‘Trade show giveaways’ Articles
Written by Ken Newman on 20 July 2010
Hey Newman: I just got back from attending a trade show in Vegas and from the look of things, it seemed that most of the people staffing the booths just didn’t want to be there. Don’t you think there’s a much cheaper way to have a lousy time? —Gail from New York
This is a message for trade show vendors: At your next show, sneak up on your own booth. That’s right, pop out from around a corner about 10 yards back and take a good, honest look at your investment.
Do your booth staffers look like sad little wallflowers?
Do they look like kids at a high school social afraid to ask someone to dance?
Is there a guy sitting expressionless in front of a glass bowl of Hershey’s Kisses, wondering why no one is coming up to talk to him?
This “condition” is more common then you might think, especially with the smaller booths. At one recent show, I walked around and paid particular attention to the 5 x10 and 10 x10 booths. Often they’re manned by just two or three people who are so uncomfortable they’re burying their heads in books or dabbling with smartphones — just sitting there waiting for it all to be over.
I looked at these people and found myself thinking about Neil Strauss, a contributing editor at Rolling Stone best known for penning a book called, The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists. This was the inside story of guys who despite NOT being the most attractive males out there, pick up women with absolute ease. Strauss not only researched this “secret society,” he became arguably one of the top pickup artists in the world and actually started conducting workshops for the undesirable and uninitiated.
At the heart of this book is a philosophy about “how to engage people.” He argues that if you’re going to try to pick up a woman in a bar, you don’t say, “Can I buy you a drink?” You don’t ask anything that could elicit a “no” response. Instead, you “engage” her. You contrive a story seemingly playing out before her eyes and ask, “What do you think?” Yes, it’s an opening line. But it’s an opening line that’s not clichéd or overwrought; it’s a question that pulls this woman into a story with you through her advice or involvement.
Strauss’ philosophy is hardly limited to the world of pickup artists. “Engagement” is something that most certainly can be applied to trade show marketing. I was observing the booth staff at this recent trade show, and they weren’t engaging anyone. First of all, they’re sitting. Rule No. 1: No sitting! Secondly, even when standing, they look positively miserable. If you’re spending that kind of money at a trade show and you’re planning to go there with the attitude that you’d rather be anywhere else, then don’t go! And before you say a couple of staffers don’t represent the “enthusiasm of the company,” remember that these faces are your company for the purposes of these crucial three trade show days. They are the representative image of you and the images that attendees will remember.
Honestly, if I had some sort of magisterial banishment power, King Newman would have sent home half the people working this particular trade show. If you’re going to look bored — if you’re going to feel miserable — find another way to market your services.
Here’s the ironic thing: A lot of these same people will spend a fortune on search engine optimization, which is designed to drive traffic to their site. But they don’t spend any energy driving traffic into their booth. And that doesn’t necessarily mean hiring a trade show presenter like me but perhaps a crowd gatherer — at least someone with people skills! If the person in your booth is not the type who can go up to a perfect stranger and strike up a conversation, then they’re the wrong person to be at the show.
You need to find someone who is not just a technical expert; you also need your company’s best pickup artist.
Have an industry-related question? Send “Newman” an e-mail and get your inquiry answered on the blog.
Tags: Booth staff, booth traffic, engagement, passion, pickup artists
Posted in Booth design, Booth staff, Trade show giveaways, Trade show news & trends, Trade show presentations, Trade shows & social media | 2 Comments »
Written by Ken Newman on 29 June 2010
Hey Newman, all you have to do is pick up a newspaper to see that we’re in a VERY serious climate right now. I know as a trade show presenter, your approach is to balance content and comedy. Are you still finding it appropriate to be funny, or are companies so sensitive about everything that they want strictly informational presentations? —Karen from P.A.
Karen, you’re right. A lot of companies are in a serious mood right now and are concerned whether laughter in presentations is appropriate. Generally speaking, companies have the tendency to hide behind, “We have a serious message.” The fact is, every organization has a serious message. Business is serious stuff. But there are a million ways to communicate that message.
Haven’t we all gone to the movies where we’ve seen a “serious” film, and found ourselves laughing? You might be laughing through your tears. Or crying through the laughter. But the power of the film, its message still comes through.
If you’re going to impart information — especially if it’s difficult-to-grasp, complicated information — people are more likely to remember it if they’re laughing about it.
