Employing some form of entertainment after building your stand can be a great way of attracting visitors and striking up an in interest. But with so many options now available to exhibitors and contractors, finding something both original yet relevant to your brand may be a daunting task. We’ve listed below a few different examples of ones that we have found to be successful for stands in the past:
1. Music
The presence of a musician on your stand can be a massive enticement for some audiences, and finding a quality musician to play at your stand for a modest price is not as hard as you think. A stand we provided for Coopervision enabled us to employ the talents of a local music student from Keele University, who drew a consistent crowd to the stand with her piano playing. This is a good example of how you can find willing musicians from the local scene or educational facilities. It may be a good idea to listen to them first though; a real life Les Dawson probably wouldn’t gain you sort of attention you would like.
2. Magic
Magic and illusions are a great way to attract a crowd at a show. Few other forms of entertainment have the power to truly get people asking themselves “How did they do that?”. A magician can be a brilliant way of not only attracting a crowd for the entirety of their set, but also a good reinforcer of your brand to those present. A magician was used at a stand Synetrix, and he would help to communicate brand straplines and messages by saying them at certain parts of his act (magic words, the end of a trick).
3. Gamification
Sometimes it’s nice to give people a chance to engage with your stand. And what better way to do this than incorporate a game into your stand? We don’t advise turning your stand into a shrine to It’s a Knockout (although we admit, the thought of clients running around in Penguin outfits does seem rather amusing), but inviting visitors to take part in a light competition of some sort can be a great ice breaker. It can also give you a chance to incorporate your brand message into the precedings. For example, if your strap line was “Aiming higher”, maybe some sort of shooting or darts game would work well? It’s also a good idea to employ an accomplished compere for the day to make sure you attract enough people to your game.
4. Celebrity Chefs
Whether or not you are a fan of the vast range of food related programmes which feature daily on our televisions, if you are wanting to demonstrate the capabilities of any product related to the food industry, no one will do it better than a household name industry professional. We have been to shows where various brands have employed the skills and endorsement of some well known names, and though sometimes costly the association between them and your brand can gain priceless trust and rapport with your audience.
5. Sport
It may not find it’s place at every show, but an accomplished sports personality or performer might clinch you recognition from many attendees. Tell any big sports fan visiting a show that one of their favourite athletes is on stand 106 in hall C and you can safely bet that they will quickly reunite with their inner 13 year old and want to rush off in search of them. This certainly seemed the case with some people at a Toshiba stand a few years ago where former German international football captain and World Cup winner Lothar Matthaus was acting as an ambassador for the brand. People watched as he spoke about the brand, gave out autographed footballs and even performed a few tricks for star struck football lovers.