Con Exhibitor Survival Guide
- Mathieu O'Brien
- 2 minutes ago
- 10 min read
So, you want to exhibit at a convention, eh?
Well, let's make sure you survive this grueling challenge.
I've participated in a few craft and zine markets, but my main experience has been in gaming and pop culture conventions. Over the years, I've exhibited at over a dozen conventions and overall, the following information applies to all of them.
Note: You do not have to follow any of these suggestions, but having learned from every convention I've been to, I highly recommend the following:
Survival Tip 1: Buddy System
You've signed up to be an exhibitor. Congrats! Who's coming with you? Oh, you thought you'd do it all by yourself? Well, while you can do that, and you'll notice that many other exhibitors are alone, you'll quickly realize that if you need to go to the bathroom, or need to get food, or have any reason to leave your booth, being alone may not be the best choice. Who's going to watch your stuff while you're gone? Oh sure, you can ask your neighbouring exhibitor, but what if someone's interested in your wares? What if they want to buy something? Your friendly neighbour can make sure your stuff isn't stolen or damaged, but they don't know your process for making your product. They can't accept payment in your stead. And just like that, you've lost that potential customer.
I highly suggest having at least one other person with you. Someone who either works on the products too, so they're just as knowledgeable as you, or at least someone you know that you've explained things such that they can relay the information to customers.
In my case, for gaming conventions, my game development group brings between two to five people. Two is a minimum, it works for all the reasons I've given above, and five is maybe a bit too many. I would aim to be a maximum of four, but I think three is honestly the best number. It's just enough that there's always someone present at the booth, which allows for worry-free bathroom breaks. It also works for when someone gets tired of engaging with people, or just wants a snack break, etc., another person can take on that role. And especially with three people, it gives that extra person a chance to also go and explore the rest of the convention and to talk to other exhibitors. This setup works with four and five people, but I have found that in the larger numbers, there is very often at least one idle person, given that all the other "roles" have been filled.
And to be clear, all these "roles" are not set in stone. Do not race your colleagues to be the snack guy. Everyone rotates between each position as needed. You're a team. You're working together to make sure you all come out of this event equally exhausted.
Survival Tip 2: Engagement
On that note, let's talk about what happens when it's your turn to be engaging with people.
Now, I want to make it clear that how much energy you put into this really depends on you as a person. If you're very introverted, you might not even want to exhibit, which is fine. Perhaps others on your team are a better fit. But, if you do want to exhibit, but are maybe more introverted, you do not have to match your very extraverted friend's energy either. You do you, as my friend says.
Very often at these conventions, I'm the high-energy and loud person getting people's attention, while some of my booth-mates are more subdued and are having calm conversations on the side with an equally calm attendee. Both work, and I would say that having that variety has been a blessing for us. It gives a wider range of people more reason to engage with us and our game.
For us, it has truly been to our benefit to have multiple people and to be engaging with the attendees. Often, many exhibitors sit quietly waiting for attendees to come to them, but by us engaging with them, our booth is quite often one of the most popular booths, and therefore one of the most played games throughout the event.
One difference I did notice between craft markets and gaming conventions was that the craft markets are much quieter events in general. Being used to gaming conventions, where there's loud music, lots of people talking, lights, etc., I almost have to be louder or at least more outgoing to stand out. But when it came to the craft markets, if music was playing, it was quieter, and calmer. Attendees would slowly make their way down each aisle, eyeing each booth. Many times, if I caught their eye and said hello, in an effort to connect with them, they'd politely smile and move on. Big difference from gaming conventions where the opposite was often true. If I notice someone was eyeing our booth, I'd say hello and engage, which would actually bring them in and a conversation would start. So, something to keep in mind for any event is to read the room. What's the vibe? Sometimes what works in one setting can be a deterrent in another. Try to adapt to the event.
Survival Tip 3: Networking
Yes, even here, at this informal weekend of geek culture, networking exists.
So, since you have a buddy, you should have some opportunities throughout the event to go out and explore what else is out there. Right off the bat, I'd suggest getting to know your neighbours a little bit. You don't have to become lifelong friends or anything, but for the next 24 to 72 hours, you will be next to each other. May as well meet someone new and see what interesting project they have on the go. This is especially true if the booth next to you only has one person. Think back to Survival Tip 1, being alone can be tough.
As it so happens, a good friend of mine who has also joined my game development group was one of these neighbours, once upon a time. We just so happened to be at adjacent booths and we found out that we were the only ones from Ottawa at that Toronto convention!
Okay, so you've met your immediate neighbours, but what about the rest of the convention? There are so many cool projects being worked on and you have a chance to go and talk to their creators one on one! Who knows what games you'll play, who you'll meet, or even what you'll learn. Obviously, don't be gone forever, thus leaving your booth-mate alone, but take some time here and there to meet other developers, and see what inspired them to make a rogue-like turn-based dinosaur fighting game, or whatever it might be.
Survival Tip 4: Sustenance
No matter the duration of the event (most are between one and three days), you will eventually get hungry and thirsty. And as previously discussed, you are very likely constantly talking to people, and exploring the event space.
As such, I highly recommend having a large water bottle with you at your booth at all times. In fact, one of the first things you'll want to do when arriving at the convention building (after setting up your booth) is to locate the nearest water fountain or bottle filling station. This spot is your friend. Not only will drinking lots of water keep you hydrated in general, it'll also help your throat survive all the talking you're likely doing for upwards of 8 hours per day.
