What makes someone stop at an exhibition stand?

A few days before the IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition opened its doors in Glasgow, I was already walking around the exhibition hall. Stands were being built, screens installed and final preparations were underway. Together with our exhibition project manager, I was there to see the KWR stand take shape. 

After months of working on the preparations, from the stand design and layout to the visuals and screen content, it was exciting to see everything come together. It also gave me a new appreciation for the work that goes into an event of this scale. And a first introduction to the famously friendly Scottish hospitality certainly helped! 

A few days later, the quiet exhibition hall had transformed into a busy meeting place for water professionals from around the world. And as a communications consultant, I found myself paying attention to something in particular: what makes someone stop at an exhibition stand? And perhaps more importantly, what makes them stay? 

Getting someone’s attention is only the beginning

Walking around the exhibition, I noticed how differently organisations tried to attract visitors. Some had interactive quizzes, reaction games or prize wheels. Others handed out giveaways or used striking visuals to catch people’s attention. And some stands were much easier to walk past. Not necessarily because they had less interesting stories to tell, but because there was little to invite you to stop and discover them. 

It made me think about how we approach exhibition communication. We spend a lot of time deciding what we want to tell people, but perhaps just as important is thinking about what we want people to do. What makes someone stop, join an activity or start a conversation? And how can we make that first step as easy as possible? After all, attracting attention is one thing. Turning that attention into a meaningful interaction is another. 

At the KWR & Friends booth, fresh coffee and Dutch stroopwafels turned out to be effective conversation starters. We had also created an open, informal space where visitors could sit down, charge their phones or catch up with colleagues. For those looking for more information, we had programme booklets highlighting sessions involving KWR colleagues and touchscreens where visitors could explore our research. Some visitors came for a conversation, others were looking for information, and some were simply drawn in by something that caught their eye.

One of my favourite examples of this was Water Mind, a word-guessing game inspired by Lingo and Wordle, displayed on the back wall of our stand. Whenever someone started playing, others would often stop to watch, call out guesses or join in themselves. Sometimes they had never heard of KWR before. What I liked about the game was how naturally it brought people together. It gave visitors a reason to interact without having to come up with a reason to introduce themselves. And from there, conversations could turn to someone’s work, shared challenges or KWR’s research.

We saw something similar during our interactive lunch activities, where serious water-related topics were explored through games and audience participation. Visitors could join in while enjoying their lunch, or simply stop to watch. The activities attracted curious visitors and showed how a playful format can make complex topics more approachable and create opportunities for people to exchange ideas. 

A place to meet, reconnect and move forward

Of course, not everyone needed a game or a stroopwafel to approach our stand. Many visitors came looking for a specific KWR researcher, to reconnect with someone they knew or to continue a conversation from earlier in the week. Throughout the congress, I saw people return, introduce colleagues to one another or sit down for an informal discussion. The booth also became a meeting point for young water professionals from Dutch drinking water companies. 

What struck me was how many different purposes the same space could serve. For some, it was a first introduction to KWR. For others, it was somewhere to catch up with long-standing partners or explore possibilities for future collaboration. 

And sometimes, a conversation really did move things forward. One colleague shared an example that stayed with me. She had been working to bring another drinking water company into a research project. Nine companies were already involved, but despite several emails, the tenth had not yet joined. Then, during IWA, she met someone from that company in person. They got talking, and the tenth partner came on board. Something that had been difficult to achieve over email became possible through a face-to-face conversation. 

More than a place to showcase research

Looking back, what I found most interesting wasn’t just seeing our stand come together after months of preparation, but seeing how people actually used it. From spontaneous games of Water Mind to interactive lunch activities and conversations that opened doors for new collaborations, Glasgow reminded me that a good exhibition stand does more than showcase what an organisation has to offer. It invites people to engage, exchange ideas and make connections that might otherwise never happen. Because getting people to your stand is one thing, but giving them a reason to stay, talk and come back is where it gets interesting.