Attendee Engagement

Why Do People Love Interactive Trivia Games and How Exhibitors Can Use Them To Their Advantage at Trade Shows?

Why are many exhibitors deploying a custom trade show quiz at their booths? Read this post to find out.

The internet has advanced by leaps and bounds since the dial-up era. However, there are things from the past that have only become more popular with time.  

Let’s take online quizzes, for example. I clearly remember visiting websites like BuzzFeed and spending an enormous amount of time playing quizzes to find out “What City Should You Live In?” and “Which Character from Mean Girls Are You?” Then just a few days back, I remember playing the “What Do Your Facebook Habits Reveal About You?” quiz and even sharing the results on my Facebook page (I scored 90/100, BTW).

And I’m not the only one, right? Interactive content like trivia games is one of the most shared content types on social platforms.

So, what is it that makes us love interactive trivia games? How can exhibitors use this fondness for quizzes to attract and engage more attendees at trade shows? Take a look-

Why Do We Love Trivia Games?

Here are some of the top reasons why quizzes are so irresistible-

Quizzes Test Our Intelligence

Quizzes like general knowledge trivia help us test our intelligence.

As humans, most of us have that innate urge to keep testing our knowledge about anything and everything we can get our hands on. The challenging questions of the trivia allow us to showcase our intelligence without making us the social pariah who just waits for an opportunity to “show off” their knowledge. Taking quizzes regularly helps us keep our intelligence in check, providing that confidence that makes us feel good about ourselves.

It is About the “Me” Time

In a post, MIT psychologist and culture analyst Sherry Turkle says,

“(With quizzes) Basically, we’re trying to get a number. People want a read on the self, an order to do it. They’ll use a quiz to get the number. It gives people something to look at, an object to think with. I think these quizzes are a kind of focus for attention for thinking about yourself.”

For the most part of the day, we’re occupied with others- others who prefer talking about themselves or other people. With quizzes, we get that alone time that is just about us. In many ways, it is similar to retail therapy, where we purchase something as a treat for ourselves. Trivia games are just about us and nobody else. Not our partner, child, or friend, but us.

We Love Winning

Everybody loves to win- whether or not there is any prize involved.

Just the feeling of competing with others and watching your name at the top of the leaderboard is very satisfying. And again, this has a lot to do with human psychology.

When we win, there is a rush of dopamine or pleasure hormone in our brains. Eating your favorite food, shopping, and smelling freshly baked cookies are some other activities that release this reward hormone.

[READ: How do Trade Show Games Boost Audience Engagement]

How Can Exhibitors Use Quizzes at Trade Shows?

Searching for trade show contest ideas? How about a custom quiz?

Now that we’ve established why people love playing quizzes, why not use this to your advantage to attract and engage attendees at trade shows?

As an exhibitor or event manager, one of the primary goals for you is to offer something unique to the people attending the exhibition. What is better than something people already love and enjoy to grab their attention and make them want to visit your booth?

What are Custom Trade Show Quizzes?

A custom trade show contest like trivia is nothing like the standard trivia you play online. While it sure follows the same format of people answering questions and receiving points, these games are exclusively designed by experts to help exhibitors get closer to their trade show objectives.

How are Custom Trade Show Games Different from Generic Quizzes?

Here are some ways these custom games differ from generic quizzes-

The Perfect Icebreaker

Your booth staff constantly looks for opportunities to break the ice with the visitors and initiate a conversation. Once a conversation begins, they can then let people know more about the business and its offerings. Fun games for trade show booths help break the ice and make people stay at your booth longer to provide enough time for your staff to initiate one-on-one conversations.

Room for Extensive Customization

Custom trade show quizzes allow you to craft the questions around a specific industry, brand, product, or service. As participants answer the questions, they learn more about the business and its USPs. In other words, the games educate the audience and boost brand awareness.

Opportunity for Powerful Branding

Branding enables businesses to create loyal customers. If your exhibition plan (link to Event Managers Guide for Planning and Executing a Trade Show Event) involves offering a consistent brand experience to the attendees, the digital trade show games can contribute to this endeavor. For instance, custom games can feature your logo to grab attention and boost brand retention.

Leverage the Leaderboard 

Exhibitors generally deploy multiple iPads or other devices for gameplay at their booths. Many of them also install large LED screens with leaderboards. For the booth visitors, the leaderboard adds that competitive feeling which makes everything more interesting and memorable for them. And as an exhibitor, you sure have done a commendable job if you were able to offer a memorable experience to your booth visitors.

Win Real Prizes

Unlike online trivia, where the most someone can do is share the results on their Facebook page, trade show booth games often involve real prizes. Exhibitors can choose the prizes they’d like to distribute to the quiz winners. The prizes are often their products or customized gifts. But, irrespective of what prize you choose, it sure gives the booth visitors a significant incentive to try their best and reach that coveted top spot.

Collect ‘Engaged’ Leads

Collecting engaged leads is another common trade show objective. Unfortunately, attendees don’t find the traditional lead collection methods like lead forms, business cards, and badge scanning engaging anymore. A custom quiz can be the solution. Visitors are required to fill up a short form before starting the quiz, eliminating the need for the booth staff to use any other method for lead collection.

[READ: Trade Show Games Vs Badge Scanners for Lead Generation]

Ready to Experiment with Trade Show Gamification?

If you’ve already tried various methods to attract and engage people at trade shows, but the results were nothing to speak about, it is time that you give interactive trivia games a shot. Apart from being an audience magnet, these custom games can play a vital role in helping you achieve your trade show objectives. Want to learn more about custom trade show games? Contact us to know how these booth quizzes work and what makes them so popular among trade show attendees.

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