The Trade Show Takeover
Trade shows are a battlefield , every booth fighting for attention, every company hoping attendees will stop long enough to hear their pitch. But most people don’t want to talk. They want free pens, free bottles, free tote bags and then they move on.
This security company in Puerto Rico understood the challenge. That’s why their CEO decided to take a chance on something bold, something he’d never seen done before:
A magician inside the booth.
He wasn’t skeptical, he simply couldn’t imagine how magic could transform a trade show environment. But he trusted my confidence, and he hired me for their biggest convention of the year.
Within minutes of the doors opening, his booth became the most crowded spot in the entire convention center.
While other booths were half-empty, people packed themselves shoulder-to-shoulder around ours. I performed close-up magic and strong mentalism, each routine customized to highlight the company’s brand, services, and message.
One of the biggest moments of the day was a mentalism piece created specifically for the company:
I introduced six custom-made envelopes, each one printed with a different service the company provided, surveillance, access control, alarms, cybersecurity, investigations , all beautifully branded with images and logos. I explained that inside one of them was a real $100 bill, while the others contained giveaways: brochures, pens, keychains, stickers, small branded items.
Nothing disappointing.
Everyone was guaranteed to win something.
Five participants were invited to choose an envelope, leaving one for me. Throughout the routine, they had the option to keep or swap, which created suspense, laughter, and friendly chaos, a small crowd turned into a large one almost instantly.
Each participant opened their envelope and found useful, branded gifts.
Smiles all around. And then the moment came.
The envelope left in my hands. the one nobody wanted was opened.
Inside?
The $100 bill.
The crowd erupted. People laughed, clapped, reacted and leaned in even closer.
And the best part?
Every participant kept their envelope.
Every envelope carried the company’s services printed visually and beautifully.
Every person walked away with the brand in their hands, not just in their memory.
This wasn’t a trick.
It was strategic marketing disguised as impossible entertainment.
For the rest of the day, the booth remained packed. People didn’t just stop, they stayed. They brought coworkers. They brought supervisors. They brought friends. Some people returned twice.
And the CEO?
He spent most of the day smiling. really smiling, watching the exact effect his booth had never achieved before.
At one point, he shook my hand and said:
“I didn’t understand it before. Now I do.”
By the end of the event, his booth had:
The highest foot traffic of the entire show
The strongest lead generation
The most engagement on the trade floor
Dozens of people talking about “the magician at the security booth”
Today, whenever there’s a trade show, he calls me immediately. Because he now understands the truth:
Magic isn’t entertainment at a trade show.
Magic is strategy.
A personalized, branded, unforgettable strategy that turns spectators into leads and leads into clients.
All it takes is the right magician.
All it takes is The Magician.