Balou App Helps Exhibitors Ramp Up Booth Traffic and Lead Generation at Events
January 22, 2019
For smaller exhibiting companies with limited marketing budgets, investing large amounts of money on flashy, high-end booths to maximize foot traffic and generate meaningful leads can be a big, if not impossible challenge. That’s where event technology can help even the playing field on the trade showfloor.
Enter the Balou App, a mobile marketing solution for exhibitors seeking to enhance their booth presence and increase foot traffic by promoting their giveaways, samples, raffles or contests to a wider event audience, all in one convenient place.
“I have attended over 50 conferences in the past five years, and during that time I was shocked to see the amount of amazing prizes and giveaways given out by exhibitors that did not get the desired traction due to attendee unawareness,” said Adrien Cirou, founder and CEO of Balou.
He continued, “A tool like Balou can not only bridge the awareness gap between attendees and exhibitors by allowing them to showcase their giveaways but also offer a simple and effective attendee engagement tool for [show] organizers to utilize. Let’s be honest, who doesn’t love free stuff?”
To access a list of giveaways that exhibiting companies are offering at a specific event, attendees simply download the free Balou app and easily find, track and save the swag items they are most interested in.
If an app user “hearts” a raffle prize that has a drawing time and date attached to it, a push notification automatically reminds the attendee of the time and place of the drawing.
Meanwhile, Balou’s user-friendly portal allows exhibitors to enter prize descriptions and details of how to win the items at upcoming events, as well as manage their swag and view post-event analytics.
“Balou provides an excellent and easy-to-use tool for exhibitors to market their conference presence directly to attendees to increase booth traffic and generate additional leads,” Cirou said. “Another great feature is that it doesn’t need to be another stand-alone app but can be integrated to an existing mobile platform.”
Exhibiting companies are charged a per-use fee for each event and can list as many giveaways as they wish on the app, which is licensed by the show organizer and then offered to exhibitors to use.
“Balou is such an elegant solution to getting the word out about what booths are giving away,” said Nick Borelli, president and strategist of Borelli Strategies. “The (user experience) is clean and intuitive enough to bring instant value to even the broadest of consumer-facing events.”
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MGM Resorts is committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse culture, not just among employees and guests but also within its supply chain. The company prioritizes procuring goods and services from businesses owned by minorities, women, veterans, people with disabilities, LGBTQ individuals and those facing economic disadvantages. This commitment is integral to MGM Resorts' global procurement strategy.
Through its voluntary supplier diversity program, MGM Resorts actively identifies and connects certified diverse-owned suppliers to opportunities within its supply chain. The company is on track to spend at least 15% of its biddable procurement with diverse-owned businesses by 2025, demonstrating that supplier diversity is not only a social responsibility but also a strategic business imperative.
Supplier diversity isn’t just the right thing to do – it’s good for business. A diverse supply chain allows access to a broader range of perspectives and experience, helping to drive innovation, entrepreneurship and resilience, while strengthening communities. At MGM Resorts, engaging diverse suppliers ensures best-in-class experiences for guests and clients. Supplier diversity ensures a more resilient supply chain while supporting economic development in the communities in which it operates.
The impact of MGM Resorts' supplier diversity initiatives is significant. In 2023, these efforts supported over 3,500 jobs across more than 30 states, contributed over $214 million in income for diverse-owned businesses and generated more than $62 million in tax revenue. The story extends beyond the numbers – it reflects the tangible benefits brought to small and diverse-owned businesses, fostering economic empowerment in their communities.
MGM Resorts also supports the development and business skills of diverse-owned businesses through investment, mentorship and education. Through the MGM Resorts Supplier Diversity Mentorship Program, the company identifies, mentors and develops diverse-owned businesses to fill its future pipeline, while providing businesses with tools and resources to empower and uplift. Since 2017, the program has successfully graduated 105 diverse-owned businesses and is on track to achieve its goal of 150 graduates by 2025.
MGM Resorts’ commitment to supplier diversity not only enhances its business operations but also plays a crucial role in uplifting communities and fostering economic development. This approach reinforces the idea that diversity is a powerful driver of innovation and resilience, benefiting both the company and the wider community.
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