Turn up the Exhibit Hall Experience at Your Next Meeting

Have you ever been to a conference and paid attention to the different behaviors of attendees in the exhibit hall? Many wander slowly down the aisles, keeping their distance from the exhibit booths just far enough so they don't have to make converstaion... some are looking for “freebies” or for a product/service they recognize and then some actually stop to look, but keep moving.

Their hesitation to approach vendors may be the result of being new to conferences, or they are simply shy and don’t know how to interact with the exhibitors. They might assume that if they don’t want to purchase anything, they don’t have anything to gain by talking with the vendors. Creating simple and comfortable ways for the members to engage with exhibitors, while being educational about products and services, is a great way to turn up the exhibit hall experience!

Provide Conversation Starters

One way to encourage attendees is by providing them with a couple of questions that they can ask each exhibitor, make those questions available on the conference app and see what develops! Possible questions are:

• How can your product or service help my business grow?
• What differentiates your product from your competitors?
• Do you have any special programs for members of our association?
• Do you currently work with many of our association members and can you provide references?

Use Gamification

Many articles are being written about gamification, which translates to making the exhibit hall an entertaining source of information. Businesses and software apps are popping up everywhere just for this purpose. By getting a little creative, you can incorporate this activity without spending a ton of money.

As the attendees work their way through the exhibit hall, asking questions and learning more about each vendor, they can either be checking off in the conference app the booths they stopped at or participate in gamification, where meeting managers provide a bingo card that can be filled out for prizes. The bingo card can be part of the app or a paper included with their conference swag. Watch relationships begin to develop between members and vendors… and all they needed was an icebreaker!

Or, think scavenger hunt, with maybe 10  to 12 items that the attendees have to locate from different exhibitor’s booths. As the various companies register for conference, ask them for a couple of items taht they will bring that could be used for this event. This also provides an opportunity to create dialogue around how these items can help the attendees be more productive. As the attendees work through these icebreaker activities, they make connections with their peers and with the exhibitors. Relationships build as a result and you’ll find attendance at conference in future years to build as well!

The incentive for playing these games and engaging with the exhibitors is important to drive participation. You can ask the exhibitors to donate items for prizes, providing them with  An opportunity for a vendor to be recognized is providing an award such as front-row seating for a popular event or a weekend getaway at their resort. Keep it simple for vendors but exciting for attendees.

Holly Rose is Manager of Industry Relations for AH