You will never miss them at fairs and large scale trade shows like these. Wearing uniforms that are usually a little too short and too tight, these pretty promoters are scattered throughout the exhibition halls. Do they really know the products they are promoting, or are they just acting as sexy display racks for the shiny gadgets? AsiaOne visited the Singapore IT Show at Suntec City on its first day to find out.
Product Knowledge: When asked about how much she knows about the cameras, Vivienne admits that she has yet to read up on the product and it is really not her job to inform customers about technical specifications.
Her Excuse: "We only knew last night what product we will be assigned to promote, so I did not have the time to read up on it. When customers ask for more information, I will direct them to the counter staff."
Others: Vivienne only knows that the cameras she is promoting were branded under the ∝ series. But then again the ∝ symbol was embroidered all over her dress.
Product Knowledge: Anna did not even know the model number of the photo printer she was supposed to promote. She has no other information about the product other than the fact that it prints photos.
Her Excuse: Anna told this reporter that the fitting for the uniforms and the event rehearsal was held only the night before the event. Like Vivienne, it was only then that she knew which product she would be assigned to.
Rating: 2/10
IT Babe 3
Name: Beatrice Tan, 20s, Freelance model
Product: Nikon Coolpix L14
Vital Stats: 32-25-29
Product Knowledge: Beatrice was able to provide some basic information about the Nikon Cool Pix L14. She was familiar with the fact that the L14 has a lower ISO rating compared to the DSLR cameras in the pamphlet. When asked about the more advanced models, Beatrice told us that different girls were trained in different products at the Nikon booth, and she was only familiar with the point and shoot cameras.
Customers can depend on her to learn more about the cameras, though we would have expected her to do better. We gave her extra points for being able to recommend us several models depending on our requirements.
Rating: 6/10
IT Babe 4
Name: Angie Chia, 20s, Freelance model
Product: Nikon Coolpix S520
Vital Stats: 32-24-34
Product Knowledge: Also at the Nikon booth, Angie was holding the Coolpix S520. She was happy to give a demonstration, even showing off the D-Lighting feature used for fixing darker shots. Angie was also familiar with the camera's user interface and showed off the Coolpix S520 so well the camera looked as good as she did.
Although the demonstration was brief, Angie was able to show us a very useful and attractive feature of the Coolpix S520. Looking at the way she navigated effortlessly through the different options on the camera?s screen, we could see that she had a good knowledge of the product.
Rating: 8/10
Canon's IT babe Danielle (middle).
IT Babe 5
Name: Danielle Chin, Student
Product: Canon Selphy Photo Printers
Vital Stats: 34-27-36
Product Knowledge: Basic technical information such as compatibility, print sizes and dpi did not leave Danielle unfazed. She told us that the Selphy photo printers were able to churn out photos ranging from 4R to credit-card sized pieces. Information not available in the brochures, such as the availability of print media bundles, were readily provided by Danielle. This is one IT babe who knows her stuff.
Rating: 7/10
Toshiba's IT babe Joanna (right).
IT Babe 6
Name: Joanna Siow, 19, Model
Product: Toshiba laptops
Vital Stats: 34-25-34
Product Knowledge: We found Joanna at the Toshiba booth giving out brochures. There were several different laptop models available at the booth, but Joanna was not able to give us information about them.
Her excuse: Providing technical information about the products is the job of the counter staff, she said. When asked if she thinks that the girls are the main draw of the IT Show, Joanna disagrees. "I think that people do come for the gadgets. Even though there are some guys who are here for the pictures, most people here will only take the brochures they want."
Others: She did not know anything about the Toshiba laptops at the booth, and made a point to stay further away from the computers so that customers wouldn't ask.
Rating: 2/10
IT Babe 7
Name: Madeldine Tay, 23, NUS student
Product: NEC laptops
Vital Stats: 34-24.5-35
Product Knowledge: After grabbing a couple of brochures from her, we asked Madeldine if she knows whether the Dynasty Warriors 6 footage playing on a computer screen was a game made by NEC (it was not). Like many of the other girls, Madeldine was unable to answer, though she was able to tell us that the computer itself was new model and that it was of an ultra-portable design. A male counter staff came to bail her out, explaining to us that the video was there to show off the screen's capabilities, and that the game is playable on the NEC laptop (not true - Dynasty Warriors 6 is only available on the PS3 and the Xbox 360).
Are the IT babes there just for eye candy then? Madeldine thinks so. "Most of the men here come for the girls. I used to sell cameras and I think that the prices at the IT Show are not much better. They might offer a few more freebies, but I don't think that is what the men are coming for."
She could not tell us more about the laptops but at least she knew little about the general prices of the items at the Show, so we gave her a bonus point.
IT Babe 2
