Aurora Diagnostics Boosts Trade Show Lead Counts Two Years In A Row With Interactive Trivia Game

Stacey Rosenberg, Marketing Specialist at Aurora Diagnostics, wanted an interactive trivia game as part of their large booth at the American Academy of Dermatologists (AAD) show for three main reasons:

  • Have a fun, interactive booth with an activity that was quick and easy to play, to get more people into their booth
  • Have an additional way to gather leads beyond the show’s badge scanners (which often lacked attendees’ email addresses)
  • Showcase company services and benefits by including easier company-specific questions mixed in with dermatology-based quiz questions

Aurora Diagnostics first used SocialPoint’s Challenge Bar Trivia Game at AAD 2018, with excellent results: “Wow! Quite the turnout!” affirmed Rosenberg.  “About 30% of our booth visitors played the game.”

“I was happy to get 332 additional leads at the show. The game was actually an easier way to collect leads than asking everyone to scan badges, which some people are put off by.”

Plus, attendees came away from the show better informed about Aurora Diagnostics’ services and benefits: “We had some players who were there for hours, just wanting to be top on the leaderboard.”

Success Leads To Game Reuse at AAD 2019

Because of their success at AAD 2018, Rosenberg made the easy decision to repeat using their customized trivia game for AAD 2019: “The trivia game totally exceeded our expectations in 2018,” said Rosenberg.  “SocialPoint is amazing to work with and they really went out of their way last year for us.  Therefore, we did it again in 2019.”

“The cost for our second year was very minimal.  And the process to set-up the game this year was less than a 20-minute phone call.”

At AAD 2019, Aurora Diagnostics had similar strong results, with 320 unique game players, who played 551 games, and answered 9,632 trivia questions.

Game Set Up: Trivia Configuration, Prizes, Exhibit & Graphics

Getting the game set up was “a seamless process that SocialPoint walked us through,” said Rosenberg.

“Both years, we had 6 iPads and an 80” screen leaderboard for our booth. For our first year, we set-up all the graphics, game questions and what questions we wanted our audience (mostly physicians) to answer for our leads being collected.”

To make the game quick (and not overdo attendees’ limited attention-span), Stacey asked SocialPoint to limit the game plays to 3 minutes. “SocialPoint did have other options, but I thought this was best for us,” said Rosenberg.  Players could play individually rather than wait for other players before starting. This also let more people play the game. People who wanted to play more could simply play the game again.

Aurora Diagnostics created over 100 trivia questions, so attendees who played more than one game saw mostly new questions each game.  Rosenberg requested their game Leaderboard display the top 20 scorers: “I wanted to put as many names as I could, so more people could be up there.  They just liked seeing their name on the board.”

For visibility, both years the game was set up on the booth corner on the main aisle.

In 2018, Aurora Diagnostic’s exhibit counter supported 6 game iPads.  Counter graphics promoted the trivia game with the words, “Faceoff here – Dermatology is not a Trivial Pursuit.”  Aurora Diagnostics also had matching page-sized graphics atop the counter showing the Dermlite they could win by playing the trivia game. “We gave Dermlites to the top 3 people per day on the leaderboard,” recalled Rosenberg.

Aurora Diagnostics - Trivia game 2


At the 2018 AAD Show, Aurora Diagnostics set up their first SocialPoint Trivia game on the corner of their booth on the busiest aisle to grab more attention and booth traffic.

In 2019, rather than put the game player iPads on a counter, Aurora Diagnostics put their 6 game iPads on kiosks, which made it easier for players to approach and see the game leaderboard.  They renamed the game “DERM Master Challenge.” Aurora Diagnostics also promoted game with graphics on their exhibit components, and with 2 larger signs saying, “The top three scores will win a YETI” that included a photo of the prize. “The custom Yetis cost us only half as much as the Dermlites, but were an equal draw for attendees.” Aurora Diagnostics also used the trivia game as a “gate” to visit the candy bar they had in their booth, further motivating attendees to play their game (and learn more about their products).

Aurora Diagnostics - Trivia at AAD 2019

After successes at AAD 2018 and AAD 2019, what will Aurora Diagnostics do for AAD 2020?

“Our booth was so well received this year,” concluded Rosenberg, “that we will do the same game again next year, and probably not change much.  We are also considering using our DERM Master Challenge trivia game at another show, and other SocialPoint trade show games for our smaller shows. ”

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.