A Winning Tradeshow Booth Idea at #CanadaHBS

After attending tradeshows in the last few months, I have been dismayed at the extent that some exhibitors have gone to attract traffic at a meetings industry tradeshow.

Well, I was at the new Canada Hosted Buyer Show in the last two days, and I saw it again: aesthetic services as a means to attract traffic at a tradeshow booth.

Left to right: Oliver Tabarez, ScribbleLIVE; Dominik Bergeron-Talbot, GES; Véronique Pâquet, Agora and Mélanie Des Ormeaux, DX Design

But this time it was different.  The booth I am describing was the coalition of partners consisting of AVW Telav, ScribbleLive.com, GES, Agora Communications and DX Design.  The booth was an ingenious two-story structure.  Partners were side-by-side, under the canopy.  Attendees collected a card which was stamped by each partner after they had a chance to have a conversation with you.  

With a card stamped by all partners attendees could go to floor #2 to have their photo taken by a professional photographer.  And attendees had the option to have their make-up re-done/touched up!  The photographer took 16 shots of me, and had me select my preferred one.  The attention to detail was commendable.  Both the make-up artist and the photographer were very engaging young professionals. I was told to expect my photo by email the day after the show.

So how is this different from some of the other tradeshow booths I have seen?  

First, the outcome adds value beyond just looking good.  Who today doesn’t need a professional head shot for their social media accounts or website?

Secondly, this booth was employing young people from a professional aesthetics school, Parisax Académie, who hope to go into theatre or special events.  There’s a tie-in there and a bit of CSR by encouraging young, local talent.

Thirdly, this was gender-neutral.  I saw lots of men going up there, who never would stop at a booth to get their nails buffed, but they got their photo taken.


And last but not least, the whole thing got conversations going!  

I had a great exchange with all the partners.  I can’t give them business, but these conversations led me to write this blog.  And hopefully this increases their exposure and drives more business their way! So for those readers who thought I was a humourless purist, there you have it.  

You can do something like this.  Just make sure it ties back to business and that you provide solid business value.