What’s acceptable at a B2B exhibition – are you poacher or gamekeeper?

Over the last couple of years of building up my brand communications business, I’ve been occasionally helping out on a stand for one of my favourite creative partners. It’s helped them out, got my business out there, and calmed the exhibition nerves to the extent that we’re ready to go it alone at Grow Kent in June.

It’d be lovely to see some friendly faces, but that’s not why I’m here right now.

I’m puzzled, and hoping you can help.

You see, yesterday, at the Kent B2B in Ashford, a couple of chaps from another creative agency (delegates, not exhibitors) rocked up to the stand I was partnering on, hung around eating the sherbet lemons, fiddling with the literature and awards and generally blocking the stand, and then started handing out their own business cards to people we were having conversations with.

We didn’t like to cause a scene at the time, but, erm, hello…?

What I’d like to know from all you seasoned exhibitors is:

• Do you consider this acceptable behaviour either from delegates or other exhibitors?
• If your answer to the above is ‘no’, how would you deal with it?
• If your answer to the above is ‘yes’, it’d be interesting to know why you think so.

Thank you for your time and thoughts.

Let’s have words…