Booth Babes Don?t Work?

[Jayvis]

Strange to read this after just coming back from ASW/Internext, what do you guys think?

http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/13/boo...ign=fb&ncid=fb

Well, I do: Booth babes do NOT convert.

How do I know? Well, I actually split-tested this a few years ago and the results were indisputable. If you have invested in a trade show to generate new business, using booth babes is a lead conversion boat anchor.

I've always wondered if they helped or not, certainly don't hurt to look at

[CourtneyR]

They might draw people in to talk to them, but if they don't know anything how does that help your business.

[lucas131]

i thought its always about image ...

[ottopottomouse]

If they are just there to look pretty, hired for the day with no interest in or knowledge of the product of course they won't convert by themselves. Supposed to use them to attract people to the stand that can be worked on by a salesman.

[2MuchMark]

IT depends.

If you have a booth babe who is all looks and no brain, all she is good for is to make your booth look good for photographers. Business people don't care at all about the booth babes.

True story: Early in adult, I talked to a few booth bunnies who knew NOTHING AT ALL about the product or company they were representing. "Hi!! What does your company do?" I would ask. "Huh? What? I don't know? Haha no idea wait huh?" was the always typical response.

We have babes at our booth, but they are smart babes. They can answer questions about our company and our product and do so in detail and great length. I would hire them if they didn't.

Brains=sexy

[NewNick]

Originally Posted by **********

IT depends.

If you have a booth babe who is all looks and no brain, all she is good for is to make your booth look good for photographers. Business people don't care at all about the booth babes.

True story: Early in adult, I talked to a few booth bunnies who knew NOTHING AT ALL about the product or company they were representing. "Hi!! What does your company do?" I would ask. "Huh? What? I don't know? Haha no idea wait huh?" was the always typical response.

We have babes at our booth, but they are smart babes. They can answer questions about our company and our product and do so in detail and great length. I would hire them if they didn't.

Brains=sexy

yeah, smart babes at your booth. sure.

[NALEM]

Originally Posted by Jayvis

Strange to read this after just coming back from ASW/Internext, what do you guys think?

http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/13/boo...ign=fb&ncid=fb

I've always wondered if they helped or not, certainly don't hurt to look at

Hello Jayvis, I remember talking with you at interNEXT.

When you (meaning anyone) do the B2B shows, using the hostess, brand, trade models is a pure waste of money. In the back of my mind, I keep thinking how these companies are wasting MY money. Why its MINE and not theirs? Because wasted money on BS methods could instead be used for higher affiliate/partner payouts.

Whose fault is it, that the models don't even know anything about the company they are representing? The company who hired them, of course.

Most of these girls are nothing more than attractive flies on the wall. Look around. Most had fake smiles, and bored looks on their faces. They did nothing to try to engage the people passing by, except to extend out their hands to hand you whatever they had in their hands.

The exception was about 4 girls. Even then none knew about the company, but they at least knew what they were giving away, and tried to charm you into accepting it.

The guys over at "Cake" where smart. As I approached their table at the meet market, I glanced quickly at the material and attempted to walk away. An pretty girl with the "attractive girl next door" look, was standing in front of the table (where the people pass by) made sure to get my attention. She redirected it back to "Cake" , asking me an open question "are you familiar with NATS". She was the opener, and the company staff were the closers.

Honestly I thought she was one of their employees, and it turned out she was hired for the day. A young graduate of law school, who just got her license to practice, and was needed some extra cash.



How did she know so much about Cake? Very simple: the company prepped her. Kudos to them. They follow the same business "model" as I have for nearly a decade when it comes to B2B.

[JFK]

Originally Posted by ottopottomouse

If they are just there to look pretty, hired for the day with no interest in or knowledge of the product of course they won't convert by themselves. Supposed to use them to attract people to the stand that can be worked on by a salesman.

yup get the interest going ,great window dressing ;)

[Rochard]

I had a few discussions about our industry shows and professionalism.

In the past, people got into this business because they were interested in it. My very first show, fifteen minutes into the first party, a threesome with three hot chicks happened right in front of me. This trip I didn't see a single pair of breasts.

I'm not complaining, but our industry has changed. The business people and their accountants have moved in.

