The Impact of Audio-Visual Integration in Exhibit Design
In the ever-evolving world of trade show booth design, staying ahead of the competition is crucial for companies looking to make a lasting impression. Custom exhibit booths have become the go-to strategy for businesses seeking to stand out at trade shows and expos. One of the most innovative and impactful strategies in this arena is the integration of audio-visual elements.
In this post, we’ll explore the five significant impacts of audio-visual integration in exhibit design and how it can truly elevate your presence at trade shows.
1. Captivating the Audience
At trade shows, it’s all about capturing the attention of your target audience. Custom exhibit booths designed with audio-visual integration can instantly captivate attendees. Engaging videos, dynamic presentations, and interactive displays draw people in, creating a magnetic pull that entices visitors to explore your booth further. Trade show booth design companies have harnessed this power, making it an essential element in their designs.
2. Enhanced Brand Messaging
Audio-visual integration allows for a more dynamic and multi-dimensional approach to conveying your brand’s message. Instead of relying solely on static graphics and brochures, you can use videos and sound to tell a compelling story. This interactive experience helps visitors connect with your brand on a deeper level. Trade show booth design companies understand the importance of creating an immersive environment where your brand can shine.
3. Information Retention
In the hustle and bustle of a trade show, it’s easy for attendees to forget what they’ve seen. However, audio-visual elements can significantly improve information retention. When people both see and hear your message, they are more likely to remember it. By incorporating audio-visual elements into your custom exhibit booth, you ensure that your key points and messages stick with potential clients long after the event ends.
4. Increased Engagement
Trade show attendees want to be actively engaged, not passively observing. Audio-visual integration in your exhibit design makes it easy to create interactive experiences. Whether it’s a touch-screen display, a live demonstration, or a virtual reality experience, these elements can make visitors feel like active participants in your booth. This heightened engagement can lead to more meaningful conversations and connections with potential customers.
5. Competitive Edge
In a competitive trade show environment, gaining an edge over your competitors is vital. The use of audio-visual elements sets you apart, demonstrating your commitment to innovation and creating a modern, cutting-edge image for your brand. Trade show booth design companies that leverage these technologies ensure that your booth is not only competitive but also memorable in the eyes of attendees.
The Strategic Power of Audio-Visual Integration in Trade Show Booths
The integration of audio-visual elements in exhibit design is a game-changer for custom exhibit booths. It captivates the audience, enhances brand messaging, improves information retention, increases engagement, and ultimately provides a competitive edge. When partnering with trade show booth design companies, be sure to discuss the strategic use of audio-visual integration in your booth to maximize its impact.
In a dynamic and competitive trade show landscape, the ability to harness the potential of audio-visual integration can be the key to your success. When planning your next trade show appearance, remember to incorporate these powerful tools to leave a lasting impression on your audience and outshine the competition. Custom exhibit booths with audio-visual integration are the future of trade show marketing. Transform your presence and captivate your audience. Explore Exhibit Company’s innovative solutions today!
Turning Leads into Customers: Leveraging Booth Design for Sales Conversion
In the bustling world of business, trade shows and booth design stand as powerful platforms where companies showcase their products and services, striving to make lasting impressions on potential customers. In this competitive arena, every interaction counts, and the importance of turning leads into customers cannot be overstated.
This edition will delve into the art and science of leveraging booth design to transform leads into loyal customers.
1. Crafting the First Impression: The Art of Attraction
The trade show floor is a whirlwind of activity, and to capture the attention of passersby, your booth design must be eye-catching and engaging. A professional trade show booth company specializes in creating visually stunning displays that resonate with your target audience. From captivating graphics to innovative layouts, their expertise ensures that your booth not only stands out but also draws in potential customers like a magnet.
2. Creating an Interactive Experience: Engaging Your Audience
Once you have their attention, it’s essential to keep visitors engaged. A well-designed booth incorporates interactive elements that encourage attendees to participate actively. From product demonstrations to immersive technologies, a trade show company can help you create an unforgettable experience that leaves a lasting impression and fosters deeper connections with your leads.
3. Storytelling through Booth Design: Communicating Your Brand Message
Your booth should tell a compelling story about your brand. A trade show booth design company can weave your brand’s narrative into the very fabric of your exhibit. Through strategic use of colors, imagery, and messaging, they help convey your unique value proposition, making it easier for leads to connect with your brand on a personal level.
4. Nurturing Relationships: Building Trust and Confidence
In the world of sales, trust is the cornerstone of conversion. Booth design isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s also about creating an environment where potential customers feel comfortable and confident in engaging with your team. A trade show company can design spaces that encourage one-on-one interactions, allowing you to build trust and answer questions, ultimately moving leads closer to becoming loyal customers.
5. Measuring Success: Analyzing Data for Continuous Improvement
The journey from lead to customer doesn’t end when the trade show concludes. It’s crucial to gather data and insights on booth performance. A trade show booth design company can help integrate data capture solutions seamlessly into your exhibit, enabling you to collect valuable information about visitor behaviour and preferences. This data can then be analyzed to refine your future booth designs and sales strategies, ensuring a more effective conversion process.
Conclusion
In the fast-paced world of trade shows, the role of a trade show booth design company cannot be overstated. They are the architects of your success, helping you transform leads into loyal customers through expertly crafted designs, engaging experiences, and strategic storytelling. So, when it comes to making your mark at trade shows and boosting your sales conversion rates, remember to partner with a top-notch trade show company.
In conclusion, if you’re looking to maximize your ROI at trade shows and elevate your lead conversion game, entrust your booth design to a reputable trade show booth design company. Their expertise will not only turn heads but also turn leads into customers, helping your business thrive in the competitive landscape of trade shows.
From Booth to Brilliance: Elevate Your Trade Show Presence
In the bustling world of business, trade shows provide an invaluable platform for companies to showcase their products, build connections, and forge new opportunities. A carefully crafted trade show presence can spell the difference between being just another booth in the crowd and truly standing out as a brand of distinction. With the right strategies in place, your custom trade show exhibits can become a masterpiece, attracting visitors and leaving a lasting impression. Whether you’re a seasoned exhibitor or a newcomer to the scene, these four tips will help elevate your trade show presence from ordinary to extraordinary.
