LONDON — There’s nothing like the excitement of a Guinness World Records attempt at a trade show. It’s a full-on spectacle, with an official adjudicator, pumped-up music and lots of swag — a true event marketer’s dream.
Guinness World Records’ Business Solutions Division works with companies and organizations on various kinds of campaigns. Show organizers can create a mass participation record, with people performing the same activity simultaneously, such as PCMA’s attempt to create the largest human image of a musical instrument (a guitar) during Convening Leaders in Nashville. Or they can bring together products or vendors, like the largest food truck rally, with 158 vehicles, during The Penang International Food Festival.
Expositions are a popular spot for record-setting as well. The Saudi Pavilion at the International Horticultural Expo at Expo Doha in Qatar featured an array of 435 external LED columns by Absen and coordinated by Cityneon, setting a new Guinness World Record for the largest display of exterior LED screens.
Because of their massive size, convention centers are the perfect setting for publicity stunts, such as the longest line of tacos—2,333 in all, measuring 654 ft. and 5 in.—created by OZO Foods during the Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, Calif.
For exhibitors, a trade show is a prime location for marketing campaigns or to promote everything from company anniversaries to product launches. Guinness World Records also offers public relations services and a database of 60,000 titles.
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For example, in March, industrial storage and workplace solutions company Strong Hold set a world record for building the largest steel storage cabinet in the world during the Material Handling Industry of America’s ProMat 2025 show in Chicago. The 12-gauge, all-welded cabinet measured 22.9 ft. tall, 10.6 ft wide and 7 ft. deep, stood two stories high, and could hold up to 80,000 lbs.
“Every year we try to top the prior year at MHI’s trade show, and with us launching a brand-new product at this year’s event, we knew we needed as many eyes on Strong Hold as possible,” Tony Diebold, President of Strong Hold, said. “Our product and marketing teams got the wild idea of attempting to set a Guinness World Records title, and soon took that idea from concept to reality.
“As excited as we are to set this record, it’s had an even bigger cultural impact on our company,” he said. “Every division and just about every one of our 250 employees have had a role in making this happen.”
Reach Guinness World Records Business Solutions here; Tony Diebold at tdiebold@strong-hold.com
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