How These 13 Trade Show Booths Used Interactivity to Boost Engagement

For its first-ever CES booth in 2023, Reddit introduced its “Future Tellers” installation. The space was anchored by an oversize, Reddit-branded crystal ball-type structure fabricated by Giant Spoon. Here, visitors could get a glimpse of what Redditors are talking about today that may sound ludicrous now, but will become mainstream in the coming years. After selecting a topic—which spanned entertainment, crypto, Web3, and culture—user-generated content (UGC) of real conversations that happened on Reddit populated the LED ball.

In another area, “The Communi-Tea Bar” (seen back left corner) invited guests to “read the communi-tea leaves” and further interact with futurism on Reddit’s platform. Tea bags were individually wrapped based on their subreddit, and featured future-telling posts (like “I think the 2032 presidential election is the first ‘gas prices don’t matter’ election” from the r/electricvehicles subreddit). After your tea was brewed, a QR code was revealed at the end of the tea bag’s string, which led to the actual subreddit thread on the platform.

And in another interactive moment, a quiz asked visitors true and false questions about what they think Redditors are future-telling about. For example, “grasshoppers are the new kale,” which was true.

At Groceryshop 2024, conventiongoers could visit Instacart's eye-catching booth, conceptualized and produced by MoonLab Productions and its in-house fabrication partner, BloqLab. The team crafted a realistic home and store environment, elevating the experience through strategic gamification, dynamic lighting, and playful graphic elements.

A highlight was the custom Plinko game. Winners had the opportunity to choose from an assortment of premium Instacart swag, gift cards, and even Instacart+ memberships in the dedicated prize zone while enjoying fall-flavored popsicles.

At the 2022 edition of Cisco IMPACT, the company's annual sales kickoff, the center of the show floor hosted the Shared Stories Gallery. The 23-foot-tall-by-46-foot-wide frame-like structure was inspired by the event's key visual, a kaleidoscope of energetic shards conveying a moment of impact. As attendees walked inside the Shared Stories Gallery, they found 24 screens displaying social posts of their peers, along with moments to celebrate their colleagues.

The space ultimately resulted in 1,129 social posts and 1,929 Shared Story Gallery interactions, averaging an interaction every 30 seconds. The event was produced in partnership with George P. Johnson (GPJ), TENCUE, Sans Serif, and Jaguar Design Studio. See more: Most Innovative Meetings 2022: Cisco IMPACT FY23

An unexpected partnership at CES 2023 came from director and producer M. Night Shyamalan and Canon. Together, they produced Canon’s largest-ever booth at CES, which featured a life-size replica of the cabin from the then-new horror film Knock at the Cabin; the booth was tucked away in a fabricated forest in a 10,000-square-foot space on the show floor.

Using Canon’s Kokomo technology—VR technology that utilizes a headset—guests could insert themselves into the film. And in the spirit of the movie’s plot, where a young girl and her parents are taken hostage in their own cabin while vacationing in the woods, participants could also barricade the cabin with virtual objects in a three-minute VR game, plus speculate how the story ends.

A standout moment from 2023's ComplexCon was the 2,500-square-foot activation from eBay, which organizers liked to refer to as a full-scale “hype house” rather than simply a booth. The vibrantly colored, interactive space highlighted the marketplace's selection of authentic fashion and collectible goods, including handbags, watches, sneakers, streetwear, and trading cards. The eBay House included five main spaces, each of which adopted a different color and theme.

The house-centric theme evoked how both buyers and sellers engage with eBay at home. The red game room space, for example, focused on the brand’s collectibles market and featured vintage stand-up arcade games like Ms. Pac-Man and NBA Jam. (In a clever, on-theme twist, the foosball table had collectible cards in the place of players.) A yellow office, meanwhile, was focused on luxury items that can be found on eBay. The team created various LED backlit arch photo moments, plus a custom display case with tubes where fans could visualize luxury watches on their own wrists. Media.Monks was the creative agency behind the booth, while Stoelt Productions handled production. See more: See Inside eBay's Massive Five-Room 'House' at ComplexCon

For Google Android's booth at CES 2024, visitors could scan a QR code to access an augmented reality experience with "The Bot" as a guide. In one area, attendees learned about Magic Compose in Google Messages, a beta feature powered by generative AI that offers suggested responses based on the context of your messages. (You can also type what you want to say and select from a broad range of tones like “lyrical” or “Shakespeare” to transform your message.) At giant green mailboxes in the booth, attendees were able to compose a message, print it out like a physical postcard, and mail it.

