25 gamification ideas for trade shows and conferences

Gamification works when it gives people a reason to do what already makes the event better: visit more booths, meet more people, stay for more sessions. Here are 25 challenges, grouped by what they move.

Get people round the floor

1. Booth quest: scan every booth to enter the prize draw.
2. Zone quest: visit every booth in one zone, such as Startups or Sustainability.
3. Hidden booths: five booths are secretly worth double; attendees find out after scanning.
4. Passport stamps by category: one booth from each industry category.
5. Late-afternoon boost: booth scans after 15:00 count twice, when the floor goes quiet.

Get people talking

1. Connector: connect with 30% of exhibitors.
2. Make five friends: five new attendee connections in a day.
3. Ask an expert: connect with three speakers or exhibitor specialists.
4. Cross-industry bingo: connect with people from four different industries.
5. Mentor match: first-time attendees who connect with two returning attendees get a perk.

Fill the rooms

1. Session explorer: attend three talks from different tracks.
2. Keynote plus one: the keynote and one workshop.
3. Stay till the end: check in to the closing session.
4. Feedback hero: answer the post-session survey for every talk you attend.

Help sponsors and exhibitors

1. Sponsor tour: visit every gold sponsor's page and booth.
2. Offer hunter: redeem two exhibitor offers.
3. Demo day: book or attend three product demos.
4. Exhibitor trivia: answer one question at each partner booth.

Reward good behaviour

1. Early bird: check in before 09:30 for a coffee.
2. Profile pro: complete your Konecto profile with a photo and interests.
3. Green traveller: check in by public transport or bike and earn points.
4. Community builder: refer a colleague who registers.

Make it competitive

1. Live leaderboard: points for every action, top ten win, shown on screens.
2. Team challenge: companies compete on total connections.
3. Daily champion: a fresh leaderboard every day of a multi-day show.

Pick rewards people care about

Prize draws for something big, instant rewards for the first finishers, VIP perks, discounts on next year's ticket, badges on their profile, or a donation to a charity for every completion. Match the reward to the effort: a coffee for an early check-in, a draw entry for a full booth quest.

Keep it fair

One scan per booth per person, scans made by exhibitor staff rather than self-scanned posters, cooldowns on rapid scanning, and a review of entries before the draw.