4 Proven Tips to Elevate Your Trade Show Presence
The following 4 tips will help you elevate your trade show presence:
Tip #1: Begin with a Vision, Partner with a Trade Show Booth Designer
Before you embark on the journey to create an outstanding trade show booth, it’s essential to start with a clear vision. What story do you want your booth to tell? What emotions do you want to evoke in your visitors? This is where partnering with a skilled trade show booth designer can make all the difference. These professionals specialize in turning concepts into reality, blending creativity with functionality. Collaborating with a designer can help you conceptualize a booth layout that maximizes your space, effectively communicates your brand’s message, and ensures a seamless flow of traffic.
Tip #2: Embrace Interactive Experiences
In a sea of booths, it’s crucial to engage your visitors memorably and interactively. Gone are the days of passive displays; instead, consider incorporating interactive elements that captivate and involve attendees. Interactive touch screens, virtual reality experiences, or live demonstrations can draw visitors in and encourage them to spend more time at your booth. These immersive experiences create a stronger connection between your brand and potential customers, leaving a lasting impression that extends beyond the event.
Tip #3: Focus on Visual Identity and Branding
Your trade show booth is an extension of your brand, and its visual identity should be consistent with your overall marketing strategy. Utilize your brand’s color palette, logo, and typography to create a cohesive and instantly recognizable booth design. Strategic lighting, high-quality graphics, and well-designed banners contribute to a polished look that attracts attention from afar. Remember, a well-executed visual identity enhances your brand’s credibility and leaves a positive impression on visitors.
Tip #4: Craft Compelling Content
Content is king, even at trade shows. Engaging content that educates, entertains, or offers value can draw attendees to your booth. Consider hosting mini-seminars or workshops related to your industry, showcasing your expertise and building trust with potential clients. Interactive content, such as contests or quizzes, not only entertains but also encourages engagement and data collection for follow-up after the event. By delivering valuable content, you position your brand as an industry leader and create a memorable experience for visitors.
In conclusion, the journey from an ordinary trade show booth to a brilliant one is paved with strategic planning, creativity, and attention to detail. By partnering with a skilled trade show booth designer, embracing interactivity, maintaining consistent branding, crafting compelling content, and focusing on even the smallest details, you can transform your trade show presence into an unforgettable experience. Remember, a successful trade show appearance not only generates leads but also reinforces your brand’s reputation and fosters long-lasting relationships. So, when the opportunity arises, seize it with a meticulously designed booth that radiates brilliance and leaves a mark in the minds of attendees.
5 Expert Tips for Designing a Winning Tradeshow Booth: Engaging, Informative, and Insightful Strategies
Tradeshows are vital platforms for businesses to present their products and services, forge connections with potential clients, and network with industry professionals. A well-crafted tradeshow booth can captivate attendees, boost brand recognition, and lead to successful event outcomes. In this engaging and insightful article, we delve into five essential tips for designing a winning tradeshow booth, enhanced by expert perspectives from the industry.
1. The Art of Captivating Booth Design: Leaving a Lasting Impression
An outstanding booth design is essential for a successful tradeshow presence, attracting visitors and creating memorable experiences. Key components of an impactful booth design include color psychology, engaging visuals, and effective lighting.
First, consider the emotions you want to evoke through your brand and choose colors accordingly. For example, blue signifies trust and dependability, while red can evoke excitement and passion. Integrating these colors creates an appealing space.
Next, captivate your audience with engaging visuals, such as high-quality graphics, large images, and video displays. Interactive elements invite visitors to immerse themselves in your brand’s story, leaving a lasting impression.
Lastly, enhance your booth with well-placed lighting, creating a warm atmosphere. A combination of ambient, accent, and task lighting showcases key areas, guides visitors, and highlights specific products or features, encouraging further exploration. By embracing these principles, you can transform your booth into a captivating and unforgettable experience for your visitors, leaving a lasting impact on their perception of your brand.
Additional Insights:
Explore Modular trade show display options. Consider a modular booth design that can be easily customized and reconfigured for different events. This adaptability will allow you to tailor your booth to various spaces and audiences, optimizing your investment.
Incorporate interactive elements for enhanced engagement. Boost visitor interaction with touchscreens, product samples, or games. These components create memorable experiences and help visitors connect more deeply with your brand.
Spotlight product features. Design your booth to showcase your products or services’ unique features and benefits. Use eye-catching displays and informative signage to communicate the value of your offerings.
2. Mastering Strategic Space Utilization: Unlocking Your Booth’s Potential
Creating an exceptional visitor experience and seamless interactions with your team begins with a well-designed booth layout. This section discusses maximizing your booth’s potential by utilizing the available space effectively.
Imagine yourself as a visitor to your booth. Entering the exhibition hall, you’re drawn to a welcoming, well-designed booth. Inside, a clear and logical path guides you to key areas of interest, with ample room to move comfortably, encouraging further exploration.
The booth is divided into distinct zones, each serving a specific purpose, like product displays, live demonstrations, meetings, or storage. This smart organization strategy allows visitors to find information while your team manages the space quickly.
Accessibility is also a priority. The design complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), accommodating visitors with mobility, visual, or auditory impairments and ensuring an inclusive environment that values all attendees.
Incorporating a clear path, strategic zoning, and accessibility considerations creates an engaging and inclusive experience for visitors, leaving a lasting impression and setting the stage for a successful event.
Additional Insights:
Navigate traffic flow. Analyze the event floor plan and anticipate the direction of attendee traffic. Strategically position your booth and its key elements to capture visitors’ attention as they navigate the tradeshow.
Balance aesthetics and function. Develop a visually appealing booth design that also serves practical purposes. Ensure product displays, demonstration areas, and meeting spaces are easily accessible and unobstructed by decorative elements.
Employ storage solutions for a clutter-free booth. Integrate built-in storage solutions or allocate a designated area to keep your booth tidy and organized. A clutter-free space will maintain a polished and professional appearance throughout the event.
3. Building a Strong Brand Presence: Making Your Booth Unforgettable
Creating a lasting impression on visitors and reinforcing your brand identity is vital when designing your booth at a trade show or event. Here we will focus on the essential components contributing to compelling branding that resonates with your target audience.
The strategic placement of your logo within your booth is crucial in drawing visitors’ attention. Ensure that it is prominently displayed and visible from various angles. You can achieve this by incorporating banners, backlit displays, or large-scale graphics that emphasize your logo and make it memorable.
