At various 2007 shows, Icon Exhibits gave booth visitors the soft sell — literally. Booth staffers armed attendees with Nerf foam-dart guns and positioned them in front of a touchscreen monitor featuring a moving video image of a bull’s-eye target. Attendees took their best shot at hitting the target, and when they did, one of Icon’s key messages popped up on the screen. The activity allowed staffers to interact with attendees in a fun, light-hearted way; plus, attendees took away Icon’s key messages — and their own Nerf weapon — without feeling under the gun.
When are shorts considered proper business attire? When your company is based in sunny Bermuda, home of the titular short pants. At the 2006 Magic Marketplace show in Las Vegas, the tropical-island based Royall Family of Fragrances dressed its booth staff in blazers, dress shirts, black knee-high socks, and Bermuda shorts. The less-than-standard booth uniform attracted attendees’ attention and created an amusing icebreaker. To make the tropical connection as crystal clear as the translucent-blue ocean surrounding the island, Royall Family Fragrances also offered a tempting in-booth promotion — it raffled off a trip to Bermuda
— to entice attendees to linger in the booth and chat with staffers.
 There’s something about being destructive that appeals to most manly men. So at the 2007 Journal of Light Construction Live Midwest show in Minneapolis, Bosch Tool Corp. developed an in-booth activity — the Bosch Drop Zone — that let attendees give in to their inner damage demon. Lured in to the exhibit by the chance to win a new tool, attendees climbed the steps to a 5-foot-tall platform, where booth staffers handed them a Bosch drill. Attendees then raised the drill overhead and dropped it, sending it crashing to the floor. If the drill broke and staffers weren’t able to fix it in two minutes or less, the attendee won a cordless drill kit. If the drill didn’t break, attendees walked away with a Bosch drill bit as a consolation prize. During the two-day show, only 10 drills were broken beyond repair, but more importantly, 600 to 700 drill-dropping attendees walked away with not only an unforgettable experience, but hands-on knowledge of the drill’s durability as well. Bosch has plans to recycle the effective in-booth activity and future shows, adopting the old adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
 Most adults have fond memories of their childhood playgrounds where they learned important lessons such as how to play well with others. So to demonstrate how well its communications technology works with other networks, Siemens Communications Inc. built a playground of sorts in its booth at VoiceCon San Francisco 2007. Featuring a toy-filled sandbox and children’s beach toys, the 20-by-30-foot exhibit included grass-colored carpeting, a lemonade-stand reception desk, and a wooden-fence back wall — all of which communicated the “we play well with others” theme and took attendees back to a kinder, happier place.
|
|
 Seeing really is believing. During the 2007 GreenBuild Conference & Expo, Ansul Inc. found an effective way to demonstrate its Sapphire product, a clear liquid that extinguishes flames without damaging electronics. Prior to the show, staffers filled a 15-gallon aquarium with Ansul’s Sapphire liquid and placed a plugged-in 17-inch monitor showing a product demo inside. During the show, attendees couldn’t help but gawk at the submerged yet fully functional monitor. Some brave attendees even dunked their PDAs and cell phones in the liquid in a high-stakes test of the company’s claims. Once attendees were hooked, staffers invited them to drop a lit match into the tank. But before each flame reached the liquid, the product’s rising gas put it out, extinguishing the fire, but igniting attendees’ interest in the company’s product.
 Ross Video Ltd. wanted to make sure its booth visitors survived the rigors of the trade show floor — and remembered Ross Video after their visits. So at the 2006 National Association of Broadcasters show, the broadcasting-technology company handed out a survival kit to keep attendees prepared for the demands of the day. Dry lips from talking to vendors? Pull out the branded lip balm. Germy palms from shaking hands with endless exhibitors? Use the hand sanitizer. Breath reminiscent of yesterday’s coffee? Munch on a mint from the branded container. A small black bag featuring the company’s name and logo held these items along with a CD full of company information, such as contact numbers and product pricing and descriptions. The handy-dandy kit gave attendees the necessary tools to survive the show — and ensured that Ross Video’s name remained in attendees’ memories, and perhaps even in their medicine kits, long after the show was over.
Few things say “Green” better than trees. That’s why TWI Group Inc. distributed roughly 300 tube-encased seedling-sized pine trees at the 2007 TS² show to get the word out about its Green services. In keeping with its Green theme and tree-friendly giveaway, the company also printed its collateral on both sides of recycled paper, and booth staffers scanned business cards and handed the originals back to visitors for a second use.
What's The Big Idea?
Do you have a clever exhibit-related tip? Did your last exhibit have an über-cool traffic builder?
Contact Janet Van Vleet [email protected].
|
