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One way to get people into your exhibit hall? Feed them, of course! In case you hadn’t thought of it, the good folks over at American Meetings Inc. say you not only will get more traffic to your trade show floor by holding your receptions and social and food events there, but also you will save a few bucks by not having to deal with room turns elsewhere. More here.
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February 16th, 2012 at 10:11 am
Hi Sue - thanks for providing this link. Question though: does anyone out there have actual tips on how to do this well? That AMI blog blurb promised “tips” but didn’t really deliver any. I could use some suggestions - we already do this but I would love to do it better/smarter.
February 16th, 2012 at 1:27 pm
I know, and let’s ask them for more suggestions. Things that I have seen work include:
* Putting the food stations in back to draw the crowd through the hall, or at least scattering them around strategically.
* Serve different types of food at the different food stations (and let people know you’re doing so), so people will wander around more than if they know each food station is the same.
* Scatter some hightop tables in the aisles so people will linger and eat near (not on top of) your exhibitors.
* I once saw a cooking demo held in the expo hall that had people raving, and crowding in to see what the buzz was about.
* Particularly for cocktail receptions, if you have posters, try to position the bar line area near posters. It gives people something to do while they’re waiting and they often can find themselves learning something.
While it isn’t specifically about food in the exhibit hall, this article also has a few tips on how to draw traffic.
February 22nd, 2012 at 1:30 pm
ASAE does a good job of using (free) food to draw people into the expo at the annual meeting. There are multiple eating sites at the back of different parts of the hall.
Association Forum of Chicagoland places dessert tables at various locations throughout its Holiday Showcase.
Large running events post packet pickup at the rear of the expo halls, so registered runners have to walk past exhibitors to get their materials.
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