Updated- 15th April 2024

Planning trade show booth activities is difficult. The activities you plan need to embody your brand and product, and you need to find a visually appealing way incorporate them into your trade show booth design. So to help you get started we share with you some tips to help you keep your booth planning skills sharp.

You need to consider your Budget

Budgeting is a very important criterion especially when you chalking out which interactive trade show ideas you will conduct at your trade show booth. When you budget out, how much you are willing to spend on interactive activities, it becomes easier for you to select games and activities that match your budget. Budgeting will assist you to organize your event while accounting for unforeseen costs and additional expenses. It will even help set a hard limit on the number of trade show booth ideas you can consider which can remove analysis paralysis, which often consumes the time of novice exhibitors.

Budgeting also lets you plan and safeguard your finances with contingencies that can make it easier to account for overhead expenses. Of course don’t be dogmatic about your budget if you come across any trade show marketing ideas that suit your brand better you should consider its importance and ask yourself, would this idea be possible in a trade show rental booth? Will including this idea help my brand message? Remember your budget is a road map and the map is not the territory, you should be willing and open to reconsidering your options in case you come across something more suitable for your stand design. Be willing to expand or reduce the scope of your booth setup ideas if needed.

Your activity should be in sync with your brand guidelines

When planning trade show marketing ideas for your booth you need to make sure that every element is in sync with your brand guidelines. Similarly you also need to make sure that your interactive exhibition stand ideas are coordinated with your brand image and guidelines. If the activity you choose doesn’t merge well with the brand image then it will fail to leave an impression on the audience visiting your trade show booth, wasting your best trade show booth ideas for engaging your audience.

Often exhibitors in the effort to save costs use their existing marketing collaterals which does not match the look, colour, or design of their trade show stand. This results in a dissonance for any visitors who are visiting your booth. This can especially look like a red flag to any potential vendors who would want to do business with you, since they might view you as cheap and cutting corners.

Your activity should be informative and educative

The main aim of your interactive activities, be it games or quizzes, is to inform and educate your audience about your brand and product. Brainstorm several trade show interactive ideas and pick out ones that educate the audience in a subtle way. In the end, audience must leave your trade show exhibit with more information than they had, about your brand and product. Though also consider activities that don’t align completely with promoting your brand, since this can result in you being able to pick several more trade show marketing ideas that can be used to solely promote your trade show booth design. Consider pairing together the best ideas that complement your trade show booth and brand. It can make you look more distinct and original.

Training your staff is must

Your interactive won’t go as planned unless you have a well-trained team. You need to train your staff beforehand and explain them what needs to be done. It is also important that your staff have certain skills like showing a friendly nature and politeness in tone. This will help to break the ice and get your audience excited about the activities.

It is imperative that you don’t put staff training for last. Always involve and collaborate with your team and brainstorming trade show booth ideas with them since by doing so they are more likely to be motivated to ensure that your trade show booth is a success.

Your activity shouldn’t deviate from your product

Last but not the least, your trade show ideas and your interactive activities must never deviate from brand. It is easy to get carried away especially during games, make sure that everything always revolves around your brand and highlight your marketing message. After all, getting a trade show rental booth is a costly affair as much as it is a fun activity you need to consider the bottom line.

Don’t neglect the fun factor

How much fun your audience is having is a good indicator on the success for your trade show marketing ideas.

Your trade show booth design ideas and your interactive activities must have a fun element. The sole purpose of conducting such activities is to pull more crowds and the only way to do so is by creating a fun, playful environment. Whatever games you pick make sure they are entertaining and that the people participating are having a good time. Happy crowds tend to attract a lot of attention and bring more people to your trade show booths, and a happy audience tend to not only view your brand in positive light. They also end up being ambassadors for spreading awareness for your brand.

Some Ideas to get you started

Interactive activities are one of the most useful trade show marketing ideas at trade shows. With the help of these activities you not only imprint your brand image in your consumer’s minds but also leave a positive impression on your audience. Making it more likely that your trade show rental booth succeeds. To get you started, we’ll be listing some hand-picked interactive exhibition stand ideas to augment you next trade show booth.