Consistency is key when it comes to branding. In order to create a cohesive and engaging experience for visitors, it is essential to maintain a uniform design, messaging, and color scheme across all booth elements. Aligning your trade show booth with your company’s overall aesthetic and tone strengthens brand recognition and creates a seamless and professional appearance.
In addition to visual branding elements, consider offering branded giveaways to visitors. You provide tangible reminders of your brand by distributing promotional items such as pens, tote bags, or USB drives adorned with your logo. These items extend your brand’s reach beyond the event, fostering a connection with potential customers and clients long after the trade show has concluded.
Through these approaches, you can establish a booth that effectively showcases your brand, leaving a lasting impression on visitors and reinforcing your brand identity in a compelling and informative manner.
Additional Insights:
Create unique booth themes. Develop a cohesive and memorable theme for your booth that aligns with your brand identity and messaging. A standout theme can help your company differentiate itself from competitors and leave a lasting impression on attendees.
Invest in high-quality signage. Use professional, high-resolution graphics for your signage to convey your brand’s commitment to quality. Crisp, clear images and text will attract more visitors and reflect professionalism.
4. Crafting Engaging Content: Entertaining and Educating Your Audience
Captivating and informative content is key to attracting visitors and keeping them engaged at your exhibition booth. To develop such content, various strategies exist that will help determine what content will resonate with your audience.
First, utilize digital displays, such as touchscreen panels, tablets, and virtual reality experiences, to create an immersive environment showcasing your products or services.
Second, conduct live demonstrations to highlight your offerings’ unique features and benefits, and schedule them throughout the event to maintain interest.
Lastly, boost your booth’s appeal by hosting informative sessions, like presentations, workshops, or panel discussions, to educate your audience and establish your company as an industry thought leader. These strategies help create a compelling experience for your exhibition booth visitors.
Additional Insights:
Create a content hub. Designate an area within your booth for visitors to access digital resources like whitepapers, case studies, and videos. This content hub can provide valuable information and help attendees better understand your offerings.
Collaborate with influencers. Engage industry influencers to host meet-and-greets or discussion panels at your booth. Their presence can attract a larger audience and lend credibility to your brand.
Promote exclusive offers. Offer tradeshow-exclusive promotions or discounts to incentivize visitors to engage with your products or services. This strategy can drive immediate action and generate buzz around your booth.
5. Cultivating Connections: Networking and Lead Generation
Creating captivating and educational content is essential for drawing visitors to your booth and encouraging them to explore your offerings further. In this section, we delve into several approaches that can help transform your exhibition space into an engaging and dynamic environment, leaving a lasting impression on attendees.
One effective strategy involves harnessing the power of digital displays, ranging from touchscreen panels and tablets to immersive virtual reality experiences. By integrating these technologies, you can create an interactive environment that allows visitors to delve deeper into your products or services, stimulating their curiosity and interest.
Another compelling approach is to conduct live demonstrations showcasing your offerings’ unique features and benefits. By providing real-time, hands-on examples, you can effectively communicate your product’s value and relevance to your target audience, fostering a genuine connection with potential customers.
Additional Insights:
Streamline lead qualification. Develop a system for quickly assessing the quality of leads and prioritizing high-potential prospects. This approach will help your team focus on the most promising opportunities.
Leverage social media for networking. Encourage your team to use social media to connect with attendees, share event highlights, and participate in industry discussions. Social media can create additional touchpoints for networking and lead generation.
Prepare effective follow-up strategies. Develop a plan for post-event follow-ups, including personalized emails or phone calls, to maintain the momentum generated during the tradeshow. Timely and relevant follow-ups can increase the likelihood of converting leads into customers.
Bringing it all Together: Create Your Winning Tradeshow Booth
A successful tradeshow booth combines captivating design, strategic space utilization, effective branding, engaging content, and opportunities for networking and lead generation. By incorporating these five expert tips and the additional insights provided, you can create a memorable and impactful presence at your next industry event. With attention-grabbing visuals, immersive trade show environments, and valuable educational content, your booth can outshine the competition and generate lasting business connections.
How a Trade Show Exhibit Could Boost Your Brand
Trade show marketing is an effective way to showcase your business to a target audience and generate leads. Partner with us at The Exhibit Company, Inc for high-quality custom trade show exhibits. We specialize in creating eye-catching, memorable trade show displays to make your business stand out and attract potential customers. With our experience and creativity, we can develop a unique, customized exhibit that perfectly suits your business’s needs.
How Can a Trade Show Exhibit Boost Your Brand?
Increases Brand Awareness
You may offer excellent products or services, but if people don’t know your business exists, they won’t buy from you. A trade show display booth allows you to get your business in front of hundreds or even thousands of potential customers and partners. It’s a great chance to introduce your brand to new people and make a positive, lasting impression. When your display is designed with uniqueness in mind, it can turn heads and make your business stand out from the crowd, helping you get noticed and remembered.
Engages With Potential Customers
An exhibit booth helps you engage with potential customers more personally and directly than traditional marketing methods. Instead of just looking at your company website or seeing an ad on TV, people can talk to someone at your booth and get an up-close look at what you offer. This type of engagement with potential leads can have a powerful effect, as customers are more likely to remember you after having a positive experience speaking with you at the trade show. It’s also a chance to get feedback and make the necessary adjustments.
Develops Your Network
The central goal of trade show marketing is developing relationships and fostering innovation. Setting up a display can help you network with other businesses that could become potential partners or collaborators. You can also stay up-to-date on new industry trends and learn about any upcoming events or activities you can participate in. All this networking helps expand your reach and increases your business’s visibility.
Allows You To Learn From the Competition
A trade show display allows you to better understand what your competition is doing. You can learn more about their strategies and tactics by checking out their display booths. You may even spot any weaknesses or shortcomings in their approach, helping you develop a better strategy for your own business. Competitor evaluation is key to staying ahead of the curve and providing better services or products.
Helps You Reach a Wider Audience
Displaying at a trade show helps expand your reach as people from different regions or industries come together in one place. That makes it the perfect opportunity to reach a larger, more diverse audience. You can also use this platform to launch new products, announce special offers and discounts, or simply build relationships.
