Visual Marketing: 99 Proven Ways for Small Businesses to Market with Images and Design

49. Sweet! Creating an Interactive Puzzle to Increase Booth Traffic at a Conference

BizSugar.com is a social media site for small-business personnel. To increase awareness and build a community, BizSugar became an exhibitor at selected small-business events. The site's logo is a sugar cube, a play on the name BizSugar. With the help of designer Sarah Sawaya of Sassafras Design Services and marketing strategist Ivana Taylor of DIYMarketers.com, both in Ohio, BizSugar created a series of collateral pieces and trade show identity items—including a pop-up banner and tote bags—extending the sugar theme.

One of the collateral pieces was a comparison puzzle that consisted of two almost-identical sugar packet images describing BizSugar, but with seven subtle differences among them. Each attendee at a conference received a puzzle sheet. The puzzle instructed those who found the seven differences to visit the BizSugar booth to claim a special prize.

Why It Works

The sugar packet imagery reinforces the domain name of the site, BizSugar.com. Giving attendees a puzzle, something to “do,” increased the interest level in the collateral piece. More important, it got people to come to the booth to claim their special prize for spotting the differences. Once there, they were presented with a brief ...