In the 2024 Freeman Trends report, I learned that attendees don’t just want to swing by an exhibit booth and grab a pamphlet. They want to engage with exhibitors intentionally through hands-on activities. However, our 2023 exhibitor report uncovered that only 7% of exhibitors believe that lead nurture and engagement are top priorities.
Exhibitors are still measuring success with "scanned leads" and completely missing the opportunity to have real connections with their participants.
Attendees don't want to trick-or-treat from booth to booth anymore. They come to the show with a challenge in mind and look for the booths they know can help them. As they peruse the show floor, they are looking for additional solutions that they might have been unaware of. So when you offer a free water bottle in exchange for a badge scan, you're not helping.
I was sent a photo by a friend the other day of yet another sponsored food activation at an event....
Stop at the donut trolley and grab a free donut from Informatica... who will scan your badge and pass your name on to the SDRs. Won't you be so excited to get a call about their data integration and cloud services because you snagged a chocolate donut with sprinkles? How relevant!
For too long, the roles in events have been too far removed from the attendee experience.
Event professionals are charged with event strategy, logistics, people movement, attendee communications, and all things physically involving the structure... the BOX, if you will.
The Content team manages what happens on all the stages and in the breakout rooms.
The Executives set the theme, the content tenets, and crack the whip on attendees.
The Sales team looks for their customers in the crowd and tries to set meetings.
So who is responsible for what the attendees are doing once they pick up their badge? Who is ensuring that they are finding the conversations they came for? Who is responsible for ensuring that the environment is designed for connection? As far as I can tell, this job doesn't exist.
Where is the Chief Engagement Officer?
I'm here. I'll take that role. :-)
This is a huge pet peeve of mine. I call them "empty calorie leads" or literally "donut eater leads" and people fall for that quantity over quality nonsense all the time. The centerpiece of your booth should be something that drives meaningful interactions, not just lead counts. Sure, you'll make your Marketing metrics look good. But, the only number that matters to people at the end of the day is pipeline and you won't get it from donut eaters. So, find something fun that creates buzz, but also keeps people there for a conversation: axe throwing, mini-golf, flight simulators, pickleball, giant jenga, whatever. Most importantly, it should tie into to your brand and be relevant to your audience. And…