By Rich Vallaster, CEM, QAS, AAiP | Senior Director of Industry Relations and Community Engagement | Momentive Software
What if the problem isn’t that younger attendees don’t value trade shows… but that we are designing experiences they were never going to engage with in the first place?
And what if the answer isn’t buried in another booth traffic flow report but in how the best experience designers in the world think about discovery or play?
Stay with me for a second. Because this is where my love of Disney comes in. As a graduate of the Disney Customer Experience Institute, a 10+ year annual passholder, and Disney Cruise Castaway Member, I have explored Disney experiences and locations throughout the United States and abroad.
Think Disney, Not Directory
If you’ve ever walked into any Disney park, you probably don’t realize the entire park was built to guide you. Everything is designed to leave the real world behind and pull you forward with visual clues, carefully calculated sightlines, distinct smells, sounds, printed maps (and, of course, a mobile app).
Look, Disney and the Imagineers (who are their experience designers) aren’t wasting the opportunity to let you not experience the “pixie dust” for your investment (upwards of $200 for a single-day park ticket), so it can make sure you spend even more (we call that Disney math). It’s not forced; it feels natural to you, but every last detail is not left to chance (trash cans placed perfectly so you never toss trash on the ground, for example). Even the kids’ areas on the cruise ships have lower ceilings to make children feel larger than life!
That’s the show floor young professionals are expecting. Look, before you say, our B2B trade show was never designed to be a “Disney experience,” hear me out.
The latest CEIR report, “Cracking the Code of Young Professionals’ Trade Show Floor Engagement Preferences”, confirms it. More than 80% of young professionals plan to attend future in-person events. They see the value.
But they don’t experience your show the way you (or your exhibitors and sponsor companies) think they do.
They arrive with intent but not necessarily a plan. They explore. They filter fast. They move until something feels relevant or captures their interest. Sound familiar?
It should. It’s the same behavior Disney designs for. It’s also the same behavior you see every time someone scrolls their phone on social media.
The difference is that Disney designs and plans for that discovery.
Most trade shows leave it to chance.
Young Professionals Arrive with Intent
Young professionals aren’t wandering aimlessly. They’re just not following your agenda.
They show up to:
- Build professional networks
- Stay current on industry trends and innovation
- Find solutions they can use now (or recommend later)
- Support buying decisions at their organizations
They may not sign the contract, but they absolutely influence it.
But here is the disconnect for event organizers who have often rebuilt the same show floor year after year to meet the needs of exhibitors, hall (can we say columns?), or revenue goals and simply assume attendees follow the typical linear pattern of educational sessions, then expo, then meetings or networking.
They don’t move that way. They behave more like theme park guests, following curiosity, relevance and energy.
And if they don’t see it quickly? They keep walking or skip right past that booth.
The Show Floor is a Discovery Experience (Or It Should Be)
Disney doesn’t just rely on an app or a map to create magic. And neither should event organizers.
The CEIR research shows nearly half of young professionals explore the show floor without a set plan. They decide what to engage with in real time.
This is your event’s “scroll, scroll, stop” moment.
Yes, creative booths and activations help. But what actually stops them is simple: relevance. What they can understand from the aisle.
If they can’t tell what you do, who you help, what your product or service solves and why it matters, they are gone in a few seconds. We have all seen those booths and act surprised when they don’t return, since they didn’t get the traffic they had hoped for (and shame on us for not telling them that).
Disney would never hide an attraction or ride behind vague signage or clever but confusing messaging.
Yet we do it on the show floor all the time.
For organizers, this is about more than aesthetics. It’s:
- Floor plans that encourage exploration, not exhaustion
- Sightlines that reveal, not conceal (think huge backwalls or endcaps)
- Signage that guides, not overwhelms (meter boards with 10pt type)
Discovery should be designed. Have you audited your show with someone not in your organization? Have you followed first-time attendees around to see how they actually navigate your show?