I had a Chemistry teacher in high school who made the dullest material come to life through story-telling, crazy props and even costumes. His classes were like 45 minutes of stand-up punctuated by the occasional explosion. I’m sure you have your own version of that science teacher, and I’m sure you remember a lot of what they taught you.
To appreciate the lasting power of humor, all you have to do is walk up to someone on the street (preferably 30 and up) and say, “Remember ‘The Puffy Shirt’ episode of Seinfeld?” Instantly, that person’s face will brighten and they’ll start quoting lines from it … despite how many years it has been since that person saw it on TV. For my generation, you can do the same experiment reminiscing about the campfire scene in “Blazing Saddles,” or your favorite Monty Python sketch.
There’s plenty of evidence to support laughter as a highly effective memory device. When you have a booth of people laughing about something, you can ask them two hours later “what was so funny?” and they’ll be able to tell you not only what was funny, but the substance behind the joke. They remember. And in the same way, they will remember your company and your featured product or service.
I have watched scores of trade show presentations over the past few months, and the vast majority of them are horrible. About as riveting as watching paint dry.* No laughter. No smiles. Just a lot of vacant stares. The presentations are little more than a staged reading of a product white paper, followed by, “Thank you very much” and “Here’s your free shirt.”
Ask someone what they remember two hours after a presentation like THAT, and they’ll say, “Um … well I did get the free shirt.”
(By the way, I actually did find a video of paint drying on YouTube. Watch it and judge for yourself.)
Have an industry-related question? Send “Newman” an e-mail and get your inquiry answered on the blog.
Tags: humor, live presentations, storytelling, trade show trends
Posted in Trade show giveaways, Trade show news & trends, Trade show presentations | No Comments »
Written by Ken Newman on 08 June 2010
Hey Newman, I’m back from my last trade show and just got done wading through about 10 pounds of brochures, flyers and press releases. I hate to admit it, but most of it is now on it’s way to the recycle center. Is this my fault or the exhibitors’? —Jeffrey in Redwood City
Jeffrey, I want you to imagine this: It’s Monday night, and you’ve just blocked out two hours for the season finale of “24.” During the next 120 minutes, as Jack Bauer saves everyone from everything, how often do you think you’ll see him with armfuls of papers, rustling through them for reference while he’s disarming a bomb or finding the bad guys? Never. Why? Because it’s on his phone. It’s on his thumb drive. It’s on his laptop or if and when there’s “24: The Movie,” on his iPad. It’s all about quick, simple, efficient, on-demand information access — especially when TV lives are on the line.
At the core, the trade show world isn’t very different. The smart companies are getting away from traditional media entirely. The trend started with moving from glossy paper handouts to CDs … then to 1 gig thumb drives. The next logical step is to point all those iPhone and iPad-toting attendees to a dedicated website landing page. Why burn through paper and budget when you can just direct people to YourNameHere.com/Interop? Virtually every trade show attendee has a handheld digital device, or two. Now it’s up to all of us to utilize them. In the meantime, exhibitors featuring innovative ways to share information will continue to best the booths with stacks and stacks of paper. At a recent show, one company was handing out 2-gig storage drives that were the no larger than a credit card. All that literature that would get trashed, was now treasured right there next to your Amex card. Brilliant.
Oh yeah, and those high capacity storage devices also lend themselves beautifully to video testimonials, product demos and other things that paper just can’t deliver.
I believe that attendees need to take some responsibility for this problem as well. Just last month I watched someone at McCarran Airport in Las Vegas, going through their trade show bag and dumping just about EVERYTHING into the trash. Well, they DID rescue the t-shirts and flying monkeys …
Attendees should ask themselves — while still at the show — if they really need all those papers. They should also be asking the exhibitors if they have a green, travel-friendly alternative. If exhibitors find themselves going home with almost all of the literature they showed up with, how fast do you think they’ll adjust? Immediately!
Jeffrey, it’s not just about being green; it’s about being smart … and taking advantage of all the opportunities available in the digital trade show world.
Have an industry-related question? Send “Newman” an e-mail and get your inquiry answered on the blog.
