Nikki Morgan, Event Staffing Specialist and PR Account Manager at GameOn
When you invest in a stand at ICE, you are not just booking floor space. You are putting serious budget, time, and pressure behind making your brand stand out. By the time the doors open, you have already spent weeks choosing designs, planning meetings, sorting travel, and aligning the team. Everything is polished, branded, and ready.
Then the show begins, and the very first thing people notice is not your stand. It is the people standing in front of it.
That is why good promotional staff are so important. They set the tone, shape the first impression, and decide whether someone steps inside for a conversation or walks straight past to the next stand.
First Impressions Count Far More Than People Realise
ICE is busy, loud, and full of incredible stands competing for attention. Visitors move quickly, scanning faces before they even register a logo. The first person they encounter becomes their reference point for your entire brand.
If your stand team looks confident, welcoming, and switched on, visitors feel comfortable approaching. If they look distracted, unsure, or unhappy to be there, people pick up on that straight away.
You can have the most impressive stand in the hall, but without the right people on the front line, it will not work as hard as it should.
Your Stand Should Feel Human, Not Just Impressive
People remember how they were made to feel. A warm hello, a friendly smile, and a simple question can create the kind of energy your sales team needs to start the right conversations.
Promotional staff are an extension of your brand, so choosing the right personalities is just as important as choosing the right stand design. They do not need deep product knowledge. What they do need is confidence, approachability, and the ability to connect with people quickly.
When they get this right, everything else becomes easier.
Keep the Brief Short, Clear, and Easy to Deliver
One thing I have learned from years of staffing events is that over-briefing is just as damaging as under-briefing. Promotional staff do not need a technical breakdown or a full product deck. They just need to know the essentials.
What works best is:
• A clear objective for the event
• A simple one or two line explanation of what your company does
• Who to pass someone to and when
• The type of visitor you most want to attract
• Key do’s and don’ts that matter to your brand
When the brief is clean and focused, the delivery is much stronger. Staff feel confident, you get consistency, and visitors get a smoother experience.
They Protect Your Sales Team’s Time
Your commercial team attends ICE to build relationships, convert leads, and focus on meaningful conversations. They should not be tied up answering basic questions, managing crowds, or filtering out visitors who are not relevant.
Good promotional staff take on that job. They welcome, filter, direct, and support. They help identify when someone needs a salesperson and when they simply need information.
A strong front-of-stand team gives your own people more time and energy for the conversations that actually matter.
Skilled Event Staff Make Engagement Feel Effortless
Exhibitions are unpredictable. Some hours are quiet, others are non-stop. Good stand staff know how to read the moment. They can spot who wants help, who needs a bit of time, and who is ready to talk business.
They are there to keep energy levels high, maintain flow, and make sure every visitor has a positive experience before they even start speaking to your core team.
Again, this is not about technical knowledge. It is about attitude, confidence, and intuition.
For the Cost of a Stand, Professional Staff Are a Smart Investment
ICE is not a low-cost exercise. Between build, branding, travel, accommodation, and hospitality, the full spend adds up quickly. Once you add the time cost for your internal team, the investment becomes even bigger.
Promotional staff are a small part of that total, but they often make the biggest difference. They help you make the most of the spend you have already committed, simply by making sure every visitor is welcomed, supported, and directed with purpose.
If you think about it commercially, they protect your investment rather than add to it.
Final Thoughts
ICE 2026 will be busy. Every brand will arrive with a great stand and big ambitions, but the ones who leave with real momentum will be the ones who focused on people as much as production.
Promotional staff are the face of your stand. They create the atmosphere, shape the first impression, and prepare visitors for the conversations your team is there to have. They do not need a complicated brief, they just need a clear purpose and the confidence to deliver it well.
Choose the right people, give them a simple, focused brief, and the value of your stand increases instantly.
