Trade shows are an incredible opportunity to show off your products and win over new customers. However, your booth needs to stand out from the crowd and generate engagement to make a real impact.
Trade show attendees might have dozens or even hundreds of booths to choose from, but you can make yours one of the most exciting by adding interactive games. Below, we’ll break down why interactive experiences are so important for trade show success and give you 10 of our top trade show game ideas to try at your next event!
Why should you use games at your trade shows?
Interactive games will instantly make your booth stand out at a crowded industry event. Here’s why you should consider using trade show games as part of your branding strategy.
More booth traffic
One of the biggest benefits of implementing a game at your booth is that it attracts attention, even from people who may not initially be interested in your product. As word travels throughout the event about your game, you’ll get an increase in foot traffic. This results in increased brand and product awareness, which can benefit your organization long after the trade show is over.
Enhanced visitor engagement
Adding games to your exhibit will result in more engagement with your booth visitors. Attendees will stay at your booth longer than they might have otherwise, giving your team more time for networking and meaningful conversations.
In particular, competitive games can create a sense of urgency and excitement that keeps visitors coming back to your booth. This energetic booth environment will help get potential customers talking about your brand and wanting to know what all the hype is about. With so much potential for valuable interactions, it’s no wonder that 95% of exhibitors prefer in-person to virtual industry events.
Memorable brand experiences
Games create a fun trade show experience for attendees, which increases brand recall and awareness after the event is over. When attendees have a positive experience at your booth, they’ll associate those good memories with your brand—which can result in a more positive perception of your brand as a whole.
Encouraged social sharing
Adding a game to your trade show booth is a great way to increase your engagement levels on social media. When designing your games, be sure to include opportunities for participants to take photos and videos. Include signage with your brand’s social media profiles and encourage visitors to tag you in their posts.
By encouraging your visitors to share their experiences on social media, you increase your brand’s online visibility, sending more traffic to your profiles and even to your website.
More opportunities to generate leads
Adding games to your trade show booth gives you plenty of opportunities to generate leads. One of the easiest ways to do this is by requiring attendees to share their contact information or create an account to play the game. You can then use that information to launch targeted email or SMS marketing campaigns.
10 interactive trade show booth game ideas to consider
There are so many ways to incorporate games into your trade show booth. Don’t be afraid to get creative and experiment with different ideas to find the best option for your brand. Take a look at these 10 unique game ideas and consider trying some out at your next trade show!
1. Spin the prize wheel
Everyone loves to win, and you can capitalize on this with a classic prize wheel at your next trade show. Attendees can spin the wheel to participate in giveaways and win brand merchandise, discounts, exclusive experiences, or other appealing prizes.
This game is simple and easy to implement but can significantly increase foot traffic to your booth. Opt for a bright, colorful design to catch people’s attention as they pass by your booth. Make sure to add bold signage highlighting exactly what participants can win.
Another benefit of this game is that it’s completely customizable. You can adjust the prize options based on what your brand has to offer, and you can also match the design to your brand’s colors. If the event you’re attending has a theme, you can also incorporate that theme into the design of your prize wheel. For example, if the trade show has a seasonal winter theme, you could incorporate snowflake motifs into the design.
2. Photo booth challenge
Photo booths are the perfect addition to your trade show booth design. Photo booths have a warm, nostalgic feel, and they give attendees a fun souvenir to take home with them. Be sure to add your company’s name and logo to each photo printout to increase brand awareness.
While a photo booth on its own is a great way to generate engagement, you can kick things up a notch by turning it into a game. Have participants compete to see who can take the craziest photo and share it on social media with branded links and hashtags. The participant with the best photo at the end of the day wins a prize.
By turning your photo booth into a contest, you create a sense of urgency and excitement that turns your brand’s exhibit into a must-see event. You’ll also generate buzz on social media, which helps increase your brand awareness outside of the event. To help participants make their photos more exciting, give them branded props and special effects options to try.
3. Virtual reality experience
Virtual reality (VR) technology is a hot topic right now, and adding a VR experience to your trade show booth is the perfect way to attract tech-savvy attendees. With a VR headset, you create a completely immersive experience for your participants and can transport them somewhere else.
You can even use VR experiences to showcase your products and services in action. This is a particularly helpful strategy for businesses that sell large products that won’t fit into a traditional trade show booth.
For example, if your company sells cars, you could use VR technology to have attendees test drive your vehicles rather than trying to fit an in-person test drive in a small space. As with many of the options on this list, you can make this experience more competitive by turning the VR experience into a video game and awarding prizes for high scores.
The novelty of VR technology will make your booth the place to be at any event. Only 23% of Americans have tried a VR headset, so visiting your booth will give them a unique experience! Adding virtual reality to your trade show booth also positions your brand as innovative and cutting-edge, which can help you stand out on the trade show floor.
