chit chat with them about what you have to offer. 

 If you have your marketing plan in place, or are thinking of adjusting it, the “icing on the cake” can be your booth. Interested in learning what steps you can take to take your set up to the next level?

 1. Hire Event Staff - By hiring event staff, you expand conversations, product demonstrations, and increase consumer interaction. Hiring event staff through an external agency can not only help reduce costs associated with paying for travel for in-house employees, it can also assist with engaging and keeping customers in the booth should your sales person or product specialist be tied up in a conversation. With brand ambassadors wearing branded shirts, even guests who walk by and do not visit your booth see your logo visually. The amount of people that interact with more staff at your booth increases, conversations are continued, and key value points of your product are highlighted. Interested in learning more about how to book event staff at your booth? Contact us here.

2. Update your location - When selecting your booth in vendor registration take a look at available options for your location. New to the event? Ask event management what areas are most successful with previous vendors. Know the event well? Look at seminar schedules, luncheon areas, or stages that may generate organic foot traffic and place your booth there. Entrances and exits are popular places for vendors to set up as they are always having a flow of people walk by. If someone in your company has attended this event previously, ask them how their experience was and gain more insight into the flow of attendees. The higher visibility of your booth—the greater chances of success!

3. Giveaways or Games - Having a potential customer walk away with your logo and a great experience while at your booth is crucial for your post-event success. There are many different ways to achieve this! Prizes with an interactive game, gifts with purchase, free item for registering, or coupons for future purchases are all great ideas to boost customer takeaways and to gain potential new business. Looking for ideas? Check out our list of top 10 giveaways at events here. Games get groups of people involved together to have fun while learning more about your business!

 4. Reamping Design - Giving your booth, lighting and design an overhaul can add a fresh new take to your  brand. Your booth should be eye-catching and also inviting to attendees that are walking by. Simple changes such as new banners, lighting, and layout can greatly improve the approachability of your booth! Need tips, suggestions or referrals for updating the design of your booth? Contact us to start the discussion.

Every event we attend is unique, and the target market of your brand is always evolving.

At Backwoods Promotions we encourage all of our clients, and future clients, to contact us about how event staff can enhance their live event success!