5 Ways to Amp Up Your Trade Show Passport Game with SocialPoint

Wandering trade shows to have your passport card stamped is like playing with a kid who jumps out to surprise you. The kid keeps doing it so much that you expect it and get bored with feigning surprise. Then the kid wonders why you don’t find it fun anymore. And you’re both annoyed with each other.

That is because it’s expected. It’s the norm. It doesn’t surprise and delight. 

Most trade show passport games are pretty standard. The big shock is actually winning something from the drawing that filling your passport card qualifies you for. So, it doesn’t matter what you call it — Bingo, Treasure Hunt, or whatever — the game’s mechanics are still the same (and predictable).

Most have the following elements:

  • Player registration
  • QR code check-in
  • Prize-winner generator

And while SocialPoint also has these features, it offers much more. Read on to learn how SocialPoint users add a dash of spice to set their games apart from typical passport games.

Benefits of SocialPoint

SocialPoint combines ease of use and valuable metrics that help you keep up with your leads while making the experience enjoyable for trade show attendees. Here’s how you can use SocialPoint for trade show success: 

  • Get data to track participation and gameplay.
  • Create a paperless digital experience that is easy to use.
  • Add activities to your passport checkins such as: trivia quizzes, surveys, posting photos, polls, and more.
  • Show calls to action after they check-in such as document downloads, videos, links to a website and more.
  • Automatically capture players who qualify for the drawing and put them into the reward. 

The no-fuss nature of SocialPoint’s passport game frees time for you to do what you came to do — interact with potential customers. 

Do You Need More Traffic on Your Show Floor?

Download our Trade Show Passport Game for Show Organizers and Sponsorship Sales Brochure. It’s full of advice on how to build branded games that increase show floor traffic, improve renewals, and prove sponsorship value.

5 ways to make your passport game better than ever

As a trade show organizer,  you must drive traffic to your show floor and keep them there. Here are five ideas that our SocialPoint customers have implemented to make your passport game an exciting and engaging experience:

Tip 1 – Give exhibitors a secret code

If there is one thing that introverts excel at, it’s the ability to run from booth to booth, scan, and earn points — all without talking to a single exhibitor. It’s one of the most frustrating weaknesses of a QR Code scanning game. 

Instead, assign exhibitors a secret QR code to share with players for one drawing entry. The extra point is an incentive to help attendees escape their comfort zones and strike up a conversation.

Tip 2 – Hide objects around the trade show floor

In an amped-up version of Eye Spy, attendees search the trade show floor for objects hidden by the exhibitor. Include scavenger hunt clues or a list of objects, and set the attendees loose. Once they find the objects, they can scan the QR code located on the object to earn their points. 

But the codes lead them to more than just points. By using SocialPoint, exhibitors can include customer messages, media, and a CTA. 

Tip 3 – Assign points to activities such as surveys, photo challenges, or trivia

Scan + points + ”Next” = Yawn.

With SocialPoint, players can complete engaging tasks to earn points rather than just scanning their way through the lines for points and mini-candy bars. Here are a few tasks attendees can do:

  • Post a selfie to the event hashtag and the exhibitor.
  • Complete a survey about their pain points.
  • Compete in a photo challenge.

Danielle Yarde, Marketing Promotions Manager for Greystone Communities, credits SocialPoint for the positive feedback about Greystone’s conference. “The challenges allowed us to incentivize content comprehension, strengthen team building, and add value to our sponsorship packages.”

Tip 4 – Spin the prize wheel to get more points

Why leave it to chance? 

Because sometimes, chance adds the perfect amount of suspense. One clever SocialPoint customer uses the virtual prize wheel to gift players more points. After spinning the prize wheel, it lands on a fun task for the attendee to complete. Once the attendee has conquered the task, they win the points connected to that task.

With SocialPoint, Danielle could save her sponsors money and provide additional value. “Instead of asking our sponsors to make an additional investment in prizes, we used the prize wheel as an opportunity to give attendees bonus points, Danielle said. “We used four recurring options for point values on the wheel  — 25, 75, 100, and 125 — and let attendees spin for bonus points. Whichever point value they landed on, they scanned a separate QR code for the points.”

Tip 5 – Assign higher-level sponsors more points than regular sponsors

Create an incentive for exhibitors to purchase the higher-level sponsorship by awarding more points to attendees who visit their booths. You’ve incentivized them to pay for the higher level by awarding more points to higher-level sponsors.

Attendees will want to visit their booths, resulting in more leads for the exhibitor. The return on investment (ROI) pays for itself, and it’s a win-win-win for you, the exhibitor, and the attendees trying to win prizes and meet businesses who can solve their problems.

It’s all fun and games with SocialPoint

And that’s how trade shows should be.

Offering prizes and points for novel activities make trade shows more entertaining and attendees more likely to connect with exhibitors. With SocialPoint’s passport game, you can make trade show passport games more exciting for attendees and effective for exhibitors.

How can you use SocialPoint’s passport game to help your trade show stand out? Learn more about SocialPoint’s Digital Trade Show Passport and get creative today.

Do You Need More Traffic on Your Show Floor?

Download our Trade Show Passport Game for Show Organizers and Sponsorship Sales Brochure. It’s full of advice on how to build branded games that increase show floor traffic, improve renewals, and prove sponsorship value.

Written by

Samuel J. Smith is a thought leader, researcher, speaker and award winning innovator on event technology. In 2011, BizBash Magazine added Sam to its annual innovators list. Since then, Sam has won awards from Exhibitor Magazine, IBTM World, RSVP MN, International Live Events Association and MPI for innovation in event technology.