Contact The Exhibit Company, Inc for High-Quality Custom Trade Show Exhibits
You don’t need just any trade show exhibit; you need a creatively-designed, custom display that truly reflects your business. Our team of experienced professionals at The Exhibit Company, Inc specializes in creating unique and eye-catching exhibits using top-of-the-line materials. We’ll make your display aesthetically pleasing, functional, and efficient. You’ll love the results, and so will your potential customers. Contact us today to get started!
Environments, Exhibits, Events, Graphics: Our Showcase
The Exhibit Company has decades of experience helping businesses create unique branding so that they are remembered by customers and clientele. We provide custom displays for events, conferences, trade shows, and exhibitions. We also design business environments and leverage cutting-edge technology coupled with imagination. If you’re looking for custom trade show exhibits, TEC is your team.
Our Environments
Anyone who walks by your business should instantly recognize what it aims to achieve. This is the goal of marketing. TEC can help you create captivating environments through strategic branding. We specialize in providing tangible displays to engage your target audiences.
Our team will help you build awe-inspiring showrooms, refine your properties’ architectural design and boost the aesthetic of your corporate lobbies. We’re also experts in delivering memorable trade show booths. Environmental branding requires creativity, strategy, and quality fabrications. TEC is well versed in all these aspects, with over 50 years in the industry.
Our priority is your needs— TEC is ready to follow your plan and help you create high-quality displays. You can also employ us to conceptualize, create, and design your work or storefront environments.
Our Exhibits
If you’ve secured space at an upcoming exhibition, captivating your audience should be your primary goal. Hundreds of businesses are all out to invite people to their booths. The Exhibit Company has 50+ years of experience designing custom trade show exhibits. We’ll help you with design, creation, and installation.
Custom exhibits and displays can set you apart from other companies. People are drawn to inviting, professional, promising, and creative signage and design. At TEC, our motto for custom exhibits is “abundant creativity and careful strategy.” We deliver presentations that incentivize your audience to attend your next show.
TEC provides expertise through all aspects of custom exhibits. Our team can help you prep the best conference booth and leverage tech to get you the edge over your competitors. You can also use online tools to manage your schedules, calendars, files, design concepts, and budget.
Our Events
Corporate event management is one of our specialties. We cover planning, production, and management, and strive to create more engaging shows. Each new event is an opportunity to improve on previous experiences. We’re fully focused on understanding the niche market, tailoring to your target audience, and delivering on your needs.
Planning a successful event calls for experience. You need to manage conflicting concepts, vendors, styles, approaches, and capabilities. TEC steps in so you can focus on running your business. Our team can handle program design, event logistics, tent services, and other key aspects. We’ll work with your vision or help you refine, build and execute one.
TEC can help you plan and execute corporate events and trade shows. We prioritize ironclad logistics and have an experienced team ready for all eventualities. Our event management teams can help you run a seamless event to achieve your objectives. TEC covers all permanent and semi-permanent structures, including the following:
- Tents
- HVAC
- Flooring
- Generators and power distributors
- Lighting and audiovisual equipment
- Graphics
- Executive restrooms
Our Graphics
Graphics are a core element of design and branding. The challenge is designing graphics that share the core business message without overloading, confounding, or boring. That’s why investing in professional graphic design aid is well worth the cost! The TEC team can review your mission and objectives to design graphics that align with your brand personality. The goal is to grab attention and convert leads to sales. Our designers are talented and experienced in creating brand-oriented graphics.
TEC can help you create powerful graphics, banners, flags, vehicle fleet wraps, advertising signage, and stage graphics. Our team can deliver grand format trade show displays with clear images. We’re also experts in minimalist displays and graphics. TEC leverages the latest technology to provide quality displays that stands out from the crowd. Our teams work with a brand strategy and utilize their creativity and expertise to design graphics that your audience will appreciate.
Custom Trade Show Exhibits
The modern consumer has all the resources easily accessible to find the latest solutions, products, services, and technologies. If you’re exhibiting at a trade show, you’ll be up against the market competition and need the best presentation in order to capture the attention of those modern consumers. Custom trade show exhibits give you the best chance of captivating the audience and creating interest in the business.
Some businesses have in-house teams, while others rely on businesses like ours. The Exhibit Company delivers innovative exhibits and trade show technologies. We’re an experienced group of imaginative graphic designers, savvy engineers, and strategic marketing experts ready to catapult your brand to the next level. Everything we do, we do hand in hand with your business— so that you are totally in control and achieve the look you want at the highest-quality delivery you and your customers will love.
Why Good Design Makes All the Difference in Marketing
There’s a reason why businesses hire designers to handle their marketing materials. Good design is everything. It attracts attention from prospects, makes a brand memorable and forms positive associations with consumers. A solid design also tells the world who your brand is and what you have to offer customers. If you want to echo passion in your marketing materials, good design is a must.
Whether you’re attending a trade show event, sending out a direct mailer or launching a new website, here are a few reasons why a solid design will make all the difference.
Instill Consumer Trust
Today’s brands don’t have a lot of time to persuade customers. It takes just one negative touchpoint to lose a customer forever. You don’t want that touchpoint to be a bad design choice on your part.
A strong design communicates trust and credibility. It demonstrates that you know who your brand is and what makes you different. It also shows that you’re not afraid to invest in a quality design that resonates with customers. When you’re confident in who you are, people will be confident in you.
Distinguish Your Products
Perhaps your product is truly one-of-a-kind, but it’s more likely that there are similar products out there. While listing out advantages is important, customers have to make it this far first. To distinguish your products from your competitors, you need a compelling design.
When it comes to purchasing products, people judge things by their cover. If a product looks cheap, people assume it is. Once this judgement is made, it’s hard to change people’s opinions. Give your products an edge by introducing a fresh and interesting design that is unique from your competitors.
Make Your Brand Memorable
A good design will make your brand memorable for all the right reasons. A design that is fresh and vibrant triggers positive emotions in the human brain. This makes your brand stand out and forms an instant connection to your products.
Think about some of your favorite products and what draws you to them. Is it the color? The product design? The typography? These simple details show consumes that you “get” them, and therefore, will deliver a product that meets their needs.
Create a Great First Impression
Knowing that you only have mere seconds to capture someone’s attention, you are relying on your design to do the talking for you. What do you want your design to say about you? All good things, we’re sure!
Good design makes a great first impression. It captures a person’s attention and holds it there, signaling to them that your product is worth buying. Consistency is so important for this very reason. When a brand is consistent, it reassures customers that it’s professional, cohesive and trustworthy.
