Optimizing Your Booth’s Walk-by Experience

September 17, 2019

Zach Handa

Zach Handa is an in-house digital marketing specialist responsible for SEO at AnyPromo, a promotional products distributor. 

Have you optimized your booth’s walk-by experience? When trade show attendees walk by your booth or display, it only takes them an instant to decide if your booth is interesting. This instant impression, sometimes called a thin slice, can make or break the success of your exhibition.

In order to have a good instant impression, you need two things:

  1. To get people’s attention
  2. To communicate value

Getting Attention

You may notice that the lion’s share of foot traffic at trade shows typically goes to those who can command attention. If you’re not naturally gifted with magnetism though, don’t worry. Getting attention is a learnable skill.

You can get others to notice you by engaging the senses:

  • Sight: Visually attractive exhibitions and exhibitors are time-tested ways to get people to look.
  • Sound: Having an activity that involves laughter and cheering can actually get you even more attention than just playing music.
  • Smell/Taste: Fragrant treats like hot chocolate will get passersby to physically stop to investigate the source of the scent.
  • Touch/Feel: We don’t recommend touching people. We do, however, recommend having cooling towels if it’s hot out and lip balm all year round.

Getting event attendees to look at you is a victory but it’s just the first step. They have to decide that you have something they want and come over.

Communicating Value

Once you’ve grabbed the consciousness of passersby, you have split seconds to show that your booth is worth more than just a glance. This is where your thin slice comes into play.

Thin slicing, popularized in Malcolm Gladwell’s book Blink, refers to the process of making inferences about an individual or situation from just a first impression. Everything that’s observed during this first impression is a thin slice.

In the context of presenting at a convention or trade show, there are two things you want to control people’s first impression of:

  1. The exhibitor and booth
  2. What you do

Optimizing first impressions of your exhibitor and booth is pretty straightforward – be friendly and keep your booth clean. This primarily leaves communicating what you do. While folks can just ask, it saves you a lot of time if everyone knows what you’re offering before they come to talk to you.

Here are some suggestions to help you ensure nobody has to ask what you’re offering:

  • Put it in your name. Everyone knows what Joe’s Plumbing does as a business because it’s in the name.
  • Put your exhibit staff in a uniform. A uniform or signature colors can often be just as powerful as a business name.
  • Put it on a sign. A sign expands your possibilities, you can also put attractive promotions that increase perceived value.
  • Shout it out. If you have an attractive offer you can shout out in one or two words, you should just shout it out like the peanut guy at baseball games.

The Optimized Walk-By Experience

With something to grab attention and clearly communicated value, your company can have a great walk-by experience and benefit from greater success at trade shows.

Once your audience not only notices you but knows what you do, you’ll have a much easier time at trade shows. You’ll not only get an opportunity to talk to more people, but you’ll also find these they are more likely to pre-qualify themselves for what you have to offer.

 

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Overview: The award-winning Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) goes the extra mile to make every day extraordinary by offering customer service excellence and industry-leading partnerships. From their dedicated in-house Rigging team to their robust Exhibitor Services, The Center of Hospitality brings your imagination to life by helping you host unforgettable meetings and events. With more than 2 million square feet of exhibit space, world-class services and a dream destination, we are committed to making even the most ambitious conventions a reality. In October 2023, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners voted to approve allocating Tourist Development Tax funding for the $560 million Phase 5A completion of the OCCC. The Convention Way Grand Concourse project will include enhancements to the North-South Building, featuring an additional 60,000 square feet of meeting space, an 80,000- square-foot ballroom and new entry to the North-South Building along Convention Way. “We are thrilled to begin work on completing our North-South Building which will allow us to meet the growing needs of our clients,” said OCCC Executive Director Mark Tester. “As an economic driver for the community, this project will provide the Center with connectivity and meeting space to host more events and continue to infuse the local economy with new money and expanding business opportunities.” Amenities: The Center of Hospitality goes above and beyond by offering world-class customer service and industry-leading partnerships. From the largest convention center Wi-Fi network to custom LAN/WAN design, the Center takes pride in enhancing exhibitor and customer experience.  The OCCC is the exclusive provider of electricity (24-hour power at no additional cost), aerial rigging and lighting, water, natural gas and propane, compressed air, and cable TV services. Convenience The Center is at the epicenter of the destination, with an abundance of hotels, restaurants, and attractions within walking distance. Pedestrian bridges connect both buildings to more than 5,200 rooms and is within a 15-minute drive from the Orlando International Airport. The convenience of the location goes hand-in-hand with top notch service to help meet an event’s every need. Gold Key Members The OCCC’s Gold Key Members represent the best of the best when it comes to exceptional service and exclusive benefits for clients, exhibitors and guests. The Center’s Gold Key memberships with Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld Orlando and Walt Disney World greatly enhance meeting planner and attendee experiences offering world-renowned venues, immersive experiences and creative resources for their events. OCCC Events: This fiscal year, the OCCC is projected to host 168 events, 1.7 million attendees, and $2.9 billion in economic impact.  The Center’s top five events during their 2022-2023 fiscal year included:  AAU Jr. National Volleyball Championships 2023 200,000 Attendees $257 Million in Economic Impact MEGACON 2023 160,000 Attendees $205 Million in Economic Impact Open Championship Series 2023 69,500 Attendees $89 Million in Economic Impact Sunshine Classic 2023 42,000 Attendees $54 Million in Economic Impact Premiere Orlando 2023 42,000 Attendees $108 Million in Economic Impact