Want to get attention at a show? Do a live photoshoot with some fucking action. You'll have fuckers standing on tables to watch.

[baddog]

The worst part of shows are "booth babes" that do not know jack.

[ErectMedia]

Originally Posted by ottopottomouse

If they are just there to look pretty, hired for the day with no interest in or knowledge of the product of course they won't convert by themselves. Supposed to use them to attract people to the stand that can be worked on by a salesman.

+1

[DVTimes]

in the uk, many will work as a booth babe for free in order to be seen and got work.

[2MuchMark]

Originally Posted by NewNick

yeah, smart babes at your booth. sure.

Yeah, I don't know what I'm talking about.





Another new customer.

;)

[2MuchMark]

My point is, is that booth bunnies can be great at attracting customers to your booth. The girls are your advertising, and once you get your customer to your booth, you have to "Convert" him into buying or signing up for your product, right? If the bunny hands you off to some dude to just starts spewing shit off about his product, you lose interest fast and make small talk while you look around at other booths (and bunnies), right?

Imagine, just imagine, if your booth bunny actually new your product? And could listen to the potential client? And make recommendations to him based on what he needs and what you can offer?

It's all about the conversions, baby. Don't hire JUST booth bunnies if you can help it - hire SMART booth bunnies.

Peace

[sandman!]

dumb babes dont work

[AaronM]

I remember when Internext was FULL of hot booth babes. Things have changed for sure. Overall, the Affiliate Summit & SHOT Show girls are much hotter these days.

Most of them are still dumb as a box of rocks and know nothing about the products they are representing.

[AsianDivaGirlsWebDude]

Confessions of a Sometimes Booth Babe

When my tradeshow agent unexpectedly calls to say, "Hey, I've got some fun news!", being stuffed into a skimpy racecar driver costume isn't exactly what I have in mind. It's 7:30 a.m. on the second day of E3, the biggest gaming expo in the country, and I'm still reeling from a curling iron burn when the phone rings.

Most mornings, I roll out of bed and start working on copywriting assignments in my pajamas, or tinker with my TV pilot script over oatmeal and coffee. Today is a little different.

"Make sure your hair is big," she says. "Like, as big as you can. Make your makeup more dramatic. Red lipstick. False eyelashes."

"Does this mean I can't wear flats today?"

"Black knee-high boots or high heels."

"Hrm."

Despite the fact that it's my fourth year staffing at E3, this is the first time I've been asked to don a costume. Up until now, the tradeshow gods have mostly been kind, putting me in polos and modest black skirts or company t-shirts and pants.

Though once, I was literally locked and tethered to a Nintendo 3DS for the duration of the show, presumably so no one could sneak off with the recently unveiled handheld console (bathroom breaks were a pain that year). This year, I'm hawking a gaming tournament whose first prize is a souped-up car.

Such are the workplace hazards of being a "booth babe."

Booth babes, generally, get a bad rap. We're allegedly vacuous airheads, pretty faces who don't know anything about anything. I understand the criticism surrounding the job ? I'm well aware that to some extent, we are willing participants in the commodification of the female body.

We're using physical attractiveness to shill a product in an overt way. Many of us have only a passing interest in gaming and geekery.

But what I don't get is the vitriol. No one rips on Sofia Vergara for starring in Pepsi commercials (what does she know about quality caffeinated soft drinks?!) or complains that the Old Spice Guy is unnecessarily naked (how dare he pander to women with his shirtlessness?!). That companies use sex to reel in eyeballs is a marketing tactic as old as time, ranging from the fashion industry to pharmaceuticals.

My husband has to drive me to the LA Convention Center because I've missed my bus, due to total ineptitude applying false eyelashes for the first time that results in me being covered in tiny lash fragments.

When I arrive at the West Hall, the before-hours buzz is already high, a cacophony of competing lights and sounds that could give Vegas a run for its money. My agent hands me the costume, a standard Halloween racecar driver number that isn't particularly scandalous after all, and I meet my booth partner, an Asian American model/actress with a surprising droll streak. Behind us sit a few game demos and a swanky black-and-white Scion.