1. Social Media Raffle – Social media is the de facto way to reach thousands of customers, instantly. So, let’s take it to the trade show floor and turn it into an interactive game. Use a large LCD screen and a hash tag monitoring software to create a scoreboard that scans Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram for specific hashtags. Then encourage your attendees to post using your hashtag, this can be either your company name appended with the name of the trade show or your company name with the word ‘contest’ appended. You can then pick a winner every hour and notify them via their social media app, that they’ve won a prize. This maintains brand engagement even when they are walking around the trade show.

2. Gaming Consoles – This gives your attendees a reason to have fun and gives them a reason to come back. Consoles let visitors engage in social gaming. They let visitors relax at your booth and recharge their batteries with some social and competitive gaming. Consoles are great for drawing a crowd at your booth, but be sure to choose a fun game that is family friendly and fun for both genders. Video games that engage multiple players are a hit, since it will generate a greater buzz at the floor. These kind of games also let you engaging more attendees in less time.

3. Trivia Games – Trivia games remain classics for getting people hyped! They let participants show off their knowledge to their friends and colleagues. The thrill of getting the right answers is always memorable. The positive boost of winning a prize makes for good story for your brand to get associated with. The prize you provide can include branding elements which most winners will keep for a long time.

4. Counting games – A quick game to break the ice, the concept of this game is that the participant has to guess the number of objects in a transparent container. If they get the number right, then they win a prize. Counting games are a more low-key way to kick-start a conversation with visitors. Your crew gets to talk with customers and figure out how they can help them. Counting games are quick and easy to run. These games are also flexible to participant numbers. You can run this game with one participant or ten.

5. Jumbo Vision Screen – Ever heard of a Jumbo vision screen? Well it a large display used at conferences and sports events. If you’re looking to grab eyeballs at the trade floor, a Jumbo vision screen does it best. It’s like a bright, moving banner just can’t be ignored. You can use this to broadcast your video presentation but it’s best to keep it educational and also stream news and other interesting factoids. Attendees are likely to be more receptive to your brand promotions if your do that.

6. Music – Music begins to reach where words fail. A good song at the right moment is just too good to ignore. There are many ways to incorporate music in your booth. You can have a music player designed to look like a jukebox. You can use motion sensors in your booth floor to have certain tunes play when visitors walk in. If you have a dedicated lounge area at your booth, than then some cool, quiet music will make your booth more attractive to visitors.

7. Food Cart – Roaming about at a trade fair is tiring work. A movable food cart for snacks like popcorns or wafers is easy to set up. It portability also lets you move it around your trade show booth. Providing snacks is a great way to start a conversation with visitors and bring positive associations with your brand. You can also offer these snacks at a simple Quid pro quo basis, where the visitor provides his contact details in exchange for snacks.

8. Prizes and giveaways – Prizes and giveaways act as incentive and are also real crowd pleasers. Many brands, even though they are not conducting games and other activities, insist on giveaways. It acts a motive for audience to visit your trade show rental booth and participate in the games organized by you. Giveaways are a popular trade show idea adopted by brands over the period of years. They have not lost their charm even after being used repeatedly; marketers keep finding new ways to incorporate prizes and giveaways with their trade show marketing ideas.

9. Props and other accessories – Props are a good way to add a fun element to your booth. You can also use props for your interactive activities in your trade show booth. It is important that you pre-plan your activities, not only will it help in budgeting but you will also get plenty of time to make the necessary preparations, like arranging props etc. Some of the best trade show booth designs incorporate props that are interactive and allow the visitors to visibly leave their mark on the booth.

If conducted appropriately, interactive activities can be highly beneficial to your business and these tips will help you with that. Ensuring that your trade show rental booth will be resounding success and we at Expo Exhibition Stands can help you take that step. Our decades of experience helping international clients exhibit in Europe, makes one of the top trade show booth builders for delivering creative designs.