Tags: digital devices, going green, trade show trends
Posted in Booth staff, Going green at trade shows, Lead generation & follow up, Trade show giveaways, Trade show news & trends, Trade shows & social media | 6 Comments »
Written by Ken Newman on 07 May 2010
1) Realize smaller can be better
When selecting your booth size, keep in mind that investing in a 20×40 might not guarantee you a more successful show. A smaller booth that is constantly packed is a lot less expensive than a large half-empty booth and will generate much more excitement. Think of your last dinner party. Doesn’t everyone seem to congregate in the smallest room in the house?
2) Make sure your booth staff is ready to talk to attendees
That means don’t sit down. Avoid standing in groups of two or more fellow staffers. Stand near the aisles. Look out at the crowd and make eye contact. Smile. Don’t say, “Can I help you?” They’ll say, “NO.” Instead, look at their name tags. Use their name. Ask them what their company does. Invite them into the booth. Now you’re getting somewhere.
3) Quickly follow up on leads
Three-quarters of the leads generated at trade shows are never followed up on … and when they are followed up, it tends to be way too late. Those 2,000 leads you got don’t mean anything if you don’t do something with them. You need a way to categorize your leads as “HOT,” “warm” and “cold” — and with hot leads, there’s no such thing as getting in touch too soon. First contact should come within days of the trade show’s end. When weeks or months go by, you just end up lumped together with all the other SPAM.
4) Use giveaways to build booth traffic
BUT, don’t just give stuff away. USE that giveaway item to quiz the audience on what they’ve just heard. Use it to get them to ask questions. You can also use higher-priced giveaways (from thumb drives to HD TVs to wads of cash) as an incentive to get people to the demo stations and get them into the booth. And consider “green” giveaways. Cheaply made swag just ends up in the trash and then in landfills. You want your giveaways to last … so that attendees hold onto your branded item as long as possible.
5) Keep product demos short
Seven minutes is ideal. Ten minutes is the limit. Fifteen minutes … Get the hook! Trade show attendees have a lot of real estate to cover. Don’t feel you have to tell them your entire story. Pique their interest. Get them to want to know more. Get them into the booth.
6) Limit your seating
A seating area with 50 chairs is intimidating. Few people want to be the first to sit down. Also, if you have an audience of 25 people, it still looks half empty. But with a dozen or so seats, you’re looking at a standing-room-only crowd. People walking by will be more interested in what’s going on if all the seats are full. It’s only natural to wonder what could be going on over there.
7) Have at least one crowd gatherer
We are not talking about scantily clad eye candy for your booth. We’re talking about warm, engaging, gregarious greeters. We’re talking about men and women who know how to chat up people in the aisles, ask them questions, invite them into your booth, introduce them to your knowledgeable (and well-trained) staff. These crowd gatherers will continue to invite people to stop and listen even after the presentation has begun. If you skip the crowd gatherers because of the stereotypes, you’re doing yourself a disservice.
8 ) Insist on an “open” booth design
Think about the lines. Think about the traffic flow. And think about how much you enjoyed the last time you couldn’t find your car in a parking garage. Try to design your booth in a way where there are virtually no impediments in any direction for someone coming in or someone going out. Make the booth’s architecture as open as possible to create maximum flow. You want people to just stroll through and almost accidentally find themselves in the booth. Booth layout and thoughtfulness has much more to do with success than booth size and “impressiveness.”
9) Do your pre-show work!
Promote in advance using social media. Send e-blasts to prospective attendees. Offer up a promotional tease to get people into the booth before the show even starts. Tweet from the trade show floor with your latest news and special offers. Utilize video. Do a “Live from the Trade Show Floor” spot and a daily wrap-up. Announce news and promotions with all the fanfare a live recording can offer. Make it short, interesting and something to get people excited in anticipation of your event.
10) Utilize a professional presenter
Bippy the Mime making a workstation out of balloons may be impressive, but it’s not likely to ensure you qualified leads. Have someone represent your company who is engaging, knowledgeable and will interact with the audience. Most trade show demos seem to be staged readings of marketing white papers. Whether you hire a professional presenter or not, don’t do this … under any circumstances. Everyone talks about “24/7, valued-added solutions.” Your audience will tune out. Say it in layman’s terms, and say it with passion. Find a reason to truly care about your subject matter.
This article originally appeared as a guest contribution on the ChoiceVendor.com blog. We’ll return next week to the usual Q&A format. If you have an industry-related question, send “Newman” an e-mail and get your inquiry answered on the blog.