Regardless of what some folks like to think, this kind of work does not "satisfy [our] hollow egos." Trust me. Murdering my feet in five-inch heels while handing out flyers or shepherding demo lines isn't a Tony Robbins seminar, it's a job. Being subject to lewd come-ons and the occasional groping isn't an ego boost, it's offensive. The depressing truth is that standing around in a costume at a convention pays far better than writing ever has. For many of us, it supplements other career goals.

While the bulk of booth babes may be actors and models, some of them are also budding video game developers, graphic designers, and gamers who leap at the chance to attend this media- and trade-only event ? and get paid, no less.

Seriously, who wouldn't want to get paid to attend awesome cons like E3 or Comic-Con? (Snoozefest medical conventions are another story.) Almost none of them are "beauty-obsessed, frustrated wannabe models who can't get work."

My own gaming credentials are pretty weak. I spent grade school summers playing MUDs and Pokémon, and several high school summers cooped up with Tekken and Final Fantasy.

These days it's nothing more than a bit of DDR and Wii Mario Kart on game nights. And my geek streak runs fairly mellow ? when I worked at Comic-Con, I cosplayed during my lunch hour, but it's not a regular thing. (I just have particular love for Boomer and Katniss.) By no means do I pretend to be a dedicated nerd of any kind.

Some attendees, however, love to play Stump The Booth Babe. It's an exquisite little game designed to expose the pretty posers who dare to take a job working at a gaming expo, and to test their knowledge beyond release dates and console compatibility.

These guys would first like to assess your entire history with gaming before deeming whether you're fit to stand outside of a booth in short shorts. They're in the minority, but they're a bunch of jackholes.

My little racecar outfit elicits more photo-ops than quizzes, though. Any apprehension I have about playing the part of traditional booth babe, stilettos and all, is quickly dissipated. Most people just want a picture, not public humiliation.

Interestingly, many of the women are more enthusiastic than the guys about taking a picture with us, like we're dotty Captain Jack Sparrow or SpongeBob impersonators on Hollywood Boulevard.

I like to think that most con attendees are in on the joke, so to speak. I like to think that they see booth babes more as sideshow entertainment than "an unnecessary anachronism," and realize that we take the whole enterprise about as seriously as they do (which is to say, not at all).

Much like racing mascots at a baseball game, it's all a bit of fun and entertainment, but it's not actual sport. Just because I'm dressed like a giant hotdog doesn't mean I think I really am a giant hotdog.

And though I once would've hated to admit it, I've learned a lot from my time as a booth babe. I've learned a lot about gaming. I've set aside my own condescending misconceptions about models and tradeshow modeling.

I'm ever-so-slightly better at public speaking and being put on the spot ? my first media interview a few years ago was mortifyingly deer-in-the-headlights and therefore immortalized on the interwebs forever; this time around I managed to utter a few words of college-French to a European media outlet. And it's proven to be great writing fodder ? I recently finished a Rizzoli & Isles spec script that centers on a booth babe who is found dead at a video game convention.

That we have recurring conversations about the necessity or frivolity of booth babes is a silly attempt at misdirection. Maybe those who frown upon slutty-looking costumes should petition game developers to stop designing slutty-looking video game characters. Maybe cons should feature more booth beefcakes, to round out the crowd. And then maybe we could enjoy booth babes as much as we enjoy a good pierogi-and-hotdog mascot race.

ADG

[nico-t]

Originally Posted by AsianDivaGirlsWebDude

ADG

typical female. Trying to come off witty as if she's above others (and fails), with a long winding and boring story. I thought it would be interesting but almost fell asleep after the first 2 paragraphs, so no thanks, won't finish it. Women who try to be witty cannot pull it off, and instead become arrogant and annoying.

[DamianJ]

Originally Posted by NALEM

They follow the same business "model" as I have for nearly a decade when it comes to B2B.

What's that? Stealing JFK's idea but implementing in a shit way and annoying everyone?

[Stephen]

Originally Posted by **********

We have babes at our booth, but they are smart babes.

I have to say that I've talked to a couple of them Montreal girls that Mark has sent to shows and yes indeed, they have brains and beauty too

I want to say that it's the girl in his picture that I met in a Miami hot tub and was most impressed