Events are never just about you. You can design the most beautiful display, write the cleverest tagline, even rehearse the perfect elevator pitch, and still end up with attendees walking past like you are invisible. Why? Because people want to feel part of it, not sold to.
I have seen teams treat event design like a one-way broadcast. Our exhibit. Our message. Our way. Attendees tune out faster than my teenager when I ask about homework. The answer is not more lights or louder music. It is collaboration. Bring your audience into the process before, during, and after the show. When people feel like they helped create the experience, they stay longer, talk more, and remember you after the show.
Most companies treat the time before an event as one long to-do list. Book the space. Ship the display. Print the graphics. Stress about the graphics. Forget the graphics at least once. What often gets missed is the chance to get attendees involved before the doors even open.
If you are only guessing at what attendees want, you are taking a gamble with your budget. A quick pre-show survey can save you from that kind of facepalm moment. Ask what challenges they want solved. Ask which product they are most curious about. Even something simple, like which topic deserves a live demo, tells you where the interest is. Even ask which giveaway would actually end up in their bag instead of the hotel trash can.
And yes, swag matters, but meaningful choice matters more. No one has ever felt special walking away with the same stress ball 2,000 other people got. But ask if they would prefer a phone charger, a reusable water bottle, or a snack that is not a stale granola bar, and suddenly you have data that makes you look thoughtful instead of generic.
Here are a few questions you could drop into a pre-show survey that do more than just “check the box”:
The win here is not just better planning, it is early buy-in. When people give input ahead of time, they are not just attendees anymore. They are co-creators. They walk into your display looking for the thing they voted on, curious about the conversation they helped shape. That curiosity is gold, because curious people stop, engage, and stay longer.
This is where a lot of exhibitors drift off track. Months of planning, thousands on the exhibit, and then… they park themselves behind a counter like a human brochure. Nothing makes attendees keep walking faster than a booth that feels more like a waiting room than an experience.
People do not come to events just to be talked at. They want to feel like part of the action. Research backs it up: 56% of attendees prefer hands-on interaction or participatory activities over passively watching. Give them something to react to, decide on, or shape in real time. It does not have to be a flashy gimmick. It can be as simple as:
Here is where the shift happens. Flip it around. Think like a host, not a salesperson. If you only crank up the lights and hope people wander in, you are basically throwing a party where the only entertainment is staring at the furniture. No one RSVP’d for that.
A good host sets the tone. They introduce people, spark conversations, and make sure everyone has something to do. At an event, that means giving people ways to participate. Maybe it is voting live on the next demo topic, scribbling their own idea on a wall, or picking which product “battle” they want to see head-to-head.
Hosts do not just present. They involve. They notice when someone looks lost and pull them in. They connect two people who should meet. They turn a room full of strangers into a crowd with shared energy. That is when attendees stop acting like passersby and start acting like participants.
Quick Co-Creation Checklist for the Show Floor
A trade show display can stop people in their tracks, but it is what happens inside that earns a place in their memory. The laugh they had, the game they played, the quick chat that actually mattered. When they feel part of it, they don’t walk away with just a flyer. They leave with your story.
Too many exhibitors treat the end of a show like the end of a school play. Pack up the props, take one last bow, and then everyone goes home like it never happened. But if you stop there, you are tossing out the best material for your next performance.
Follow-up is not just a polite thank-you. It is your chance to keep the co-creation loop going. Remember, the people who filled out your pre-show survey and leaned into your display are already telling you what matters. The question is: are you writing it down, and are you using it?
Most teams drop the ball here. They send the same “thanks for stopping by” email to everyone, check the CRM box, and call it a day. If you want your next event to land harder, you need to take what attendees gave you in real time and feed it back into your strategy.
Here is how:
Think of it this way: every interaction at an event is raw material. When you log it, learn from it, and use it, your next display does not just look better, it works better, because your audience helped shape it. And it matters: 70% of people become regular customers after an experiential marketing event.
Most exhibitors spend their energy figuring out how to stop people in their tracks. Bigger lights. Louder graphics. Flashier tech. That can make someone pause, but it rarely keeps them there. What keeps them is giving them a hand in shaping the experience.
Think back to those old “choose your own adventure” books. The fun was not just in reading the story. It was in deciding where the story went. Do you open the secret door or run back down the hallway? Flip to page 42 and see what happens. That sense of control made the story stick. You were not just a reader, you were part of it.
Your event space works the same way. When people can choose their path, whether it is voting on the next demo, steering the conversation toward the challenge that matters to them, or picking which product “battle” to watch, they are not just attendees anymore. They are co-authors of the experience. And co-authors do not forget the story they helped write.
That is the power of co-creation. It changes a booth from a quick stop for swag into the one people are still talking about afterward. It is where conversations last longer, connections feel real, and your brand sneaks into their memory in a way graphics alone never could. And here is the kicker: 65% of customers say that product demos and live events helped them understand a product better than any other advertising method.
People who feel like they had a voice in your story today are more likely to be your loyal customers tomorrow. They already see themselves in your brand. When you pull that off, you are not just working an event. You are building relationships that last long after the carpet is rolled up.
Events are won when people feel part of your story. That is what co-creation delivers, and it is what we have been helping brands do for over 50 years. Let’s co-create your next event — request a free design quote.
