Balou App Helps Exhibitors Ramp Up Booth Traffic and Lead Generation at Events
January 22, 2019
For smaller exhibiting companies with limited marketing budgets, investing large amounts of money on flashy, high-end booths to maximize foot traffic and generate meaningful leads can be a big, if not impossible challenge. That’s where event technology can help even the playing field on the trade showfloor.
Enter the Balou App, a mobile marketing solution for exhibitors seeking to enhance their booth presence and increase foot traffic by promoting their giveaways, samples, raffles or contests to a wider event audience, all in one convenient place.
“I have attended over 50 conferences in the past five years, and during that time I was shocked to see the amount of amazing prizes and giveaways given out by exhibitors that did not get the desired traction due to attendee unawareness,” said Adrien Cirou, founder and CEO of Balou.
He continued, “A tool like Balou can not only bridge the awareness gap between attendees and exhibitors by allowing them to showcase their giveaways but also offer a simple and effective attendee engagement tool for [show] organizers to utilize. Let’s be honest, who doesn’t love free stuff?”
To access a list of giveaways that exhibiting companies are offering at a specific event, attendees simply download the free Balou app and easily find, track and save the swag items they are most interested in.
If an app user “hearts” a raffle prize that has a drawing time and date attached to it, a push notification automatically reminds the attendee of the time and place of the drawing.
Meanwhile, Balou’s user-friendly portal allows exhibitors to enter prize descriptions and details of how to win the items at upcoming events, as well as manage their swag and view post-event analytics.
“Balou provides an excellent and easy-to-use tool for exhibitors to market their conference presence directly to attendees to increase booth traffic and generate additional leads,” Cirou said. “Another great feature is that it doesn’t need to be another stand-alone app but can be integrated to an existing mobile platform.”
Exhibiting companies are charged a per-use fee for each event and can list as many giveaways as they wish on the app, which is licensed by the show organizer and then offered to exhibitors to use.
“Balou is such an elegant solution to getting the word out about what booths are giving away,” said Nick Borelli, president and strategist of Borelli Strategies. “The (user experience) is clean and intuitive enough to bring instant value to even the broadest of consumer-facing events.”
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Partner Voices
Overview:
The award-winning Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) goes the extra mile to make every day extraordinary by offering customer service excellence and industry-leading partnerships. From their dedicated in-house Rigging team to their robust Exhibitor Services, The Center of Hospitality brings your imagination to life by helping you host unforgettable meetings and events. With more than 2 million square feet of exhibit space, world-class services and a dream destination, we are committed to making even the most ambitious conventions a reality.
In October 2023, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners voted to approve allocating Tourist Development Tax funding for the $560 million Phase 5A completion of the OCCC. The Convention Way Grand Concourse project will include enhancements to the North-South Building, featuring an additional 60,000 square feet of meeting space, an 80,000- square-foot ballroom and new entry to the North-South Building along Convention Way.
“We are thrilled to begin work on completing our North-South Building which will allow us to meet the growing needs of our clients,” said OCCC Executive Director Mark Tester. “As an economic driver for the community, this project will provide the Center with connectivity and meeting space to host more events and continue to infuse the local economy with new money and expanding business opportunities.”
Amenities:
The Center of Hospitality goes above and beyond by offering world-class customer service and industry-leading partnerships. From the largest convention center Wi-Fi network to custom LAN/WAN design, the Center takes pride in enhancing exhibitor and customer experience.
The OCCC is the exclusive provider of electricity (24-hour power at no additional cost), aerial rigging and lighting, water, natural gas and propane, compressed air, and cable TV services. Convenience
The Center is at the epicenter of the destination, with an abundance of hotels, restaurants, and attractions within walking distance. Pedestrian bridges connect both buildings to more than 5,200 rooms and is within a 15-minute drive from the Orlando International Airport. The convenience of the location goes hand-in-hand with top notch service to help meet an event’s every need.
Gold Key Members
The OCCC’s Gold Key Members represent the best of the best when it comes to exceptional service and exclusive benefits for clients, exhibitors and guests. The Center’s Gold Key memberships with Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld Orlando and Walt Disney World greatly enhance meeting planner and attendee experiences offering world-renowned venues, immersive experiences and creative resources for their events.
OCCC Events:
This fiscal year, the OCCC is projected to host 168 events, 1.7 million attendees, and $2.9 billion in economic impact.
The Center’s top five events during their 2022-2023 fiscal year included:
AAU Jr. National Volleyball Championships 2023
200,000 Attendees
$257 Million in Economic Impact
MEGACON 2023
160,000 Attendees
$205 Million in Economic Impact
Open Championship Series 2023
69,500 Attendees
$89 Million in Economic Impact
Sunshine Classic 2023
42,000 Attendees
$54 Million in Economic Impact
Premiere Orlando 2023
42,000 Attendees
$108 Million in Economic Impact
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