Statistics from the CEIR (Centre for Exhibition Industry Research) tell us that 76% of those visiting a B2B trade show have already decided upon the stands they’re going to visit before they arrive at the event.
The implication for exhibitors is twofold. First of all it makes sense to invest in some pre-exhibition marketing to ensure your company is on the list of stands to be visited. Second, if you’re not on that list the chances of those visitors drifting over to your stand is limited if you don’t have something that grabs their attention.
Some exhibitors don’t see the need to come up with an exhibition attractor, they believe their stand design, graphics or brand will be enough. This may be true for some companies but for the vast majority of small to medium sized exhibitors, their visual offering will be lost in the sea of stands. Others believe an attraction will be too expensive and the preserve of those with mega marketing budgets or they think it might be bit tacky. With a bit of imagination the cost need not be prohibitive (see previous blog entries) also if you’re spending £5,000 upwards on event, an extra £500 to potentially double the number of visitors seems like a sound investment. Whether an attraction is tacky or not is determined by your company’s positioning and of course what you choose.
If you’re looking for some ideas here’s a company www.exhibitionstandattractions.co.uk who provide a range of games that can be used on an exhibition stand, they may not suit your individual application but it should start to get the old grey matter working around the types of things available.
Jon Howarth - Manning the Stand - Exhibition Training
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