The booth’s lead agency was Media.Monks and structural fabrication was handled by Sparks. Pink Sparrow fabricated all of the interior elements.

Of course, interactivity doesn't always have to be high-tech. At our own Connect Marketplace in 2022, an out-of-the-box engagement idea came from Visit Wichita. The CVB set up a giant colorable column in the middle of its booth; attendees could grab colorful pens and channel their inner creative as they learned about the city's history and must-see attractions.

At CES 2019, Polaroid gave guests the chance to experience the then-new Polaroid OneStep analog instant camera from Polaroid Originals. With an oversize replica of the camera as a centerpiece, the booth featured interactive stations that showcased the product’s features such as double exposure, light painting, and noise trigger. Attendees could have their picture taken on color or black-and-white Polaroid Originals film and experience film photography techniques like emulsion lifts. Polaroids were displayed on branded walls.

For its Workday Rising conference in 2019, financial management and human capital management software vendor Workday built a massive expo hall for its 13,000 employees and customers. Various booths included an area called “Walk in Someone Else’s Shoes,” where attendees were shown a pair of shoes and asked to guess who wears them, and another where guests were asked to guess job titles based on a diverse set of headshots. Additional areas showcased Workday’s charitable and sustainability-focused initiatives through interactive games (pictured). George P. Johnson produced the event in partnership with Workday's internal events team. See more: Most Innovative Meetings 2020: #1 Workday Rising

At VidCon 2022, Mars celebrated its candy brands—including M&M’s, Snickers, Twix, Orbit, Extra, 5 Gum, Skittles, and Starburst—with a large, summer camp-inspired booth called Camp Sweet Springs. Each brand had its own separate activation within the space, all designed to encourage photo ops while highlighting key messaging. Guests were guided through the experience by brand ambassadors dressed as camp counselors.

After stepping past vintage-style posters and through a wooden camp overhang, attendees entered Starburst’s pretty-in-pink “feel-good forest.” Guests were invited to write encouraging, positivity-focused messages for each other, which were then hung from the trees with wooden clips. A vibrant pink carpet featured hashtags like #doyou, and neon signage said “you are a pink Starburst.”

As guests continued through the booth, they encountered a vibrant, infinity-room-inspired photo op from Skittles, as well as the Orbit Craft Cabin where they could create arts and crafts like charm bracelets. Various signage in the Craft Cabin kept the positivity going, with cute gum-inspired notes that read “I chews you” and “In amaze-mint of you.” Another fun touch? A green-screen photo op from Extra, where guests pretended to be water skiing on two sticks of Extra gum.

Also at VidCon 2022 was Prime Video's two-story booth that highlighted some of the streamer’s most popular young-adult titles. Inside the space, fans navigated their way through series-themed hallways, leading them to unique photo opportunities that gave a 360-degree view of locations inspired by the shows, complete with a walkthrough kinetic photo op, an infinity moment, a merchandise drop, LED and TV content opportunities, and curated art.

The Prime Video booth's final room brought guests into an animated world, depicting the corner office of Titan from Invincible. As the big finale of the experience, attendees climbed up a stairwell in the office building to the second-floor roof, opened the roof door overlooking all of VidCon, and were able to take a leap into the foam pit below.

The booth was produced, designed, and executed by Mirrored Media with support from Catalina Productions.

Another foam pit showed up at at CES 2020, where home security company ADT worked with Sparks to create an interactive booth designed to reach millennials and new or aspiring homeowners. A foam pit activation dubbed the “Trust Fall Pool” featured a slow-motion camera, which captured attendees falling into the pit; the videos could instantly be shared on social media. The vibrant booth also featured a life-size kitchen setup with a freshly baked apple crisp activation made by “Mom.” ADT worked with Sparks on the booth.

At Ulta Beauty's field leadership conference in 2023, Gladiator Productions worked with skincare brand First Aid Beauty to create a unique booth modeled after a mini-mart. The booth, which was outfitted with faux brick and bold signage, allowed attendees to grab a basket and shop the space. In addition to products, the mini-mart incorporated vintage shelving units, custom magazine racks, and other details one might find at a corner store. See more: Four Distinct Booths at One Trade Show? Here's How This Event Production Company Pulled It Off