4. Trivia quiz
Trivia games are another fun way to attract attendees to your booth. This type of game creates some friendly competition and gives attendees the opportunity to show off their knowledge.
Your trivia game can consist of general knowledge questions, or you can make it more specific with a theme. For example, you can choose questions that are relevant to your industry or the theme of the trade show. Avoid choosing a theme that’s too specific, as this could make the trivia questions too challenging for participants.
It’s also important to keep the quiz relatively short so attendees don’t feel stuck at your booth. Give attendees multiple opportunities to answer the questions throughout the day. For example, you can host 10-minute trivia sessions on the hour throughout the day so everyone has the chance to stop by and participate.
5. Escape room challenge
If you want to create a buzz-worthy, immersive experience for your trade show booth, it’s hard to go wrong with an escape room. In an escape room, a group of people are trapped in a room full of themed puzzles that they must solve within a time limit.
These rooms often incorporate themes from pop culture, but you can theme your escape room around your brand. For example, you can use your brand’s colors and logo throughout the room or even incorporate your products into the puzzles. Consider partnering with a local escape room to develop the puzzles—there are over 3,000 escape rooms across the U.S., so chances are there’s one near you.
Escape rooms are an ideal team-building and networking activity. This is because groups need to work together to successfully solve the puzzle. Adding an escape room to your trade show gives you a convenient opportunity to chat with attendees and generate leads. The inherent mystery of the game will also attract attendees to your booth—everyone will want to know what’s inside the escape room.
6. Putting green competition
Adding a small putting green to your display is another fun way to get attendees engaged. This is a fun social activity that almost anyone can enjoy—you don’t need to be a golf pro to enjoy playing a few holes. Put your brand’s logo on golf clubs, scorecards, or on the putting green itself to increase brand recognition.
To entice attendees to play, offer prizes for players with the best results. For example, you can offer prizes for hitting a hole-in-one or for the players with the best score at the end of the day. When building your putting green, focus on striking the right balance of challenge and accessibility. Your green should be easy enough that anyone can play but not so easy that everyone will win a prize.
7. Augmented reality sandbox
Augmented reality is another interactive technology that will help attract tech-savvy attendees to your booth. Augmented reality uses technology to combine the digital and physical worlds.
For example, you can use AR technology to superimpose digital images on a wall or floor. These images are responsive, so participants can interact with them directly by touching them or moving through the space.
One of the biggest benefits of AR technology is the endless possibilities it offers, so you can be creative. One option is to work with local artists to commission a branded AR installation. Working with artists is a great way to expose your brand to a new audience that wouldn’t otherwise see it.
8. Giant branded Jenga
A Jenga game is simple to add to your booth, but it can attract big crowds. Create an oversized game of Jenga with your brand’s logo and colors on each piece. You can also opt for other jumbo games like an oversized bean bag toss or Connect 4 board.
The appeal of these games is that they’re simple to pick up and play. Attendees don’t need any previous experience with the game to get started. They also create the perfect opportunity for networking, as you can chat with other attendees in a relaxed environment.
9. Scavenger hunt for the whole trade show
Consider collaborating with other exhibitors to launch a scavenger hunt for your entire trade show. Your scavenger hunt will send visitors on an adventure throughout the event as they search for items or collect stamps. Participants who complete the entire scavenger hunt by the end of the day can win prizes or get exclusive discounts.
Hosting a scavenger hunt benefits everyone at your trade show, as it encourages visitors to go around to each booth and search for items. It will also ignite your attendees’ competitive spirit and get teams racing against the clock.
Post your scavenger hunt clues online and post a Dynamic URL QR Code at your booth rather than handing out pieces of paper. This is more convenient for attendees, and it also sends them to your website for more brand exposure. You can use tracking links to see how many attendees are engaging with your scavenger hunt.
10. Leaderboard competitions
Classic arcade games often feature a leaderboard with the highest-ever scores. Having a high score posted in front of you as you play is incredibly motivating and helps keep you engaged. You can use this strategy with your trade show games to generate some friendly competition among your attendees.
A leaderboard works well for both arcade games and in-person competitions. Some options that work well include racing simulators, memory challenges, or sports-inspired games. You can also use your leaderboard as a lead generation strategy by having players provide their contact info to be listed on the leaderboard.
Level up your events with games and measure their success with Bitly
Using games at your trade show booths is a great way to stand out at a crowded event. A bold and exciting trade show game helps boost brand recognition and attract valuable new leads.
With Bitly, you can measure the broader impact of your trade show booth on your marketing materials. Use Bitly’s short links and QR Codes for marketers on your trade show marketing materials to send visitors directly to your website. With Bitly Analytics, you can track the number of people who interact with each link or QR Code to measure the efficacy of your marketing strategy.
Get started with Bitly today and add short links and QR Codes to your promotional games, contests, and social media efforts.
