North America's Largest Consumer Toy & Game Fair®
Having a Successful Fair Exhibit Experience!
Booth Design
Think about how your booth and displays are going to best represent your brand to advertise your products. Make sure you display your website and social media handles prominently so social media influencers do not need to search for them.
Steve Rad of Abacus Brands and BackDrop.com offers advice for setting up your booth and the type of displays available. Chicago Toy & Game Fair customers receive 10% off! Click Here!
Let Your Customers & Fans Know You're Coming!
SOCIAL HANDLES & HASHTAGS FOR ALL SOCIAL POSTS (IG, LINKEDIN, TIKTOK, ETC.)
We suggest adding the following hashtags and handles on social so we can share your posts.
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Handles
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@peopleofplay
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@chitagweek
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Hashtags:
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#yic (where appropriate)
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#younginventorchallenge (where appropriate)
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#chitag
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#peopleofplay
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#chitag2026
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Camera Ready & Selfie Area
Local, national, and international media will be walking by your booth at the Fair. Are you ready to tell the story of your brand & feature product? Make sure your exhibition has a photographable element to enable the media to tell a strong visual story.
Create Content
Capture photos and videos of Fair attendees playing with your products.
Giveaways
Having giveaways and collecting consumer contact information is a great opportunity to build your consumer database!
Activations & Experiences
Have some fun and draw attendees in! Create an activation or an experience at your booth. Here are some examples from 2025:
Create a POP Profile on the People of Play platform!
150 unique visitors a year and 90% are consumers! Post to the homepage about your products.
Create and post your press releases in your profile and we will share them in the Bloom Report.
Get in the Holiday Gift Guide!
28,000+ consumers engaged online during Wishlist Weekend® in the 30 days leading up to the show in 2025!
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Here's ZipString's Success Story (2024 & 2025):
At the Chicago Toy & Game Fair (CHITAG), the value of exhibiting doesn't end when the show closes—it continues to drive results long after, especially for content-driven brands. One standout example was ZipString, who shared that three of their top five best-performing Meta ads during the holiday season originated from interviews filmed at CHITAG 2024. One of those creatives proved so effective that it was scaled with more than $100,000 in ad spend—a powerful indicator of the content's long-term ROI.That success was the primary reason ZipString returned in 2025, this time bringing two videographers to intentionally capture interviews, product reactions, and live interactions throughout the show. While on-site sales were strong, selling over 700 products, ZipString emphasized that the real win was content. Even with an eight-person team on site, they turned a profit, reinforcing CHITAG as a sales and marketing engine.For exhibitors focused on storytelling, social reach, and high-performing ad creative, CHITAG continues to be an exceptional content asset—delivering authentic moments, influencer amplification, and marketing materials that perform long after the event ends.
Thank you Austin Hillam and Stephen Fazio, Co-Founders, ZipString, for sharing your experience!
Expert Advice on Setting Up Your Booth & a Discount
Click Here or on Banner Below...