Design matters to your business. A good design can take your marketing to another level and generate more exposure and sales than you believed possible.
The Winning Combination: An Exhibit Design Firm’s 5 Step Process
Having a custom exhibit built for your brand is an opportunity to perfect every detail. Rather than adjusting your needs to fit the exhibit, the booth is made specifically for your products and services. To ensure that the custom design process is handled with the utmost professionalism, a strategic approach must be applied. This way, each part of the process is given the appropriate attention.
Through years of experience, The Exhibit Company, Inc. has settled on a five-step design process. Let’s look further at what each step entails and how everything comes together for a beautiful result.
Step 1: Discovery
For a project to be successful, it needs to be built on a solid foundation. This is why the first stage of the process should always be about getting to know the client. Our design firm takes time gathering information on the client’s brand, products, audience, and business objectives. With this background info, we can develop a custom strategy that is both brilliant and effective.
Step 2: Concept
Once key insights have been gathered, we move onto the next step: developing the concept. This is the fun part, but it’s harder than it looks! A concept begins to come to life through a series of sketches, writings, and collaborations. Eventually, a custom exhibit takes shape. We love stretching the limits, but we also keep your budget and practicality in mind.
Step 3: Creative
A key advantage of working with an exhibit design firm is that you get a whole team of professionals under one roof. With artists, engineers, and multimedia experts, your project receives expert attention from every angle. Our design team recognizes that your exhibit must provide a sensory experience, which is why every detail – light, color, texture, form, technology – is taken into consideration.
Step 4: Production
This is the point where everything starts to come to life; pictures are put into action. With our diverse team of creative professionals, we are able to build anything you want for your exhibit while meeting the needs of your audience. Whether your event is small or large, our goal is to create an exhibit that captures attention and leaves a lasting impact.
Step 5: Delivery
The last thing you want is to start the show without your custom exhibit. This won’t happen when you work with The Exhibit Company, Inc. As part of our five-step process, we offer on-time delivery and even stick around to ensure that everything runs smoothly. From the lighting to the staging and audio sound, we’ll take care of the technical details so you can focus on greeting potential customers.
Our five-step process is one of a kind. It has proven to be reliable time and time again, even for the largest-scale events. Call The Exhibit Company, Inc. today to discover more about our approach to building custom exhibits.
Major Missed Opportunity: 4 Reasons Small Businesses Should Prioritize Graphic Design
Professional design work is commonly undervalued among small businesses. It’s not that small companies don’t see a need for professional design, but rather because they run on limited resources. To get the website, logo and marketing materials they need at a price they can afford, small businesses usually hire a freelancer or ask a current employee to do the work for them.
If you are running a small business on a small budget, don’t miss out on opportunities that could be yours. By prioritizing graphic design, you will enjoy more traffic, leads and sales that will quickly offset the cost of hiring a professional. Below are four reasons to put graphic design first.
- First impressions make all the difference.
Today’s consumers have so many brands demanding their attention, they make assumptions quickly. Let’s say a prospect attends a trade show for hair care products to carry in their salon. They visit dozens of booths and talk with the brand representatives. When the customer returns home, they go through the brands and quickly narrow down their search.
Much of the narrow down process is based on first impressions. How professional does the website look? How easy is it to find information on the site? Does the logo at the trade show match the online marketing materials? If you don’t put graphic design first, you could be missing out on opportunities to grow your business.
- Design tells a story about your brand.
Storytelling is an excellent way to bring your brand to life. The best parts about storytelling are that it involves your customers, brings forth emotions and is more likely to be shared with others. A hair care company that has local roots and uses essential oils in their products has a story to tell, making their brand relatable and genuine.
- Branding makes small businesses memorable.
Small businesses have it twice as difficult at times. Not only do they have to compete with big brands, but also other small businesses. To be successful, small companies must always be thinking ahead with their marketing budget.
Luckily, a professional design helps brands stand out against the competition. The hair care company that adds essential oils to their products can use a professional design to highlight the oils and their benefits. After a trade show, a salon owner might say, “I liked that brand that uses oils in their products.”
- Professional design saves money in the long run.
If your small brand doesn’t take graphic design seriously now, chances are, you will have to go through a design overhaul in the near future. Why pay for mediocre design today, knowing that you will have to do it again? A quality design has a long shelf life. You can enjoy using the design in all of your marketing materials and know that it will look great at your next exhibit.
Small businesses must be smart about where they put every dollar. In this case, it’s worth it to invest in quality graphic design. You pay for it once, and you can enjoy it for years to come!
Should I Rent or Buy A Trade Booth?
As a trade show marketer, you have two main options when it comes to trade show booths: you can rent one or buy one. There is no one-fits-all solution, as it all depends on your company’s needs.
How many exhibits are you in each year? Does your company attend multiple events at one time? Would you be happy with the same booth each time, or do you want the flexibility of something different?
Let’s go over the pros to renting and buying a trade show booth, and why a third option – a Custom Rental – might be the best of both worlds.
What are the Pros to Renting a Trade Booth?
- Less Capital. Since you are just renting the booth, you don’t have to actually buy anything, which reduces the need to account for a large capital expense.
- No Storage Fees. When the event is over, you are not responsible for covering storage costs.
- No Maintenance. In most cases, you are not required to complete repairs or maintenance on the booth. This frees up your resources and time.
- Always Exclusive. By giving your booth a new look and feel for each event, you can stand out from the crowd. Rented booths offer the flexibility to make constant updates, including size and layout.
How About the Pros to Buying a Booth?
- More Control. When you make the investment in a booth, you have more control in the long run. You don’t have to worry about an exhibit not being available, and you can have your booth built specifically for you.
- Long Term Investment. If you attend a lot of shows and use your booth regularly, the cost of buying it upfront will be less than renting.
- Consistent Brand Recognition. With your own booth, you have complete control over how your brand is represented. The consistency will make your brand recognizable, building trust and credibility.
Are There Any Other Options to Consider?
It’s clear that there are benefits to renting and buying a trade show booth, which is why it’s difficult for businesses to make a decision! As a company that creates highly engaging custom trade show booths, we feel that our customers can benefit from another option known as the Custom Rental.
