Promotional Trade Show Items
For Booth Drawings and Prizes

The purpose of using promotional trade show items, along with drawings and prizes, is to heighten visibility in the exhibition hall, attract high potential prospects to your booth, and generate viable leads. For this reason, be wary of popular event gimmicks and promotions that compromise your reputation.

They only serve to increase your expenses by attracting a large number of attendees with whom you will never do business. This also takes up your and your staff's time and energy, which can be better spent focusing on high opportunity prospects.

By using promotional products and contests that complement your product and image, you will draw visitors who are truly interested in what you have to offer.

For example, you could give away a Las Vegas vacation and attract attendees from across the exhibit hall to your booth.

You would have a mountain of leads, but they would not necessarily be people who would likely buy your product. Yet, if you were selling a technology enhancement and had a drawing for related software that would complement it, you would attract interested prospects who would have a likelihood of becoming your customers.

Instead of having one drawing and one major prize to give away at the end of the show, consider having a number of drawings (and winners) throughout each day of the event. This will create more interest and buzz surrounding your booth area.

Additionally, people are more likely to participate in a contest if they think their odds of winning are possible. It's just human nature. Therefore, plan to have frequent drawings and be sure to publicize the times. Booth visitors will be more interested in participating and may even stop by your display more often to see if they've won.

This means you will have more opportunities to get to know them, giving you a greater chance of converting your booth visitors into viable leads – and ultimately customers.

Whether you choose to have a drawing or prize giveaway, using promotional items that support your product’s quality and market positioning (reputation) is essential to your short and long-term success. For more information, click here: Effective Use of Trade Show Giveaways.