Trade Show Activities

In the Scion area, attendees could get cards to play interactive games.

Tire maker Pirelli had a line of driving simulators meant to recreate the experience of a Formula One race track. (Pirelli supplies the tires for Formula One championship races.)

On the first press day, several car brands used espresso bars to keep journalists caffeinated. The Mercedes-Benz event brought in an espresso bar on wheels.

At the 2012 P.G.A. Merchandise Show, Cobra Puma Golf had a booth created by CEP Exhibit Productions, Inc. with a playful two-story structure. The ground floor served as a meeting space, while the top floor included the entrance to a slide that ended in a pit of orange balls.

For the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Ford worked with Imagination (212.813.6400, imagination.com) to debut the Ford Blue Oval Card, an R.F.I.D.-enabled card. On-site the cards, which guests preregistered for online, could be used to save content to download later via a personal Web page. The booth also featured a 20-foot-tall elevator that brought guests up into “The Cloud,” a 360-degree cinema experience that offered a look at the future of in-vehicle cloud computing.

Makeup artists from Neiman Marcus had a steady stream of attendees wanting to receive a complimentary makeover. Participants could also purchase the products.

Summit Health provided medical staff to conducts tests for cholesterol, blood glucose, blood pressure, and body-mass index.

ChillVille has participated in the auto dealers expo for several years. Organizers said the mobile oxygen bar is always popular with attendees.

The Relax zone offered attendees the opportunity to create a custom-blended aromatic mist made with essential oils. Organizers worked with Convention Planning Services to identify Orlando-based businesses to provide services in each of the lifestyle areas.

The Gametime zone included pinball machines, Pac-Man, Wii consoles, and two NASCAR simulators.

Attendees could sample and purchase fragrances at the counter in the Beauty and Fashion area.

Some of the lifestyle activities included a take-away, such as the free caricatures created on an iPad in the Beauty and Fashion area.

Organizers said both men and women took advantage of the free manicures offered at 10 stations in the Beauty and Fashion area.

Attendees could have their golf swing analyzed by a computer provided by Prestige Golf Arrangements.

Local Zumba instructors provided 20-minute workouts four times a day.

IMEX, an organization that serves the global meetings, incentive travel, and event industry, launched its recipe card campaign in January. It's based on the idea that food is a global concept enjoyed by everyone, and therefore a recipe can be a great conversation starter. The organization invited six association partners to submit their favorite recipes that incorporate avocado, broccoli, blueberries, or pumpkin—all known as "superfoods." The recipes are accessible for free on the IMEX Web site and include the contributor's photo and a quote. The organization also hands out printed copies of the recipes in a flip-book format in its booth at trade shows as well as at events it hosts. It has also created the hashtag #IMEXRecipes to receive recipe submissions via Twitter and a dedicated Pinterest page. A spokesperson said the campaign will continue with new seasonal themes and additional recipe contributors.

Since 2001, the Exhibitor Show has offered "Dinner with Strangers." The idea developed out of the recognition that many people came to the show alone and were opting to eat dinner in their hotel rooms rather than go out. Organizers make group reservations at about six restaurants for each night of the show. Sign-up sheets in the conference registration area list the restaurant name, type of food, average check, and reservation time. Attendees sign up—and then show up.

The Exhibitor Show also invites attendees to attach their photo to a large world map to indicate where they are from. The map was first used eight years ago and participation increases each year, reaching more than 500 photos from every state and 60 countries at the 2012 conference. Photographers are stationed at the map to take instant thumbnail photos of attendees. Organizers say the map is an easy conversation-starter as attendees look for others from their area or from cities where they have lived in the past.

Metropolitan Events & Production created a pre-event networking campaign for the Makeup Shows in Chicago and Orlando last year. Organizers encouraged attendees to upload photos of themselves holding a sign that read "Meet Me at the Makeup Show" and their name, which could then be posted, with the event's hashtag, to Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook. The idea was to create a sense of community and facilitate face recognition as people stepped onto the show floor. Organizers compiled the photos and shared them on the show's social networks. For the Orlando show in November, they added a contest, selecting one participant to win a gift bag.

Add some fun and efficiency to the traditional exchange of information by giving your attendees a Poken. The device attaches to a lanyard or key chain and comes in dozens of conversation-starting designs such as a panda bear, a ninja, and a bumble bee (as well as a simple black-and-white model). The device uses near-field communication, so simply tapping two together exchanges the information stored on them, such as contact information, social network profiles, documents, videos, and Web sites. After the event, users plug the Poken into their computer's USB port to see all the people and information collected. It can also sync with mobile devices using the Poken app. Planners can create incentives for people to share their information by using the product's Game Pack.

More than 100 attendees from the Professional Convention Management Association's Convening Leaders conference assembled hygiene kits at Clean the World in Orlando in January. The kits were later donated to a local homeless shelter. Community service projects such as this provide an opportunity for event attendees to work together toward a common goal. For large events, planners can offer a variety of service options that attendees choose from in the registration process. The host city's convention bureau or destination management companies can help to identify community organizations that need assistance. If transportation is an issue, ask about projects that can be done within the meeting space.

