I wouldn’t exactly call myself a seasoned veteran of trade shows, but I have been to more than a few in my day. And, as you can imagine, they’re not all the same. More specifically, there is a distinct difference in how the booth babes conduct themselves when you are at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas and how they conduct themselves at Computex Taipei (Taiwan).

This could be partly a cultural thing and the phenomenon may extend into other similar shows in and around those regions, but my observation is thus: They wear skimpy, tight, or revealing outfits at both shows. That much is understood and the debate as to whether this is appropriate can be reserved for another day. However, at CES, the girls are more than happy to have their pictures taken as-is. Their clothing usually has a prominent company logo and that’s good enough for them.

At Computex Taipei, on the other hand, the girls will typically reach for one of the company products before they are willing to have their pictures taken. Their outfits have similar prominent branding as the girls who work at the Consumer Electronics Show, but it seems that they have been told to maximize the promotional value by holding a company product as well, posing with it.

The amount of attention that these girls receive at the shows is similar at both locations, as you’d probably suspect, but it makes you wonder if having the physical product in hand actually adds any marketing value to the companies who hire them. What are your thoughts?