In the same vein, make sure you've packed healthy food. At the very least, I usually pack some snacks, such as fruit (bananas, apples, etc.), crackers, granola bars. Easy stuff that can be eaten without utensils and with minimal mess, but that's still good for you that will give you the energy to keep going. If you can, I would also suggest packing a lunch, such as sandwiches, or left over pizza, or something more substantial than just a snack for lunch time. Trust me, you'll be grateful that you did. Yes, chocolate bars, candy, chips, etc., can also be packed, but make sure that it's not the main bulk of your food. After a full weekend of eaten nothing but, you won't be feeling great.
As you can probably guess, given how many people there are at these conventions, and how many people you're engaging with, not to mention how tired you'll be afterwards, even with a full night's rest, it's quite possible that you'll end up getting sick. Now, drinking lots of water and eaten healthy food will help tremendously in avoiding this possibility, but don't be surprised if it happens. Just wanted to mention it.
Survival Tip 5: Rest
Of course, I recommend getting a full night's sleep before each day of the convention. This will ensure you're as rejuvenated as possible. But, you should also find time to rest during the event itself. I briefly mentioned it in previous tips, but you will want to sit quietly at some point, due to so much talking, or you're thirsty, or hungry, or just from the constant stimulation. This is where chairs come in.
Most of the time, whatever the event is, the organizers will provide each booth with one to two chairs. If you end up having more people at your booth, you may request additional chairs, but no guarantee you'll get more. If, for whatever reason, no chairs have been provided, you could also ask the organizers if you can bring a folding chair.
So now that you're tired and have a chair, where to escape for your recharging time? Behind your booth! Again, no guarantees, but most of the time, your booth will have a space behind it with enough space for your chair. This is where you can eat your snack, have some water, whatever you need to do without crowding the main aisle where attendees are walking.
Behind the booth is also where the messier parts of the booth can be hidden away. For example, you can hide all the cables if you have computers and monitors. You can hide the bags and boxes that were used to haul the booth supplies. If you have coats, or shoes, etc., they can be put away back here too.
This is your space where anything you don't want the attendees to see (including your exhaustion) can be put.
Survival Tip 6: Hygiene
Similar to Survival Tip 4 and 5, you also have to take care of yourself in the way of hygiene. I know this seems obvious, but trust me, if at least you and your booth-mates are clean and smelling fresh, it'll make sure that your booth is a cleanliness haven that you can always retreat to.
Given just how many people are at these conventions, and that they're always indoors, eventually, the lack of fresh air and the heat will bring out the sweat smell and anything you can do to minimize that, the better. So many sure you shower every day and use that deodorant. Need a mint? Take one.
If your booth requires people to physically touch things, such as a gaming convention with mice, keyboards, gamepad controllers, I would also suggest having sanitation wipes. Use these to clean off your peripherals. You never know if that 6-year-old had a cold, and you might as well stop whatever germs there may have been right then and there.
Survival Tip 7: Stickers!
Everybody loves stickers! Or at least, most attendees do. No matter the age, when we tell people "Feel free to grab a sticker", a big smile appears as they peruse what's on display.
If you're selling stickers, of course I'm not saying to give them away. But even when selling stickers, it seems to be one of the better selling items, at least in my experience. By comparison to other things, stickers are cheap, so people tend to grab one or two.
But in our case, when my group and I go to gaming conventions, we'll often buy a few dozen stickers of whatever character is in our game, and people seem to really like having a little something to take with them. And on the flip side, it gives them something to remember our game once they get home.
Win-win.
Survival Tip 8: Booth Design
When it comes to your actual booth design, take inspiration from others. Of course, your booth will be customized to fit your branding, and your style, but depending on how much space you have and what you're showing, take inspiration from similar types of booths, and see what they did. If you can, I'd even go ask those exhibitors why they designed their booth the way they did. What worked for them, etc.
What we've done for our games, and what worked really well at our latest event, was to have a large tv on one side showing the game's trailer on loop. It gives passersby a glimpse at the game, without having to play it and helps to attract people who are interested. On the other side of the table, we have one or two computers actually running the game. This allows people to quickly pick it up, and also reduces the chance of waiting for the single spot to be free.
Depending on how much space you have, you might also want to have an area in the middle of the table where neither the computer monitors or tv are blocking your view from behind the booth. This gives you a space to engage with the attendees without having to go to the front and potentially block someone's view of the game.
I would also suggest having one, maybe two call to actions that are very clear in your booth branding. For example, what we often do is to have a large QR code on a printed poster in the middle of the table, just below the game's logo. The QR code leads people to wherever we want, most often to the game's wishlist page. Makes it quick and clear what we're asking people to do, and why.
Survival Tip 9: Learn
My final survival tip for exhibiting at conventions is simply to learn from the experience. Pay attention to what could be improved, or what didn't go as well as expected. Did you eat enough? Did you get to explore the rest of the event? Was your booth decor clear as to what you were showcasing? These are all things (and more) that I've learned over the years of attending these events.
At this point, we're a well oiled machine. We have our booth supplies bag always ready to go. We always make sure to go to bed at a reasonable hour, because we know the next morning will be early. And have applied many other small, specific lessons that make our experience that much better.
But everything I've said above is really all you need to get started. I hope this helps, and thanks for reading!