Tags: Booth design, Booth staff, crowd gathering, lead follow up, targeted giveaways
Posted in Booth design, Booth staff, Going green at trade shows, Lead generation & follow up, Trade show giveaways, Trade show news & trends, Trade show presentations, Trade shows & social media | No Comments »
Written by Ken Newman on 17 April 2010
Hey Newman, We exhibit at about four trade shows a year, and I’ve yet to do one that didn’t give me a headache. And I mean that literally. Is it the noise? Dehydration? I know you’re not a doctor, but what do you think? –Ann in San Francisco
As part of our ongoing dialogue with the green marketing experts at The Good Mix, we’d like to turn our attention this week to the incredible toxicity of trade show carpeting. You can smell it when you walk onto the trade show floor. Some people have allergic reactions. It emanates from the backing materials and carpets themselves. Breathing in the fumes for three days is bad enough for trade show attendees — and for those of us who make a living on trade show floors it’s an even bigger issue. Inhaling VOC (volatile organic compounds) can absolutely give you a headache. But far more seriously, those VOC’s have been linked to asthma and cancer. And when that carpeting ends up in landfills, it becomes an environmental problem that affects us all. Trade shows should be about the fun of dynamic presentations and the excitement of new products; it should be about the “atmosphere” of the event … not the actual atmosphere.
The good news is the trade show floor is an environment that’s controllable. It’s temporal (built and shut down) as opposed to the L.A. freeway. We can change the materials at these events. We can even change the trade show culture, and with it the “default” materials and products used.
There are companies that create carpet squares made from 100% recycled materials, lowering the amount of carpet that ends up in landfills releasing toxins into the air. There are low- and no-VOC paints for booths. There are plenty of alternatives to using vinyl, which is one of the greatest toxic offenders in the industry (and most industries).
Management companies pride themselves on giving out presentation awards such as “Top New Product.” What if they created incentives for their exhibitors buying booth space along with a “Top Green Exhibitor” award? What if the following year that exhibitor got a discount on booth space or better yet, preferred exhibit space in a prime location for having the greenest booth, most sustainable giveaways and smallest carbon footprint?
There are ways to have a friendlier trade show environment and incentivize the process to keep all parties happy. It will just take a few good ideas and a lot of commitment.
And if you’re looking for some information on how to “green” your trade show presence, please contact Janet at The Good Mix. She’s a great resource.
Do you have an industry-related question you’d like answered on “Hey Newman”? Send him an e-mail and get your inquiry answered on the blog.
Tags: Booth design, going green, trade show trends
Posted in Booth design, Going green at trade shows, Trade show giveaways, Trade show news & trends | 2 Comments »
Written by Ken Newman on 17 November 2009
Hey Newman, I don’t want to tweet and there’s nothing you can do to make me. That’s not really a question, but I wanted to say it anyway. –Scared in Seattle
Okay, SIS, I hear you. People are still very resistant to jump into the whole Twitter thing … especially when I move from talking about 140 characters to “advanced” tweeting techniques such as leaving Twitter video messages.
I know you’re busy and are afraid that Twitter will be a big time-wasting machine. But it’s not like you need to have a Twitter Department and hire a CTO (Chief Tweeting Officer). Just throw yourself into the mix. There’s absolutely no downside to creating a very simple Twitter profile—even if it’s just a profile directly related to your presence at an upcoming trade show. It costs nothing to do.
In fact, most companies have already taken that first step and do have a profile set up. It’s just not being used in any meaningful way. So, here’s a start: Tweet from the trade show floor with your latest news and a special offer only for the first 50 people to drop by the booth. Get comfortable with that, and then read the next paragraph when you’re ready to start really enhancing your trade show presence through Twitter Power.
Twitter & Video: Marriage Made in Trade Show Heaven
Okay, 140 characters of text is a good start. But it’s hard to distinguish yourself from all those other text micro-posts flooding a Twitter user’s feed. “Stop by my booth!” might not hack it all of the time. That’s why you utilize video. Have your actual trade show presenter record 30- or 60-second spots for your Twitter feed and Web site. Do a “Live from the Trade Show Floor” spot and a daily wrap-up. Announce special offers, news and promotions with all the fanfare a live recording can offer.
Video is a differentiator. It stands out from the typical 140-character crowd and taps into something people already love to watch: film previews. They’re short, they’re interesting and they get people excited in anticipation of something.