A Custom Rental is very similar to a standard lease or rental, but there are variances among clients. Essentially, you can build whatever booth you want for your event without being committed to buying it outright. It’s the best of both worlds. You get a highly specialized exhibit that represents your brand without having to own and maintain it.
The cost of a Custom Rental is based on several factors and influenced by our multi-use agreement. Some of these factors include the total cost of construction, the number of times the exhibit will be used and options to terminate the booth or buy it from us.
If a Custom Rental sounds like something you might be interested in, give The Exhibit Company, Inc. a call. We’ll be happy to discuss your options and determine if a Custom Rental will accommodate your needs and budget.
3 Exhibit Designs from 2016 that Blew Us Away
Every exhibit should tell a story that draws event-goers to a company and keeps them interested and wanting to learn more at the same time. We believe that trade show exhibit companies should create inviting designs that reflect the brands and goals of their clients. A major trend that took off at trade events this year was the ”un-booth” style, aiming to make attendees feel welcome to roam and interact with the entire scope of the exhibit. Here are 3 recent exhibits that truly stood out to us by creating unique, memorable and interactive experiences for attendees.
The United States Postal Service went in a different direction at CES than what we would normally expect. The well branded exhibit welcomed visitors with gigantic shipping boxes in signature patriotic red, white and blue colors, a white cash-wrap style information area and a giant “Priority: You” sign. The designers of this exhibit also used movement and interactive designs to attract and engage visitors. For example, they offered a shipping competition game on a large vertical LED screen that had elements similar to the popular game “Tetris.”
Zimmer Biomet’s focus on the previous year’s fusion of Zimmer and Biomet was the perfect choice for the 2016 American Academy for Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting as the exhibit greatly reflected a merger. The exhibit highlighted both companies as one through layered elements and points of conversation throughout the space. A large “Z” sign hung over a two-story area that featured product contributions by both companies displayed on futuristic, cutting-edge laboratory-style surfaces designed with clean modern lines and white and blue-green neon colors. Poster-style screens overhead also supplied information individually and linked together at times as one large curved screen.
What we absolutely love about the Klipsch Group’s 2016 Consumer Electronics Show exhibit is the creativity and care that went into every part of it. Instead of focusing only on Klipsch audio products, the exhibit offered up a non-traditional booth that used an entertainment room theme to celebrate Klipsch’s 70th anniversary of sharing music and sound. The artistic space featured lots of personality with humanized elements in a mixed retro and modern design that was comforting. Furniture and accessories in shades of brown and relaxing styles created a warm and welcoming home-like atmosphere.
These amazing designs prove that custom trade show displays that feature a wide range of engaging elements and a clear understanding of target markets are critical for success. To learn more, contact our design team at the The Exhibit Company, Inc. today.
Increase Your Marketing ROI With Trade Shows
Trade shows have long established themselves as top marketing opportunities and continue to be popular in recent years. In fact, a study by B2B Magazine found that events are second to digital in the amount of money businesses spend on media and marketing. Typically, about a third of a company’s total marketing budget is allocated for activities like events and exhibiting. Businesses are able to reach potential customers and other businesses in just about every corner of the United States.
Exhibit design firms take attendee metrics and event logistics into consideration when planning a custom exhibit display. What will grab an attendee’s attention? What will make another business look to this particular business to solve their problem? Strategy is essential in trade show marketing and choosing a firm with experience is key to maximize results from your exhibit house investment.
Business-to-business buyers are on average a little more difficult to sell to than consumers. For one thing, they tend to be more rational with their decision-making process, because the effects of the purchase can have an effect on the business and sometimes its employees. Consumers, on the other hand, are more likely to make an impulsive purchase or indulge simply because they can. If a consumer sees something of interest to them and is given the right pitch, they are likely to make a purchase right away without much time to decide. Businesses are usually looking to make a purchase for a long term product that are more complex and require additional support after the purchase. For this reason, the decision must be thought out carefully for choosing the right vendor.
The best exhibit design firms recognize the difference between the two audiences and tailor their exhibit graphics around this. Full-service exhibit design companies have the resources to create custom exhibit booths for companies who understand that trade shows allow them to connect with not just consumers but other businesses that may need their products or services as well. For this reason firms, like The Exhibit Company, Inc., produce multi-dimensional brand experiences to influence audiences to act fast. Not only do they produce stunning custom exhibit graphics and interactive booths, but they also provide on-site support to manage these booths as well.
Product demonstrations using custom exhibit booths give prospective buyers the chance to ask questions, see exactly how the product can benefit them and, in many cases, get feedback from other customers. These things greatly increase the chance of making a sale and establish a trusting and confident business relationship that will result in great future profits.
Trade shows are a vital part of the marketing plan of any business. They are a great way to let potential customers truly experience the product where they may not be able to otherwise. Proper planning and hiring the right exhibit design firm can help marketers take advantage of the benefits that come with trade shows and achieve the ultimate goal of increasing profits. So view our exhibit showcase and get in touch with The Exhibit Company, Inc. to discuss your next event, today.
Does Your Trade Show Exhibit Company Do These 4 Things?
A good trade show exhibit company should be your one-stop-shop for custom exhibit designs that will maximize your trade show exposure. Hiring trade show booth builders may seem like a minor task on your to-do list, but it’s important to make sure you’re working with someone who will take the time to get to know your company, understand your goals, and believe in your brand as much as you do.
Booth exhibitions are the first line of encounter for many trade show attendees, which means they can really make or break your chances for drumming up new business with vital clients. Here are four qualities you should look for when considering a custom exhibit design firm:
They Work With Your Brand.
Your trade show exhibit company is the silent partner behind your trade show display. They’re there to help you look good. They’ll make sure to understand your company brand from the inside out, and they’ll work with you to make sure that the message conveyed through your display is consistent with your goals in everyday business.
They Understand the Power of Graphic Design.
A good exhibit design takes into account the buzzing dynamics of the trade show floor and gives careful attention to long-range, medium-range, and short-range details so attendees from anywhere in the exhibit hall can see and get to know your business from all angles.
They’re Flexible to Your Needs.
Every trade show floor is different, and your flexibility in terms of your both size and set-up is key to ensuring a smooth and effortless presentation every time. A quality exhibit design can be modified for designs of different sizes — 10X10, 10×20, 20×20, and so on — in order to accommodate every trade show scenario while still maintaining the energy of your brand through visual enhancement.
