Events are fun. No two ways about it, that buzz of being at an event as an exhibitor, visitor or organiser is awesome, and perhaps because they’re still a bit of novelty after a period of time when we had to do everything virtually, this year’s eWorld Procurement & Supply event was no exception.
We were fortunate enough to be working with our friends at Promena to help them set up their stand at one of London’s most important events for procurement professionals, held at the very impressive Grand Connaught Rooms. This would be Promena’s first attendance at a UK event, so no pressure! While SWC are no stranger to tight deadlines, there was a particularly short turnaround to deliver on this project as they only became a client at the beginning of 2023.
As their international marketing agency, the brief was to design and create an eye-catching stand and an activation that would draw visitors to the stand. After all, Promena are a friendly bunch and wanted to say hello to the great and good of the UK procurement industry.
First up we worked with Promena to develop a consistent look and feel for all the usual suspects, so their stand was on brand, welcoming and informative, with a premium appearance. This included bespoke wall banners, a wrap around banner for their table top counter, an A4 free standing board with a list of their products and A5 flyers to match. All very smart and certainly with a bit of meeting and greeting from the Promena team to passers by, conversations would be had…but what else? In addition to the passing traffic, how to get attendees to make a beeline for their stand?
Free stuff, obviously. People love free stuff. Surely one of the main reasons people go to trade shows is for the swag, right? That, the networking opportunities and keynotes from industry leaders, I suppose. So what better way to attract people to the stand than to have something that’s too good to miss out on, something like an Apple Watch for example. Obviously budgets had to be taken into account as Promena couldn’t just give away hundreds of Apple watches to visitors, but they could give one away to one lucky winner.
Enter our prize draw activation concept which involved a custom made, branded see through safe, with said shiny new Apple Watch on display within tempting onlookers, all on top of an equally branded bespoke plinth. It certainly attracted plenty of attendees who were handed out special cards with a pin on it that they punched into the safe’s digital lock to try their luck.
It certainly drew the crowds where we reckon about a quarter of all attendees to the event had a go at cracking the safe. All the while, the pin cards the Promena team were handing out contained QR codes that linked straight through to their demo page, so even if visitors couldn’t take away an Apple Watch, they had a card with a direct link to Promena.
We’re pleased to say that the safe was cracked by one very lucky attendee who walked away with probably the best freebie ever from a trade show. Promena also met a load of great new people in the process and definitely made their presence known in the UK. If you’re planning to exhibit at an event and want an exciting and novel way to attract attendees to your stand, get in touch with our MD Simon.