Creating these videos and getting them published online has never been easier. My favorite methods are two tools: BubbleTweet lets you record a cool, little bubble-shaped video that pops up on your Twitter page. Bubble Comment creates a similar effect, but it’s right on your very own homepage. And, of course, your Web site and Twitter profile can cross promote one another. And if that’s a touch too much new technology for your taste, just post to YouTube and copy the embedded video code.
Before you say, “I don’t have the production equipment,” just let me say, “Buy a FlipCam …. and, done!” If you’ve worried about being on camera, we’ve got talent who do this kind of thing for a living. For an example, I want you to check out a Twitter video by professional presenter, Andy Saks. Here’s a recent BubbleTweet video he did to encourage attendees to stop by the AT&T Booth at Educause. Seriously, take a look because this is a great example of harnessing the marketing power of a simple 30 second video. Believe me, EVERYONE should be doing this stuff.
I’m not saying you need to use Magnet Productions to get any of this done. You don’t. I’m just saying all the tools and resources are in place to quickly take advantage of some great marketing tools and get more people into your booth! So, at your next trade show, don’t be Scared in Seattle. Use these suggestions and be the King of the Trade Show Twitterverse.
Do you have an industry-related question you’d like answered on “Hey Newman”? Send him an e-mail and get your inquiry answered on the blog.
Tags: booth buzz, social media, trade show trends, Twitter, using video
Posted in Lead generation & follow up, Trade show giveaways, Trade show news & trends, Trade shows & social media | No Comments »
Written by Ken Newman on 06 October 2009
Hey Newman, I really appreciated that ‘green giveaway’ post. What other trade show tips did you get from Green Marketing expert Janet Pomeroy? -Anne in Berkeley
We all know the “Three R’s” of green responsibility: Reuse, Reduce & Recycle. As it relates to trade shows, there’s a “Fourth R” you can remember to enhance your trade show (and overall marketing) presence: Rebrand. Find opportunities to tell your company’s story in ways that create a positive association between attendees and your company.
I came across a rising star rock musician who instead of giving out CDs at industry events and conferences, hands out biodegradable download cards that actually sprout flowers when you plant them in the ground. How’s that for telling a positive story while self-promoting and greening your public presence?
Start simple. Instead of giving out landfill-destined water bottles at trade shows, give away health- and eco-friendly Klean Kanteens branded with your company identity. Provide a water source and you’ll be a hub of activity with an item that people will use for years instead of days or hours.
As for marketing materials, instead of expensive four-color brochures, provide thumb drives that can contain far more marketing information than an attendee would ever otherwise take home—including video, Web site links and anything else you can think of. And if you must have some printouts, just make sure it’s 100% post-consumer recycled paper with vegetable-based (nontoxic) inks. Water bottles = landfill. Paper = trees + landfill.
Rebrand Through Re-Skinning
One of the best opportunities for green rebranding is booth re-skinning, a technique for which I’ve already professed my love in this blog. Just think of all the resources that go into constructing a new booth every year and for every show. You can save a boatload of money recycling an already-built booth and giving it a “fresh face” with your company and product identity.
Lastly, ask the show decorators to provide recycling and composting. It’s possible to recover about 95 percent of tradeshow waste simply by having recycling and composting available. In some cities, the facility will actually spend less money by recycling and composting than by hauling waste.
Forty percent of what most people consider waste is food or food-related products. Suggest compostable flatware made from corn-based products and compostable paper plates. Trade shows look great when they take these steps; it’s a marketing message that can really be used in public relations and outreach … while diverting a lot of unnecessary waste from landfills.
Once again, if you’d like more information on eco-business strategies (or anything green), please visit Janet at http://thegoodmix.com. Or follow her on Twitter at @thegoodmixer .
Do you have an industry-related question you’d like answered on “Hey Newman”? Send him an e-mail and get your inquiry answered on the blog.
