Even at the biggest fintech stage, attention was on sale! 🤑
Last week, I attended the Global Fintech Fest 2025- one of the largest fintech conferences on this side of the globe. With hundreds of exhibitors putting up colourful screens, flashy demos, and exquisite mini-lounges, it was chaotic but brimming with fintech energy and innovation.
What stood out, though, were the creative physical "hooks" - dart games, gold bar challenges, VR sets, digital paan shops, tote bag printers, spin-the-wheel counters, and what not. Everyone was fighting for those fleeting seconds of eye contact and attention capture- much like in digital ads campaigns. 📣
With no 'likes' or 'comments' to flaunt, crowded booths became the new virtue signal- and number of visiting cards, the social proof to take back to marketing and sales heads.
I say this with a smile because I've been guilty of similar corporate 'stat-padding' during my own time presenting at Singapore FinTech Festival & Money20/20.
But as a founder, it does make you wonder- are we chasing impressions or impact? 🎯
Because just like ad impressions, booth footfalls don't always translate to meaningful conversations. I highly doubt that B2B enterprise decision-makers choose their next risk engine or lending software based on who had the longest queue. At best, those five seconds of attention might help with top-of-mind recall during the next vendor evaluation.
Maybe the real differentiator- offline or online - isn't how loud you shout, but who and how long someone truly listens.
In the end, it's all about resonance over reach! 💫
(Sharing a few thoughtful pieces in comments, by leaders like Varun Agarwal and Anil K Pandit, that echo similar reflections.)
P.S. Kudos to all the teams that put in tremendous effort to design such imaginative booths- there's so much to learn and take back from this year's event. 🙌
