Improve Conference Engagement: Goosechase's Guide for Event Organizers & Exhibitors

Planning on attending a conference in 2025? You're in the right place.

Whether you're exhibiting to boost brand awareness, drive sign-ups, or generate leads—or you're an event organizer wondering, "how do I create a more engaging conference experience?" —we all share the same goal: to be memorable and resonate with attendees.

After hitting the road, soaring the friendly skies, and even crossing the Atlantic for 15+ conferences in the past year, we’ve gathered insights on what works (and what doesn’t!) when using Goosechase for large events.

From getting attendees hyped before they even arrive (and justly compensating them with bonus points!) to making sure your booth is the place to be, here’s how to maximize impact (without needing an expensive booth set-up) and drive engagement with your booth.

Ask Conferences Organizers to Promote Goosechase Beforehand

One of our biggest takeaways for better engagement in the conference Goosechase, and conference on the whole, is to get the word out early!

• Pre-event promotion is key! Conference organizers have direct access to attendees—integrating Goosechase into their official communications (emails, apps, signage) is a game-changer.
  
  When should you send out an email about Goosechase at your conference?
  We recommend sending 3 emails: the first one two weeks out, then the week before, then the day before. This takes advantage of your event being top-of-mind and your attendees already in planning mode.
• Emphasize that it's essential! Promoting the Experience as an optional activity isn't enough. Positioning Goosechase as their "wingman" to unlock more of what the conference has to offer is key for buy-in.
• Reward your early birds! Offer bonus points for early sign-ups before the event starts. Check out this guide to Goosechase Bonus Points for our tips and more ideas.
• Make it easy to join! Here's the trifecta to include in every email and social media communication:
  • The link to download Goosechase
  • Your Experience's Join Code (it's on the bottom left of your Experience in the Goosechase Studio)
  • A QR code to download the app, in case someone opens your email on desktop and can scan it with their phone. You can find this in the Goosechase media kit.
    
    Wondering about signage onsite? The QR Code and Join Code are absolute musts.
    
    Need some graphic design help? Here are templates for social posts and signs you can use for your next event.

Make Your Booth Unmissable

In a sea of upwards of 100 vendors– some with massive installations, robots on wheels, and cold brew on tap (not kidding), soaring above the crowd at an exhibitor hall isn’t easy. But we've found we could stand out by being scrappy, bold, and full of personality. 🛟

• Fun swag will help spark interest in your brand! Think of cool stickers, pens, and hats as their sneak peek into the brand. Folks will flock to your booth because they're drawn in by the interesting swag, which will give you a chance to share what your organization can offer them. There's a sneak peek of what we take in the Reel below. 👀
• Share the live leaderboard! Cast the Goosechase Activity Feed (make sure you're not accidentally broadcasting PII or private submissions!) or Leaderboard on a screen; that will get folks curious about the friendly competition.
• When in doubt, go for COLOR! Don't have a huge budget for lots of signage or custom-builds? You really don't need it; saturate your booth in your brand color (table cloth, balloons, however you can!) and that's often enough to draw the eye in.
• A conference crowd favorite: Candy. It's easy and it works like a charm. Five hours into a conference on day two, and everyone's looking for a sugar rush. Every booth will have candy. Stand out from the crowd with a tasteful selection. We like chocolate eggs, for obvious reasons. 🐣

Drive Engagement with Programming through Smart Missions & Bonus Points

Whether or not you're running a Goosehase Experience, remember that not all attendees will, or want to, engage in conference programming the same way—offer them multiple ways to get involved!

If you are running a Goosechase Experience, here are some inclusive tips to keep in mind:

• Socializing looks different for everyone. When your goal is to get conference attendees to mingle, it's easy to default to Missions that encourage interaction with others in bold and hilarious ways, but some attendees may prefer solo tasks. Take advantage of all the different Mission types!
• Social referral Missions work– in exchange for bonus points. Everyone wins! Offer points for getting a friend to join (make it a Mission).
  
  Generally speaking, bonus points are huge motivators—use them strategically to drive engagement.
• Don't forget about exhibitors, they're part of the conference, too! Create icebreaker Missions that invite attendees to mingle with exhibitors (“Visit Booth #X and complete this challenge”). Some conferences will even offer this perk at higher sponsorship tiers.

Leverage Customer Champions

Attending a conference, and know you'll have a few existing customers in attendance? Celebrate them (share their speaking session, for example) and treat them like VIPs (taking them to dinner or making time for a coffee break is often appreciated).

From our personal experience, having existing Goosechase users at conferences built instant credibility.

When we attended CASC's annual conference in 2024, Goosechase creators Science North and TELUS Spark Science Centre were there, making it easier to showcase real-world use cases without needing to convince attendees from scratch.

Here are some best practices:

• Survey customers at the start of the year to find out which conferences they’re attending.
• Connect with them before the event and see if they're willing to meet for a meal, spend some time at your booth, mention you at your session, or introduce you to their contacts!
• Have more time to plan? Think about submitting a session proposal together! See if they would be interested in co-hosting a session or testimonial-based presentation. Sales-y sessions are our worst nightmare, and we'd much rather spotlight the cool things others are doing and how we support them.

Top Tips for Your Next Conference

Goosechase doesn’t just add fun to conferences—it turns passive attendees into active participants, drives booth engagement, and makes exhibitors stand out from the crowd.

Keep these tips top-of-mind for your next conference:

• Better pre-event promotion
• Bolder, scrappier booth strategies
• Well-planned Goosechase Missions and bonus points
• Championing your existing users

You can transform any large event into an interactive, high-energy experience that attendees won’t forget.

What is Goosechase?

At Goosechase, experience is everything. Originally inspired by scavenger hunts, Goosechase is an online platform that enables organizations and schools to engage, activate, and educate their communities through delightful interactive experiences. Sign up and try creating a free recreational Experience, or check out our Pricing!