Booth Staff: Your Cast Members (Act Accordingly)
Here’s where the Disney analogy gets even stronger. Disney doesn’t hire employees; they hire cast members. They play a role or part of the “show” and the experience, much like the cast of a production, musical or movie.
Young professionals were clear in the research: booth staff determines whether they stop or avoid it entirely.
What works for them:
- Friendly and approachable energy
- Consultative conversations (not sales scripts)
- Confidence in the product or service
- Authentic engagement
What doesn’t:
- Hard sells
- Passive disengagement (staring at phones or sitting in the booth)
- Jumping in the aisle to scan a badge before a conversation even begins
Even Disney’s timeshare program, Disney Vacation Club, is never a hard sales pitch. The salespeople are even called “guides” as they guide you through the buying process.
While Disney hires people to operate the rides, run food service, etc., they also hire them to create moments with their guests. Exhibitors should take note and train their staff accordingly. Because their booth staff is their product long before the product ever gets discussed.
Engagement Leads to Action (If You Make It Easy)
The good news for exhibitors, if they do it right, is that nearly 9 out of 10 young professionals take a follow-up action after engaging with an exhibitor:
- Downloading or collecting information
- Scanning a badge or QR code
- Sharing insights internally
- Influencing purchasing decisions
They are not passive attendees; they are often active contributors to the buying journey. But only if you make it frictionless. They don’t want to carry a bag full of brochures back to the office (if they even work in an office) anymore. If Disney made you fill out a form to remember a ride, you’d never come back.
Exhibitors’ content, digital presence, and their follow-up all need to be just as easy and timely.
Digital Matters. But So Does the Physical World.
Here’s another place where event professionals get it wrong. Yes, they are digital natives, and of course, they use apps and websites. They don’t rely on them exclusively.
Disney doesn’t replace signage with an app. They offer both. And many times, with cast members as a third layer to make the process even easier for parkgoers.
Your event should do the same:
- Clear, visible wayfinding, signage and staffing
- Intuitive layouts
- Digital tools that enhance, not replace, the experience
Especially for newer attendees, navigating a trade show isn’t always easy or intuitive. If they feel lost, they will disengage and retreat to what they know.
Walt Disney was very cognizant of sight lines, sounds and smells in areas that drew you into different parts of the park. Think that popcorn cart is randomly located? What if you tried the same on your show floor?
So, like in the parks, if attendees feel guided, nudged or pushed in the correct directions, they will explore even more.
The Future of Trade Shows
The most encouraging takeaway from the CEIR report? Young professionals want to come to trade shows and events. But only if you deliver on four things:
- Commerce: Clear ways to connect with products/services
- Content: Relevant and practical learning
- Connection: Alignment to their role and goals
- Community: Real, human interaction
This isn’t a generational issue. It’s an experience design issue.
Disneyland celebrates its 70th anniversary this year, and it continues to build and open parks around the world, but this doesn’t succeed because people still love lines and maps. It succeeds because Disney removes friction, creates clarity and rewards curiosity.
So, Here’s the Real Question
Are you designing your show floor like a directory… Or like a discovery experience?
Are your exhibitors trained like sales reps…Or cast members?
Are you assuming behavior…Or shaping it?
Because young professionals aren’t disengaged. They’re just choosing what deserves their attention. And right now, too many trade shows aren’t making the cut.
About the Author
Rich Vallaster, CEM, QAS, AAiP, is Senior Director of Industry Relations and Community Engagement at Momentive Software (formerly Personify). A longtime leader in the association and events industry, he has partnered with leading associations, AMCs and trade show organizers, and has chaired the CEIR Research Council and served on the IAEE Board of Directors. A frequent speaker at major industry events and an instructor in IAEE’s CEM Learning Program, Rich is a recognized voice featured in outlets including The New York Times, Associations Now, Trade Show Executive, Skift Meetings and Convene.
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