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29th June, 2023
If you’re an old hand in the exhibition space, you’ll know there’s a whole range of ways to get useful visits to your stand. One way that can have good exhibition results in certain sectors is gamification. That is, you offer some sort of play, which has long been recognised as an effective doorway to productivity, team spirit and engagement.
Attracts visitors – having a game that’s visible from the public areas simply draws people in to see what it’s about, especially if it’s creating a buzz and people are smiling.
Keeps them engaged – while people are playing the game, you’ve got a guaranteed minute or two when you can gently pitch to them.
Puts their guard down – there’s nothing sinister here; it just makes people a little more relaxed and receptive to your offering.
Can educate them about your product – your game can itself educate people about your product, for example if you’re a security firm you could have a game where guests have to try and break into a building.
Breaks down barriers – when we’re playing games, there’s no difference between races, religions, sexes or sexualities: everyone wants to beat you equally!
Opens up social media opportunities – people will sometimes post photos, videos and comments about fun experiences they have at exhibitions, so games open that door.
Makes you memorable – people will remember you and your brand as that company with the cool game.
Helps gather customer data – with certain competitions, you can gather email addresses and business details to use for later sales campaigns (within the confines of the law, of course).
So, what kinds of games can you try for your stand? Here are 15 fantastic ideas that can fulfil some or all of the benefits above.
Everyone knows how to play table football, or foosball, and it can get pretty heated when rivals clash. But it always creates a friendly, fun rivalry, especially when it’s 2v2. There doesn’t always have to be some deep underlying meaning behind a game, and this is the perfect example – just come and have a kickabout with us, and while we’ve got you, did you know about the special offer we have for new accounts?
Again, there’s nothing too mysterious about a good old-fashioned raffle. Anyone who visits the stand is entered into a prize draw, for the unbeatable entry price of one email address. The nature and value of the prizes will depend on your own cost/benefit calculations, influenced by expected numbers and the potential value of a new client. But if there are some amazing prizes, like holidays, technology or even a car or van, you can expect a lot of new contacts for your sales team.
A simple booth, some props and a camera with filters is all you need to create a fun “I was there” moment for your visitors. You can put the photos on social media to show what a fun stand you’ve got, and perhaps combine the booth with a competition or prize draw. It’s all about getting people to feel relaxed and happy in your presence – then you can start talking business.
Why not set up some tablets with a quiz on them? It can be a general quiz, but since most visitors to a trade fair will be from a certain industry, you can make it your own by testing people on their knowledge of the sector – its history, key people, locations, products and so on. Use the quiz to reward the fastest, most knowledgeable performers with prizes
We’ve all played pin the tail on the donkey, or supervised such an event at a children’s party. If you’re out of the loop, the competitor is shown the picture of a tailless donkey, is blindfolded, spun around and has to guess where to pin the tail. The closest to the rear end wins. Is there a version of the game that would be appropriate to your industry? Pin the wheel on the truck? The handle on the toilet? The tale on the bookshelf?
The technology behind virtual reality is pretty mainstream now, so headsets and software can be acquired without breaking the bank. You could have guests solve a problem that’s relevant to your industry, or perhaps you could gamify a tour of a building or location they should know about, such as having a scavenger hunt or getting clues off certain in-game characters.
Augmented reality combines live real-world video capture with digitally generated graphics appearing before the user’s eyes, either on a headset or on a phone. The software can detect certain shapes or patterns and will override the real-world footage with your own graphics, so they appear like they are in front of the user. This system can be used to make games where guests have to find things in your stand, or solve puzzles – and with some forward planning, the territory can be expanded to the wider exhibition.
Whether it’s the latest console or some retro arcade game cabinets, you can bring people to your stand by inviting them to try and beat the baddies, win the race or solve the puzzles. Like the table football, it doesn’t have to have any more profound meaning, but if you have the budget or the internal resources, there’s no reason why you can’t commission a game that relates to your business or your sector. You could get the guests to try and solve a problem that your company addresses in the real world.
These always look big in gardens and at festivals, but in the confines of an exhibition hall that can look huge. We’re talking massive connect 4 games, chess sets, Jenga or snakes and ladders. It’s just a bit of fun, but people are always willing to put their skills to the test, and you’ve got a captive audience for the time you are making your moves. (Whether you let them win or not will be a matter of commercial judgement.)
You can get a little physical with a reaction test, which most commonly will mean a Batak board. You might have seen top athletes training on these machines, especially tennis players or Formula One drivers, where milli-second reactions can mean the difference between winning grand slams and slamming into a barrier. The human-sized machines consist of a series of buttons and lights that come on randomly and the player has to hit them as soon as the light comes on (think vertical whack a mole). The quicker they are, the higher the score, and it can get pretty competitive. What’s good about this is that when you see someone else having a go, you really want to try it yourself – and that’s why visitors will flock to your stand, with minimum delay.
This one is a bit like a raffle or prize draw, the main difference being that wins are instant. You can let guests have a set number of attempts to win a prize, which can be anything from traditional prizes like gadgets to things you provide, such as consultancy sessions. It’s a no-lose game for your guests, so they will often have a go when they drop by, or hopefully drop by just to have a go.
If you’ve got a bit of space to play with, or a two-floor stand, you can set up an escape room in your space. Basically, guests are locked in and they have to use their initiative, knowledge and teamwork to solve puzzles that lead them to the key that unlocks the door. It’s a bit like the Crystal Maze, but there’s usually more than one puzzle to solve at a time. You can give the room a theme, such as problems that are encountered in your sector, thereby showing guests how you can help to solve them. Gather email addresses in advance and you can give prizes to the fastest escapees.
If you’ve got a product or service that’s dedicated to solving a particular problem, why not build a bespoke game that shows how it can be solved using your equipment? It could be some kind of W. Heath Robinson contraption (like Mouse Trap, for example) or something more straightforward, but then you can introduce your device that shows how simple and intuitive it is to solve the problem using your equipment.
If you’re in the food preparation or hospitality sector, a blind taste game is an appetising choice. Blindfolded guests can sample your products against your competition, which is a great idea if you’re confident you know yours is better. You can also play a taste identification game, where you give people food or drink and they have to identify what it is – which is a lot more difficult than it sounds, especially if they have their noses clipped.
The idea is simple enough – there’s a big, meandering wire and you have to guide a small loop around it. Touch the sides and you close the circuit and the buzzer and flashing lights go off. What’s good about this is that you can make the wire whatever shape you want, so it can be your company logo, for example. Perhaps you could have the route representing a story that players have to negotiate, such as a problem that’s often faced in your sector.
Do you have an idea for gamifying your exhibition stand? We can create a solid, professional stand that’ll help you to bring inquisitive (and competitive) guests to your business. Have a look at what we’ve done for other businesses like yours.