Mashable hosts a two-day conference each spring at Walt Disney World. The event, for about 300 senior-level executives from digital firms, brand leaders, senior-level marketers, and entrepreneurs, ends with a social-media-based scavenger hunt. In 2012, the networking activity took place at Epcot, where teams of five attendees worked to identify things in the park based on a set of clues and then posted photos of their findings on Instagram, tagged with #Mashcon.

The Zen lounge offered organic decor look in a serene environment, where therapists were on hand to massage attendees' tired feet.

Each visitor to Nissan’s exhibit at the Geneva Auto Show received a badge embedded with an R.F.I.D. tag. Nissan provided iPads where guests could register the cards and link their Twitter and Facebook accounts. Then, each time the guest swiped the card at one of the 14 activation points, information would instantly post to those social networks.

The photo booths superimposed different backgrounds and overlays such as "Electrowoman" as part of the Nissan Leaf messaging. The photos were instantly shared on the guest's social networks, creating what DwinQ C.E.O. Patrick Sweeney called “social media product placement,” which puts a brand’s logo and messaging right in the user's Facebook stream, rather than on the side in a feed.

Guests swiped their R.F.I.D. badges before sitting for a picture in the photo booth. The system prompted them to approve the photo before it would post to their Facebook and Twitter accounts. Alternately, guests could opt to have the photo sent to their email.

The GT Academy area was based on Nissan’s virtual-to-reality contest that allowed players of Sony’s Gran Turismo Playstation game to become race drivers. At the Geneva Show, Nissan set up simulation pods where guests could play the game and share a photo of the experience on their social networks.

At each of the vehicle displays, guests could swipe their R.F.I.D. badge to share a photo of the car on Facebook and Twitter.

Ribbon gymnasts and contortionists attracted crowds to the Lawson booth with performances every hour.

At the NextGen Healthcare exhibit, a duo of high-energy "splatter" artists created 13 paintings each day of the show, spending about eight minutes on each one. While they worked, a host spoke about the company's products and then drew the name of an attendee who received the painting as a prize.

For the past 11 years, Hyland Software has used the same makeshift sports bar as its exhibit to promote its OnBase product. The 30-seat bar, staffed by Hyland employees, served soft drinks and water during the day and beer in the evening.

At the S.C.C. Soft Computer booth, attendees could win pens, golf towels, and golf balls by hitting a hole-in-one on a small putting green.

MEDecision contracted with Starbucks to bring the beverage company's staff and equipment to its booth. Organizers estimated they served about 400 drinks per hour during the show.

Merge Healthcare invited attendees to play arcade games such as "Big Buck Hunter." A spokesperson said the games were intended to highlight the company's focus on developing products that deliver a superior user experience.

Callaway draped its nearly 11,000-square-foot booth in huge poly silk banners to visually represent its slogan of "Don't Just Take Our Word For It." Each banner included dozens of comments from customers about its products and brand that the company gathered from Twitter, Facebook, emails, and in-person events.

Garb, a maker of children's golf apparel, brought its new "Garb Rig" to the show. A flat-screen TV mounted in the back of the Jeep Rubicon showed the company's marketing videos, while two drawers underneath held clothing samples. The company is driving the vehicle around the country to junior golf camps and tournaments.

Yaga clothing company used bright colors, tropical plants, a makeshift bar, and reggae music to create a booth that reflected the Jamaican vibe of its products.

Throughout the three-day show, attendees could try stand-up paddle boarding at a 25- by 45-foot pool constructed on the expo floor.

At the World Petroleum Conference, Control Group used Microsoft’s Kinect motion-sensing cameras with multiple zones of interaction. As an attendee got closer to the 12- by 80-foot display, that movement activated different pieces of content on the screens.

SAP is inviting customers to record testimonials in enclosed booths on the show floor.

From an open studio on the show floor, SAP is streaming interviews online.

Dell brought in six local food trucks for its opening party.

Lounges on the expo floor were used for overflow seating during keynote sessions.

The Social Media Prize Machine rewarded attendees with prizes such as water bottles and candy bars when they "liked" the Dell Facebook page.

Pedicabs to carry attendees to and from the convention center included advertising about Dell products and services.

The I.B.M. Americas team sent out alerts to its Twitter followers with specific times to stop by the "Sweet Tweets" table on the exhibit floor to pick up some candy.

Sogeti, an information technology services company, created a game using Q.R. codes, and the company's staff promoted it with custom shirts.

Attendees had vendors sign off on bingo cards, which they could redeem at the end of the event for prizes.

Fiat's indoor drive track allowed attendees to ride in the cars as company reps drove them around a closed course designed to test the car's different features including agility, handling, maneuverability, and ride quality. Multiple Fiat models were on the track at a single time, with company reps directing traffic as each car moved from one section of the course to the next.

The Smithsonian sponsored a Spark Lab at the Ford space where children and their parents used different shapes of pasta, glue, and tape to create the Car of the Future. A nearby ramp allowed them to then test the strength of their creations.