Whether you watched the whole video or not, I think you get the idea. The girls dance in provocative outfits to music played on Alpine stereos. For so many reasons this is wrong: The blatant objectification of women, the lack of any real substance and the sub-par skill level of the dancing.
If you’ve followed my blog or downloaded my free eBook “Trade Show Traffic Secrets” you may remember what I call “The triple ‘A’ traffic triangle”. It’s a three step formula to generating trade show traffic and increasing the scanned leads. The first ‘A’ in the Triple ‘A’ traffic triangle formula is to capture “Attention”. This booth’s attraction tactic did in fact capture attention and turn heads. Was it positive attention? I don’t think so. It was the kind of attention a freak show receives or even an accident on the side of the road. It was good for a quick gawk but it does not hold you exactly spellbound.
“Without capturing attention first, all marketing dollars are wasted.”
If you don’t have your prospect’s attention and focus you cannot communicate your company’s value proposition. No communication was really attempted in the video unless we count the dancing actions as a form of sign languge.
The second A in the formula is “Attraction”. You must woo your booth visitors and make them care. Invite them into the booth and take them further down the rabbit hole of your company’s exhibit experience. If their emotions and imaginations are not engaged they will quickly grow tired of this two-dimensional diversion and continue on with their busy trade show schedule.
“Attention without intention comes off as desperate and transparent.”
I think the above quote really sums up how I feel about the Alpine Dancing Girls. The loud music and dancing captured attention but for all the wrong reasons.
Even as a male I was put off by the tactics this company used. While this is not customary in most North American trade shows, one has to remember that this trade show took place in Bangkok, Thailand. In different cultures there are different levels of acceptable behaviour. I’d be interested to know the opinion of someone who is local to that show. (Please comment)
The remaining ‘A’ is that you must get them to take “Action”. Invite them to see a demo, enter a draw, and get their badge scanned. Make their experience in the booth memorable. This is your chance to capture the booth visitor’s information and suggest next steps. Alpine definitely missed this critical step. There was no invitation to take action, to try the product or even join in the dancing.
The only positive I see from all of this is that the video was just strange enough to get people like me talking about it and to garner almost 2 million YouTube views. As they say “there’s no such thing as bad press”.
What are your thoughts? Would you use this in your company’s trade show booth?