They Draw People In.
The typical trade show attendee spends hours walking around the show floor and taking in all of the booths on display. A good design should draw in that weary visitor, even in the ninth hour. You want your design to be engaging and memorable without being gimmicky or tacky.
When you’re looking to outsource the design of your trade show exhibition booth, don’t let just anyone throw something together for you. Your exhibition is the primary representation of your business, after all, so working with a one-stop-shop exhibit house company, like The Exhibit Company, Inc., to capture your brand and invigorate your audience is well worth it.
China Proves Trade Shows Aren’t Just Popular in the U.S.
Marketing events are more than just a sale sign in front of a store. Trade show display companies from all over the U.S. are cashing in on trade shows and expos happening mostly in Chicago, Las Vegas, and Orlando. About 50% of the nation’s 200 largest shows occur in those three cities. According to B2B Magazine, these events make up the second largest area of growth in a marketing spending budget, digital being first.
Trade shows are not just popular in the U.S., they are also held and attended by people all over the world. China, for example, is home to the Meat Expo China, which is in its 12th year. The three-day expo allows businesses to showcase innovative technology and machinery, meat and meat-based products, and total solutions for the meat-processing industry.
In 2015, the event was held in Shanghai and hosted more than 5,000 visitors from 10 different countries. Trade show exhibit companies are well aware of the benefits of such international marketing events and design custom exhibit booths and custom exhibit displays for other businesses to stand out from the rest.
An experienced trade show display company knows the guidelines for display graphics and the importance of space at these events. Space is limited and although there are many things to do, audiences do not spend much time on content that isn’t attention-grabbing. Exhibit graphics are very important to getting consumers to connect with businesses. This is the purpose of attending a trade show and if the consumers are not responding, there lies a problem within itself.
A good trade show display company understands that less is more and has an understanding of how to balance creating visuals that are exciting, yet not too distracting from the company’s message. This is not something most marketing departments are able to do in an environment like a trade show. For this reason, they connect with exhibit design firms and, in return, see an increase in product sales and a significant return on investment.
If your business is looking to expose the benefits of their product to the general public internationally or simply test consumer responses domestically, trade shows are the best way to do so. Once you’ve decided to attend an event like this, contact The Exhibit Company, Inc. and make your product the next big thing.
Drive Your Technology Launch With A Custom Exhibit
What’s one of the best ways to connect consumers with a product? A marketing event. Trade shows connect businesses with other businesses as well as consumers giving them a firsthand experience of what a product can really do. Las Vegas, Chicago and Orlando are home to about 50% of the largest 200 trade shows in the United States. With the average trade show visitor spending 9.5 hours simply viewing the many exhibits, it is no wonder why events like trade shows are the second largest area of growth within a company’s marketing budget.
By now, most people have accepted the fact that technology makes life easier. New programs and technologies are produced each day in order to make our lives more efficient. From apps to remind you of an upcoming appointment or event, to programs that allow you to communicate and share information in real-time with people on the other side of the world, technology just keeps getting better.
For those who suffer from disabilities, innovative technology can be even more helpful. Many people with disabilities rely on technology to live independently. For this reason, many trade show exhibit companies participate in creating custom exhibit displays to show people how technology can really help them. For businesses that want to create the best platform for consumers to experience their product first hand and want to benefit from the proven success of trade shows, hiring an exhibit design company is how to do it.
These companies have the resources to design and produce exhibit graphics for custom exhibit booths and custom exhibit displays. They are already aware of the strict regulations placed on trade show display companies and can help make any business’ dream a reality.
In order to market to people with disabilities, businesses may participate in events like an independent living expo to show consumers their new products or to get feedback on a product once it has been tested. Expos like this are a great way for people to see and gain an understanding of both the technology and services that can help them live and work within their communities.
Technology is ever changing. Events like trade shows give both businesses and trade show display companies a chance to show what they are really made of.
How Should Businesses Use Social Media at Trade Shows?
You can find anything on the Internet, and there’s no shortage of How-to guides explaining exactly how to use social media to your advantage at trade shows. Unfortunately for anyone that doesn’t like totally wasting their time, most of these guides aren’t worth the pixels they’re printed on.
We aren’t Luddites with a contrarian streak, so we won’t tell you that social media isn’t worth your time. It is. That being said, think of social media marketing as a way to support your trade show exhibits, not as a magic tool that can solve all your problems. That might seem obvious, but many marketers talk about social media as a cure that will solve any problem.
So how do you use social media the right way?
- Manage Expectations
Managing your expectations is the first key to successfully incorporating social media into your trade show strategy. Some brands, products and industries will perform better on social media platforms. Video game companies, household name brands, and movie studios won’t have much trouble gaining traction on social media platforms while a trenchless plumbing company will face an uphill battle getting their hashtag to trend.
- Include Social Media in Your Custom Exhibit Displays
Increasingly, trade show exhibit design firms like ours are finding that companies want social media handles or hashtags included in their trade show exhibit design. Additionally, if companies print out fliers or business cards to support their custom exhibits, then it’s wise to include Twitter, Instagram or Linkedin profiles in those graphics as well. If the event has a custom hashtag associated with it, then be sure to use that tag as you use social media during the event.
- Use Photos To Your Advantage
Visuals and graphics are key to standing out on social media platforms, and the best custom exhibit design firms know it. By creating attractive, eye-grabbing custom exhibit designs, your company’s space is more likely to appear in photos of the event. But that’s not the only way to use visuals to your advantage.
Increasingly, custom exhibit displays include an area specifically designed so attendees can take photos. Some trade show booth builders create giant Instagram-style frame cutouts for people to pose with. If your trade show exhibit has an interactive or participatory element, then encourage visitors to take photos and tag your company in their social media posts.
- Get off the Phone!
Yes, social media is important, just like an inviting custom exhibit design is important. But most business still occurs face to face, with a handshake, smile, and conversation. Don’t become so preoccupied with curating your social media feeds that you have less time to spend interacting with visitors.
Remember: social media can be a great way to support your exhibit and trade show strategy, but it’s only one small part of a winning exhibition.
Struggling To Find Trade Show Booth Ideas? Inspiration Can Be Anywhere
Preparing the perfect trade show exhibit can feel a little like playing the Oregon Trail video game.
- What do you take?
- Who do you take?
- What do you leave behind?
