Trade show activation with a golf simulator: more visitors at your stand

At a trade show you are competing for attention. Hundreds of stands, visitors with little time and a bag full of brochures they will never read. A stand that stands out gets more conversations. A golf simulator is one of the most effective ways to achieve that.

Why a golf simulator attracts visitors

• Visible from a distance. A big screen with a golf ball in flight catches the eye, even from the other end of the hall.
• An invitation without a barrier. "Fancy hitting a ball?" is a much easier opener than "May I tell you about our product?"
• Visitors stay. Whoever hits wants to know how far the ball went. Whoever watches wants a go too. That gives your stand staff time for a conversation.
• It suits a business audience. Golf and business have long gone together. For many trade show visitors it is a familiar and appealing activity.

From visitor to lead

An activation is only really valuable if it gives you contacts. A few ways to do that:

A running competition. Keep a longest drive or nearest to the pin going all day. To get on the leaderboard, visitors leave their name and email address. The winner gets a prize at the end of the day.

A recurring moment. Announce fixed times, for example 12:00 and 16:00, for a matchplay final. Visitors then come back to your stand.

The hole-in-one prize. A hole-in-one wins a green fee of your choice at a Dutch golf course. That is a great hook to communicate on your stand and in your trade show invitation.

Let your staff do the talking. With our fully hosted package, our host runs the golf part: instructions, order and leaderboard. Your colleagues have their hands free for the conversation with the visitor who has just hit or is waiting. For international shows, our host can run everything in English.

How the challenges work exactly is explained in the rules for longest drive, nearest to the pin and matchplay.

Space and stand design

A golf simulator fits on most medium-sized stands. Bear in mind:

• Floor space: about 3 by 5 metres for the set-up itself.
• Height: at least 3 metres of clear height. Watch out for overhanging stand structures and lighting.
• Power: one 230V connection. Request it from the show organiser in good time.
• Viewing space: plan some room for spectators around the mat. A few high tables next to the simulator work well for conversations.

Working with a stand builder? Then agree the position of the screen and the hitting mat in advance. The screen can go against the back wall, for example, so visitors hit into the stand from the aisle.

Set-up and take-down on the show floor

Trade shows have strict build-up and breakdown times. We schedule delivery within the show's build-up period and make sure everything is ready before the doors open. Setting up the simulator itself takes about an hour. Afterwards we take it down within the breakdown times and take everything with us.

For multi-day shows we put together a tailored quote. We work at venues across the Netherlands, including the major exhibition centres in Amsterdam, Utrecht and Rotterdam.

Combining with pickleball

Have a large stand, or want to activate in several places at an event? Golf op Locatie is part of Pickleball Pros, which already runs pickleball activations at trade shows. Combining both sports is easy. Read more in combining golf and pickleball.

Tips for a successful trade show activation

1. Announce it in advance. Put the golf challenge in your trade show invitation and on social media. Visitors will then come to your stand on purpose.
2. Make the leaderboard visible. A large leaderboard attracts competitive visitors.
3. Link the prize to your brand. A prize that relates to your product is more memorable.
4. Follow up after the show. Send everyone on the leaderboard a message with the results and a personal follow-up. A fun starting point for a further conversation.

What does it cost?

Set-up & take-down costs €650 and fully hosted €800 per event, excluding VAT and travel costs (€0.25 per km). For multi-day shows we put together a tailored quote. More details in how much does golf simulator hire cost.

Make your stand the busiest in the hall?

Request a free quote and include the show, the dates and the dimensions of your stand. We are happy to advise on the set-up.