Tags: Booth design, going green, rebranding, recycling, trade show trends
Posted in Booth design, Going green at trade shows, Trade show giveaways, Trade show news & trends | 1 Comment »
Written by Ken Newman on 28 September 2009
Hey Newman, there seems to be an awful lot of talk these days about “going green.” Is there a way that can be applied to the trade show industry? –Ellen in Oakland
Ellen, that’s a great question … and I almost went off on a rant about my random thoughts on “greening” your trade show presence. But that’s just what it would have been: random. So, I decided to do a bit of research and reach out to those who really know the answer to your question. Ever since you asked, I’ve been in an ongoing dialogue with Janet Pomeroy from The Good Mix. She’s a Green Marketing expert with one of the first Green MBAs offered. So here’s a real, informed answer to your question:
For starters, take a good, hard look at your trade show giveaways. Products have a lifecycle. You purchase it from a manufacturer, who generates waste in the making of the product. That product is then packaged and travels thousands of miles to get someplace. From there, it’s redistributed, repackaged and sent out again (this time to your company). In the end, that adds up to thousands of pounds of carbon for thousands and thousands of pieces of swag.
And where does that squishy ball or flying guerrilla go after you give it away at the booth? It’s going to go home with that trade show attendee, end up in the hands of his son who plays with it and breaks it … and from there it ends up in a landfill. It really never does go … away.
That’s because most of this stuff is cheaply made. Giveaways have a very short lifespan because they’re not made to last. So, one of the first things Janet asked was: “Do you need so much junky swag? Are there alternative forms of messaging that will last for years instead of just one show? … Especially when all the leftovers are going to be tossed in the trash.”
What Janet’s words made me realize is I’ve always been against wasteful giveaways, but for an entirely different reason: You want the person to hold on to your branded item!
Years ago, I discovered a number of items that could effectively substitute for the typical giveaway—and not end up in a landfill a week later.
In one case, it was a simple card trick. The mechanism is this: One of three cards, a 5 of Clubs is placed into a spectator’s hand. Everyone is sure it’s the 5 of Clubs. When the card is turned over, it has magically turned into the company’s business card. It’s a simple illusion, but one that trade show attendees love to learn and repeat. I was recently at a trade show and an attendee recognized me from a show six months earlier. He asked me if I had any more of those magic business cards. I asked him why, and he said it was because he had been using it over and over as an icebreaker in meetings, and it wore out.
I couldn’t have asked for a better endorsement. Instead of a propeller hat, here’s something fun that keeps branding your company again and again. I guess in this industry, you can equate sustainable with interesting. If it holds their interest, they’ll hold onto it longer.
So, Ellen, giveaways is one place to start. And we’ve got plenty of ideas on giveaways that are practical, useful, interesting and won’t be thrown “away.” Keep an eye on this blog for much more about “greening” your trade show presence. I couldn’t even come close to fitting it all in one post. Thanks to you and Janet Pomeroy from The Good Mix for getting the gears turning on this important topic.
If you’d like more information on eco-business strategies (or anything green), please visit Janet at http://thegoodmix.com.
Do you have an industry-related question you’d like answered on “Hey Newman”? Send him an e-mail and get your inquiry answered on the blog.
Tags: going green, swag, targeted giveaways, trade show trends
Posted in Going green at trade shows, Trade show giveaways, Trade show news & trends | 1 Comment »
Written by Ken Newman on 23 June 2009
Hey Newman, cash prizes at trade shows: A good investment or a waste of money? -Mike in Los Angeles
I recently did three days of presentations for a company that was giving away $10,000 at a trade show. The festival atmosphere this promotion conjured up was beyond incredible. I’ve seen companies give away cars and other larger-ticket items, but the buzz about this cash was unparalleled.
To win, you filled out a card with your name and contact information. To be eligible to enter the drawing, you had to watch the live presentation I gave or engage with somebody in the booth one-to-one and ask a question or listen.
All three days of the show, we never presented for less than standing room only. Ever. On the last day, the money had already been given away, yet we still packed the presentation. That final-day success had a lot to do with our crowd gatherers and how persistent we were about getting the seats full. But on those first two days, the money did a lot of the work.
I mean, it’s $10,000. That’s a lot of cash … and a substantial incentive.
Not every company is going to shell out 10 grand, but they might spend $1,000, which is still a good chunk of change. It’s enough for people to come into a booth and fill out a piece of paper just to enter the drawing. So, if a company is willing to spend $1,000 for the cash grand prize and a total of $800 more for three medium-priced electronic devices, what they’ll get back for that expense is huge. There’s a lot of buzz and booth traffic to be gained from an investment of that size.
