Four Ways to Make Your Trade Show Booth Worth Remembering

July 24, 2018

Ben Hindman

Ben Hindman is co-founder and CEO of Splash, the fastest-growing end-to-end event marketing technology used by more than half of the Fortune 500. Prior to starting Splash, Ben was the Director of Events at Thrillist, where he produced large-scale events from concerts to mystery fly-aways. He is also a co-founder of the Summit Series, the renowned invite-only destination event for the greatest minds in tech.

Your conference sponsorship fee might have been expensive, but it's not your entire investment. You’re competing with hundreds, sometimes thousands, of brands on the exhibition floor. And to make it worthwhile, you have to spend between 25-50 percent more to create a unique experience that actually drives conversations.

If you’re only using what the conference provided as part of the sponsorship, you’ll inevitably look and feel like everyone else. So, how do you ensure your booth stands out? Create memories  memories that will stick with your visitors far after they leave.

To create those memories, you have to first understand how humans create memories. Consider these four things:

1. People remember feelings

People won’t always remember how you communicated or what you said but they’ll always remember how you made them feel.

Think about what emotion you want an attendee to feel when they get to your booth. Will they feel inspired? Will they feel excited? Will they feel understood?

When you start the conversation, avoid launching into a product pitch or ordinary questions like, “How’s the conference going for you?” I’ve started conversations with openers as absurd as “Is an avocado a fruit? And if so, is it the best fruit?”

Make your booth a special and inviting place. Introduce booth attendees to other booth visitors. Rent comfortable furniture and cushiony carpet. Encourage relevant, contextual conversations by ensuring your booth staff knows about the content and session schedule for the day.

2. People remember surprises

It’s a scientific fact: encountering the unexpected actually creates memories in your brain.

Think of what you can bring to the booth that’s completely out-of-the-box. For example, indulge all five senses by exposing attendees to a specific scent, giving them something textured to hold or offering unique foods. Provide entertainment that will shock and delight your booth visitors, such as having food prepared by a local chef, who leads visitors through a unique tasting of grilled cheeses paired with different types of tequila. 

You can even incorporate the power of surprise by giving booth visitors special “exclusive access” or a “key” to your satellite events hosted after the conference in a cool location with a surprise performer. 

3. People remember simplicity

When people read, they function on short-term memory. 

Avoid complex language. Ensure your messaging is simple, clear and easy-to-remember – your booth should talk. Your signage should qualify your booth traffic, so you don’t have to. The overall experience should give you and your team more time to spend with people who are actually interested.

4. People remember repetition

Repetition is crucial in pre-event communications. Ensure you’re targeting your audience with the same messaging across invites, social messaging and ads. That way, they’ll remember you before they’ve even met you.

Keep the repetition going after the booth. If you have the luxury of having a few days to ramp up your conference presence, give yourself at least two days to qualify booth traffic and ramp up networking. If you’re at a four-day conference, schedule a VIP dinner or big satellite event on day three. Then, invite those people to your events when they’re at the highest point of engagement.

 

