Yesterday I spent most of the day at the NEC, visiting the KBB Show (courtesy of a VIP ticket I won on their Facebook page) and the Focus on Imaging Show (which cost a tenner to get in). A friend in my Comp Club has always recommended show visits as a great way to find low entry competitions, so I decided to conduct a small experiment to see if she was right... I love interior design and photography so the two exhibitions were right up my street!
I arrived at the NEC at about 10.30am, and headed straight for KBB (Kitchen, Bedroom, Bathroom) Show. It was teeming with men in unflattering grey suits, so I busied myself searching for comps. I was delightfully distracted by the amazing exhibition stands there - some of the kitchens and bathrooms were properly space age... but honestly, do people really need TVs built in to their bathroom mirrors?
The organisers themselves were handing out scratch cards to win a share of a million Avios (Airmiles in old lingo) - I tried 4 cards but no luck, so I concentrated on the prize draws that were on the stands. I entered about 6 iPad draws - two of these involved dropping a business card into a jar. There were only about 15 other cards in each jar! There were also draws to win spa days, champagne and gift vouchers.
I had seen on the KBB Facebook page that each day they were giving an iPad2 to someone who attended a seminar, so I popped along to the seminar theatre, saw a talk about water conservation (I think Saturday's Social Media talk would have been more my scene!) and completed an entry form. For this prize, you HAD to be around to collect it in the afternoon... at 2.30 I got a call to say I was the winner! I was delighted - my first iPad win (and about time too....)
The Focus on Imaging show was a completely different event - this one was full of balding middle aged men with rucksacks full of camera equipment! There were about 20 competitions to enter here, for some you had to scan QR codes, for others the organisers simply scanned your barcode on your ticket to get your details... oh so modern!
My favourite was this one from Manfrotto - guess the number of stress balls in the box to win bags and camera accessories. You completed your information and guess on an iPad, then they announced the daily winners on Facebook each evening (I didn't win!).
My top tips for comping at exhibitions/trade shows
These tips also apply to consumer shows like the Wedding, Good Food and Baby Shows - but at these there will be lots more visitors, and so a lot more competition entries!
Read the brochure/guide as soon as you arrive
Some stands will advertise their comps in the brochure - circle their stands on your floor plan and make sure you visit.
Check the Twitterfeed for the show
I searched for 'focusonimaging' and 'KBB' on Twitter to look for companies who were tweeting comps. One company offered a prize for "the first person to come to our stand and say 'chicken lips'!" (I didn't bother with that one...!)
Do your research
Check the Facebook page and Twitter feed of the show organisers to see what promotions are going on. Also make sure you're able to chat about the show if someone strikes up a conversation!
Take plenty of business cards
Business cards don't cost too much to get printed, use bright colours so they stand out. If you don't have a job just pop on your home address, mobile number and a job title like 'Social Media Manager' (I like to think that translates as 'I use Facebook a lot'). If your partner has cards, take those and drop them in the boxes too.
Smile and be friendly
One guy I spoke to said they always pick the most unusual business card as the winner! If you chat to the organiser, and make sure they get a look at your business card or your name badge, they might well remember you and decide they want you to win... naughty, but true!
And afterwards...
Keep your brochures and check the listed exhibitors' Facebook pages for comps - these will probably be brands that compers don't know about, so you might find some very low entry promotions!
Oh, and finally - try not to make an exhibition of yourself by struggling with 40 different bags. It makes it impossible to fill out entry forms!
I arrived at the NEC at about 10.30am, and headed straight for KBB (Kitchen, Bedroom, Bathroom) Show. It was teeming with men in unflattering grey suits, so I busied myself searching for comps. I was delightfully distracted by the amazing exhibition stands there - some of the kitchens and bathrooms were properly space age... but honestly, do people really need TVs built in to their bathroom mirrors?
The organisers themselves were handing out scratch cards to win a share of a million Avios (Airmiles in old lingo) - I tried 4 cards but no luck, so I concentrated on the prize draws that were on the stands. I entered about 6 iPad draws - two of these involved dropping a business card into a jar. There were only about 15 other cards in each jar! There were also draws to win spa days, champagne and gift vouchers.
I had seen on the KBB Facebook page that each day they were giving an iPad2 to someone who attended a seminar, so I popped along to the seminar theatre, saw a talk about water conservation (I think Saturday's Social Media talk would have been more my scene!) and completed an entry form. For this prize, you HAD to be around to collect it in the afternoon... at 2.30 I got a call to say I was the winner! I was delighted - my first iPad win (and about time too....)
The Focus on Imaging show was a completely different event - this one was full of balding middle aged men with rucksacks full of camera equipment! There were about 20 competitions to enter here, for some you had to scan QR codes, for others the organisers simply scanned your barcode on your ticket to get your details... oh so modern!
My favourite was this one from Manfrotto - guess the number of stress balls in the box to win bags and camera accessories. You completed your information and guess on an iPad, then they announced the daily winners on Facebook each evening (I didn't win!).
My top tips for comping at exhibitions/trade shows
These tips also apply to consumer shows like the Wedding, Good Food and Baby Shows - but at these there will be lots more visitors, and so a lot more competition entries!
Read the brochure/guide as soon as you arrive
Some stands will advertise their comps in the brochure - circle their stands on your floor plan and make sure you visit.
Check the Twitterfeed for the show
I searched for 'focusonimaging' and 'KBB' on Twitter to look for companies who were tweeting comps. One company offered a prize for "the first person to come to our stand and say 'chicken lips'!" (I didn't bother with that one...!)
Do your research
Check the Facebook page and Twitter feed of the show organisers to see what promotions are going on. Also make sure you're able to chat about the show if someone strikes up a conversation!
Take plenty of business cards
Business cards don't cost too much to get printed, use bright colours so they stand out. If you don't have a job just pop on your home address, mobile number and a job title like 'Social Media Manager' (I like to think that translates as 'I use Facebook a lot'). If your partner has cards, take those and drop them in the boxes too.
Smile and be friendly
One guy I spoke to said they always pick the most unusual business card as the winner! If you chat to the organiser, and make sure they get a look at your business card or your name badge, they might well remember you and decide they want you to win... naughty, but true!
And afterwards...
Keep your brochures and check the listed exhibitors' Facebook pages for comps - these will probably be brands that compers don't know about, so you might find some very low entry promotions!
Oh, and finally - try not to make an exhibition of yourself by struggling with 40 different bags. It makes it impossible to fill out entry forms!
