Which conference displays produce the best engagement?

The answer is simple – conference displays that invite delegates to engage with them. But what form do you want your invitation to take? How will you make passersby stop and want to engage with you?

Demo something cool

Regardless of your industry, there’s always something cool that happens behind the scenes. Just as the best Instagram posts are the ones that show off your people and what they do to deliver your products or services, a conference stand can do the same thing – but up-close and personal.

Demo something on your stand that your clients have wondered “how do they do that”? There’s nothing more interactive than talking to someone, so let one of your staff do their job of designing, making, servicing or advising, actually on the stand. This should be someone who is confident with public engagement and doesn’t mind explaining again and again what it is they do and how they do it.

A single short task that your staff member repeats throughout the conference (to engage with as many delegates as possible) is OK, but even better is a single task that takes as long as the conference or trade show is on for. This brings delegates back to your stand for repeat engagements to see how the task is progressing. Be sure to document what you’re doing with photos and display them on a digital pinboard for anyone that missed the earlier stages of work.

Don’t build a maze, but a labyrinth is OK

According to a world-renowned maze designer, Adrian Fisher, a maze is intended to confuse with multiple dead ends, whereas a labyrinth is designed to lead you on a journey to your ultimate goal.

Entice your audience in with something eye-catching – perhaps a partial front screen, drawing delegates into your stand where you can engage with them face-to-face. This may be an illuminated image or a graphic that invites a question delegates may have attended the conference to find the answer to.

Use the journey to tell the story of your company, a range of products or a solution you provide. Let delegates engage with short interactive elements, perhaps on tablets, for them to discover each part of that story as they go along and be sure that at the end, there’s no monster but a member of your staff that can help them with questions and solutions. Even a modular system on a small stand can do this, but keep it simple or you’ll suddenly find that you’ve built a maze and your audience is lost.

Expect some trial and error and be ready to tweak your stand as you go along. Audience engagement is an art, but with some thought and practice, you can become a master.

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