Mike, the point of contention is whether this cash incentive will get you a bunch of greedy “dead-ends” or some actual leads on which to follow up. There’s a big argument in the trade show industry that says you’ve got to look for quality leads over quantity. I disagree. That’s because if you have 20,000 people attending a show, you must do something compelling in your booth to capture the names of a significant percentage of those people (even 10 percent over three days) and get that traffic to flow through the booth. If you don’t, there’s a good chance you’re never going to have the opportunity to identify those coveted high-quality leads. In fact, you won’t have any leads at all.
Those 25-30 key people—the dream leads—aren’t going to just magically appear in your booth. They’re likely to be swept into your booth along with the hundreds of other people who may be there to just win the $1,000.
There are only a few things that will draw people to your booth, and a lot of it has to do with what’s eye-catching. That can be movement, color, noise; those create crowds. When we did this drawing, and we have video documentation of this, there were 1,000 people standing around the booth. The fire marshals were getting people out of the aisle. It was insanity, pandemonium. People were walking by asking, “What’s going on here? … They’re giving away $10,000! Oh my, can I get in?”
Sure, that person may have no interest in the particular technology, but somebody they later talk to might … or somebody they’re standing next to might … or somebody just walking by. An adept salesperson will capitalize, and there’s a huge piece of business that’s been booked.
Trade shows are, by their nature, a little bit of “sideshow.” There’s no question that it’s all about buzz and excitement. And nothing says excitement better than an oversized check with $10,000 printed on it.
Do you have an industry-related question you’d like answered on “Hey Newman”? Send him an e-mail and get your inquiry answered on the blog.
Tags: booth buzz, Booth staff, booth traffic, qualified leads, targeted giveaways
Posted in Booth staff, Trade show giveaways, Trade show news & trends | No Comments »
Written by Ken Newman on 07 April 2009
Hey Newman, what’s your take on trade show swag? Is it worth doing anymore? – Kenneth in Los Angeles
Back in the heyday of COMDEX, an attendee could come home with literally two suitcases full of freebies—enough for the next five years of stocking stuffers. Companies would spend an extra $5,000 to $10,000 just on T-shirts, stress balls, hats with propellers on them or whatever else they could come up with.
These days, companies are spending more frugally on “swag” and trade show attendees are coming home with less of it. This change is primarily because companies are asking a very important question: “If we lure 2,000 people into the booth with free T-shirts, are these people actually qualified leads?
At Magnet Productions, we don’t think so. We think those are just people who have a rabid desire to get a new T-shirt.
When a salesperson calls those folks two months after the trade show, they’ll have no idea who the salesperson represents or what the product is. They’ll have no compelling interest; they just wanted a free tee.
Now, the T-shirt did accomplish something: It created buzz in the booth. But you can’t assume for a moment that the free T-shirt is also going to be translated into a qualified lead.
We recommend that clients use a different mechanism to attract and identify qualified leads: a two-tiered giveaway. You offer the typical swag on the front end—some sort of stress ball or trinket or USB keychain—whatever will get people into the booth. That will create the necessary commotion to get your booth noticed by passersby. It also means your trade show presenter will be delivering a talk to 50 guests instead of five.
But Phase II must be much more targeted. There are many different possible approaches, but one is to have the presenter follow up with questions and comments that identify qualified leads:
“How many people here are familiar with our technology or use our technology? Well, in addition to all that, we also provide consulting services. An hour-long Needs Evaluation is normally $500, but we’re going to give one away to a lucky person. So, for those of you who are interested, we’re doing a drawing. Just come on in the booth and talk to one of our people. We’ll stamp your card and enter you in the drawing.”
So, essentially the giveaway prequalified the people who had actual interest because the giveaway was directly related to the company’s technology. It wasn’t a DVD player. It wasn’t an iPod. It was something very specific and relevant.
If you don’t have something like that you can offer, you can still utilize a raffle. In order to be entered in a drawing for a high-ticket item, they have to come into the booth and actually watch a demo. And then you can gauge the actual interest of a person.
If you’re just trying to get numbers, you absolutely can do that with T-shirts because they have always been, and always will be, one of the greatest draws. T-shirts (and other gadgets with a “wow” factor) can succeed in getting a lot of butts in seats and a lot of eyeballs on a screen for a demo about the company. It’s just that many of them won’t necessarily be the “right” people.
Trade show swag can still be worth the expense. The key is there has to be clarity about the purpose of a giveaway in order to get the most return on your money.
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Tags: booth buzz, clarity, qualified leads, swag, targeted giveaways
Posted in Trade show giveaways | 4 Comments »
