Engagement at B2B Events

Asides from our esports competition work, the majority of our enquiries come from businesses looking to make the most of their events by having an engaging virtual activity on a stand. Of those enquiries almost all of them are for use at B2C events where members of the public are enticed onto the client’s stand, creating positive engagement for the business – it’s great for brand awareness and a perfect conversation opener.

It’s much rarer for us to be invited to help at a B2B event. We worked for Toyota/Lexus GB earlier this week at Company Car in Action, hosted at Millbrook Proving Ground. There were plenty of manufacturers present with cars for decision makers from some of the UK’s largest companies to have a go on.

Of course, most of the manufacturers had really lovely stands and the cars were gleaming before every test drive (with the help of some dedicated valeters). One thing stood out for the Toyota stand though; they had invested in an engaging competition for their potential clients to get involved in whilst they looked around and waited to test their next company car. We bought two simple GT Sport simulators running the new Supra concept car along with branded Gazoo Racing seats to keep the branding consistent throughout.

The simulators were fantastic at starting an initial conversation, even if they weren’t for every single customer. They also gave us the opportunity to show an initial positive interaction with a friendly welcome and conversation before inviting them to have a go.

Toyota provided two PlayStation 4’s and a copy of GT Sport for the competition. The overall laptime winner (displayed on our “Top Gear” laptime board) plus one other lucky winner drawn from those that attempted the challenge.

I was surprised at how effective the simulators were. It doesn’t have to be simulators of course, VR also works well. Having a conversation piece and a competition ignites the imagination and certainly got the delegates for this show fired up and bought out their competitive spirit. When planning for your next B2B event, make sure you stand out with some engaging activity to delight and excite your potential new clients.