Babe or No Babe?

Most of us in the marcom industry have been faced with the following tradeshow decision – to booth babe or not to booth babe? What is the objective of this time-honored marketing technique? Is it to gain attention, create a lingering presence among the demos in your booth, or to capture a plethora of unqualified leads?

I’ll be the first to readily admit that there is a benefit to creating something crowd-pleasing to garner the attention of weary trade-show attendees. This week at Interop 2008, I noticed quite a presence of girls in short checked skirts, high heels and other mini-clothing items. But for the most part, something was missing – the company’s brand.

I realize that I am not the target audience for this particular type of marketing stunt, but after three days of observation I couldn’t tell you whose babe belonged to whose booth.

My recommendation for those who just can’t resist the temptation to ply attendees with hot girls and games of Nintendo Wii golf – take a lesson from Hooters. Show your brand. And if you don’t want to or it just doesn't feel right, maybe to babe is not the right marketing decision for you.