What if I told you there were 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 🎄𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄𝘀?

You probably would tell me "what the heck man?" 🤔

Well, stay with me for a minute; I'll explain...

𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗴𝗼 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝘀?

I mean, why not stay at the office and 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗯 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘀 instead of going to these big hangars?

Think about it, it's 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿, 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿, and you'll get manipulated by marketers in the same way. 💼💻🕵️‍♂️

So why go? 🤷‍♂️

𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 the... 𝗦𝗨𝗥𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗘 you might have!

Kind of like when you open presents at Christmas. Or like Forrest Gump with his box of chocolates. 🎉🍫

Because 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲 (𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱) 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀

Whether you're hunting a mammoth, a dress in a shopping mall, or mustard in the alley of your supermarket, human brains have a special reward for (good) surprises; it's called dopamine. 🧠💥

And this is why trade shows are... complicated. 😬

As an 𝗲𝘅𝗵𝗶𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀, but make sure you surprise them positively and not negatively which will cause a reduction in dopamine (like I see too many exhibitors do on trade show floors). 🙌🛠️

But How?

And on what specific elements of your trade show strategy should you introduce the element of surprise?

We'll go into specifics in another post. 📝📢

More than a tip, 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 to prepare 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄, 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲. ✨

This "emotion" is at the heart of the event, tourism, hotel, and restaurant industries. It's also how social media companies keep you hooked. 💼🏨🍔📱

Surprises convey a sense of creativity and innovation

In a sense, it's a form of... hope! (You'll think about it next time you vote for someone). 🌟🗳️

So when you catch attendees off guard with surprises, it 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱'𝘀 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿. It also 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀 that you're not just another exhibitor but a 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 in your industry, that you stand out from the pack, which means you're 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿. 🌟🚀

The key is to 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 "𝘀𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗲" (more on that in another post). 💼🤝🎩

Now I've got a question for you: Have you experienced the magic of surprise at a trade show? Was it a good or a bad one, and why? 🎉🤔

Feel free to share your experience in the comments below and spark up the discussion. 💬👇