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Partner Voices
Less than six months ago, Lisa Messina joined the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) as the first-ever chief sales officer after leading the sales team at Caesars Entertainment. A 12-year Las Vegas resident, Messina is a graduate of Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and serves on MPI International’s board of directors. TSNN had a chance to catch up with this dynamic leader and talk to her about her vision for the new role, current shifts in the trade show industry, creating more diversity and equity within the organization, and advice to future female leaders. Lisa Messina, Chief Sales Officer, LVCVA With Las Vegas becoming The Greatest Arena on EarthTM, what are some of the things you’re most excited about in your role? Our team was at The Big Game’s handoff ceremony earlier this month, and I couldn’t help but think, “We’re going to crush it next year!”  These high-profile events and venues not only drive excitement, but also provide unmatched opportunities for event planners. Allegiant Stadium hosts events from 10 to 65,000 people and offers on-field experiences. Formula 1 Grand Prix will take place in Las Vegas in November, after the year-one F1 race, the four-story paddock building will be available for buyouts and will also offer daily ride-along experiences that will be available for groups. And, of course, the MSG Sphere officially announced that it will open in September, ahead of schedule, with a U2 residency. It’s going to be the most technologically advanced venue as far as lighting, sound, feel, and even scent, and it will be available for buyouts and next-level sponsorships inside and outside. There’s no ceiling to what you can do when you’re doing events in Las Vegas.  Allegiant Stadium As the trade show and convention business returns to the pre-pandemic levels, what shifts are you noticing and how do you think they will impact the industry going forward? Our trade show organizers are very focused on driving customer experience. Most of our organizers are reporting stronger exhibitor numbers and increased numbers of new exhibitors, with trade shows proving to be almost or above 2019 levels. Now our organizers are really doubling down on driving attendance and focusing on the data to provide that individualized, customized experience to help attendees meet their goals and get the best value. Some companies continue to be cautiously optimistic with their organizational spend when it comes to sending attendees, but I think it will continue to improve. As the U.S. Travel Association makes more progress on the U.S. visa situation, we also expect a growing influx of international attendees. What are some innovative ways the LVCVA helps trade show and convention organizers deliver the most value for their events? We focus on customer experience in the same way that trade show organizers are thinking about it. We got rave reviews with the West Hall Expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), so over the next two years, we will be renovating the North and the Central halls, which will include not just the same look and feel, but also the digital experiences that can be leveraged for branding and sponsorship opportunities.  Vegas Loop, the underground transportation system designed by The Boring Company, is also a way we have enhanced the customer experience. Vegas Loop at the LVCC has transported more than 900,000 convention attendees across the campus since its 2021 launch. Last summer, Resorts World and The Boring Company opened the first resort stop at the Resorts World Las Vegas , with plans to expand throughout the resort corridor, including downtown Las Vegas, Allegiant Stadium and Harry Reid International Airport. The LVCVA also purchased the Las Vegas Monorail in 2020, the 3.9-mile-long elevated transportation system that connects eight resorts directly to the convention center campus. This is the only rail system in the world that integrates fares directly into show badges and registration. For trade show organizers, these transportation options mean saving time, money and effort when it comes to moving groups from the hotels to LVCC and around the city. Also, the more we can focus on building the infrastructure around the convention center, the more it supports the customer experience and ultimately supports our trade show organizers. Scheduled to debut in Q4, Fontainebleau Las Vegas will offer 3,700 hotel rooms and 550,000 square feet of meeting and convention space next to LVCC.  What are some of the plans for advancing DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) within your organization? We’re currently partnering with instead of working with a leading consulting firm, to lay the foundation and create a solid DEI plan and be the leader when it comes to DEI initiatives. The heart of that journey with the consulting firm is also talking to our customers about their strategic approaches to DEI and driving innovation in this space.  What are your favorite ways to recharge? My husband and I have an RV and we’re outdoorsy people. So, while we have over 150,000 world-class hotel rooms and renowned restaurants right outside our doorstep, one of my favorite things to do is get out to Red Rock Canyon, the Valley of Fire, and Lake Mead. Five of the top national parks are within a three-hour drive from Las Vegas, so there’s a lot you can do. We love balancing the energy of Las Vegas with nature, and we’re noticing that a lot of attendees add activities off the Strip when they come here.  Valley of Fire What advice would you give to women following leadership paths in destination marketing? I think it’s about being laser-focused on what you want to accomplish; building a team around you that lifts you and helps you achieve your goals; and being humble and realizing that you do it as a group. No one gets this done alone. Thankfully, there are a lot of women in leadership in this organization, in our customers’ organizations, and in this city that we can be really proud of. We’re a formidable force that is making things happen.   This interview has been edited and condensed. This article is exclusively sponsored by the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority. For more information, visit HERE.