- How do you condense everything you need into custom trade show displays?
Unfortunately, in the real world, the stakes are too high to get lost along the way. Trade shows can be a tremendous opportunity to promote your brand and gain new leads, but if executed poorly, a total waste of time. If you’re struggling to create compelling trade show booth ideas, then take these tips from our exhibit experts. Trust us, you don’t want to learn these lessons the hard way, on a crowded trade show floor full of your colleagues and competition.
Remember: Great Artists Liberate
If you ever notice particularly awesome trade show booth designs when wandering the showroom floor, don’t hesitate to snap a picture for your own future designs. As they say, a good artist copies, but a great artist re-purposes the idea as their own. If an element of a previous exhibit was a hit, then it’s okay to update it and use it again. If you’re still coming up short on inspiration, check out our exhibit company’s portfolio of unique trade show booth ideas.
Remember: Less Is More and More Is Less
The latest market research indicates design graphics should be 40% empty space.
Perhaps because we live in a world that is overwhelming, crowded, and constantly moving, consumers are attracted to simpler designs. Think of a television news program. Between graphics in the top corners and one or two running headlines across the bottom of the screen, it is difficult to focus on the news anchor in the middle. Often, minimalist trade show booth ideas that incorporate the less is more approach help potential customers focus on the message, not the distractions.
Take, for example, the simple billboards along an interstate. While many billboards fill space with offers of cheap gas, snack prices, and clean restrooms, they often have so many colors that the visual clutter is overwhelming. Often, it’s the simple white billboard that attracts attention.
Remember: Have a Strategy for Sticking Out
A major part of trade show booth displays is making sure that you are visible from multiple angles. For example:
- Long-range graphics, those that can be seen from across the trade show venue, should be as high as possible within the regulations of the trade show.
- Medium range graphics need to be above eye level. These six to eight feet high items will attract potential visitors from two or three booths away.
- Short range graphics are only five to six feet high and are for the purposes of keeping the attention of people at your booth.
Flexible Spaces Work Best
Just as website designers know that any visuals they create have to move from the laptop platform to the handheld device platform, the best trade show exhibit companies understand how important it is to have a booth that is flexible for a variety of physical spaces. While an island booth accessible from all sides may be a company’s dream location, these spaces may not be available at all trade shows. As a result, exhibit house companies must provide materials that can be configured in different space sizes and different locations, be it a perimeter booth or a linear booth.
Taken together, all these current trade show booth ideas and trends point to a simple yet modern approach. Are you following these trends in your design?
The Who, What, Where, When, Why and How of Custom Trade Show Exhibits
When promoting your brand and business, you’ll likely find yourself attending a number of trade shows and conferences to network and drum up new business. Unfortunately, at the biggest trade shows, it’s easy to be completely overshadowed by a competitor with a bigger budget, a small army of “booth babes,” and all the bells and whistles money can buy.
So how do you maximize your budget when you design custom trade show exhibits? Unlike most trade show exhibit companies, we understand that the best custom exhibits come from companies who attend events with a clear strategy, design, and execution in mind.
Strategy: What, Where, When and Why?
A winning custom exhibit design and the ability of custom exhibit builders to make it a reality is largely dependent on your overall strategy. Too many exhibitors go to a trade show without clear goals in mind.
When you know which trade shows you’re attending, it’s crucial to work with your team on specific goals for the event. Once you’ve outlined objectives, then it’s time to start working out a strategy and agenda for meeting those goals. Finally, it’s important to ask what sets your company apart from your competition.
Why should anyone stop and give your trade show displays their attention?
Design: How
The design of your custom exhibit booths makes a huge difference in how well received it is. For a successful custom exhibit design, you must be able to deliver the flashier, attention-grabbing techniques that draw people in without trying so hard you seem desperate for visitors.
Remember: it’s not enough for your trade show displays to look visually appealing. It’s not enough to have the most original interactive element of the show. The design and layout of your custom exhibit design also needs to support your goals.
If your main objective is to gather new leads, then ask yourself, how do your trade show booth ideas support that mission?
Execution: Who
Our custom exhibit builders take pride in designing the best custom exhibits anyone has ever seen, and we think our work speaks for itself. Even so, when the event finally arrives, one of the most important decisions you’ll make is who exactly from your team you choose to work the event. Do you send young, ambitious team members bursting with enthusiasm, or seasoned executives capable of closing deals? Ultimately, who you send, and who you ask to stay behind at the office, can make or break your trade show experience.
Report: What’s the Top Global Destination for Trade Shows?
According to an independent report released this January, Copenhagen, Denmark, ranks as the #1 international destination for flight punctuality, making it one of the top cities for trade shows, meetings and conventions in the world. Scandinavian countries have long had a stellar reputation for efficiency, and Denmark is no exception.
Copenhagen also gains points for easy accessibility. Because it is a smaller city, it is possible to get from the airport to the city center in fewer than 15 minutes by metro, and it only costs five euros to do so.
Of course, your next big conference will likely be held somewhere closer to home. Of the 200 largest annual trade shows in the United States, 50% take place in Las Vegas, Chicago, or Orlando. But no matter the destination, you still need to ensure that your trade show exhibit is managed well and flows smoothly, showing your company in the best possible light. And while you can’t control where the trade show is held, you can make sure you design custom exhibits for your company that really make it shine.
So what can you do to ensure that your custom exhibit displays stand out from the crowd, whether you’re in Copenhagen, Denmark or Sheboygan, Wisconsin?
Here are three tried and true techniques for producing professional custom exhibits.
1. Come up with a Coherent Theme
Ideally, everyone would stop and talk to you in order to find out more about your products and services. In reality, people will be walking by and getting first impressions of your booth within mere seconds. That’s why it’s crucial for your entire space to have a cohesive theme and identity, both in terms of your visuals and messaging. Having a six-word tagline describing your brand that people can interpret within three seconds is key. Experts recommend using sans serif fonts like Helvetica (a serif font would be something like Times New Roman). Just make sure, of course, that any font you use matches your brand vision.
2. Adapt To Your Environment
A good rule of thumb for sizing your text is that there should be an additional inch of height for every foot away an audience is. If the average person walking by will be four feet from your booth, for example, you’ll want text that is at least four inches in height for unstrained reading. Before designing custom exhibit booths, always check the physical specifications of the host site. For instance, high ceilings can be used to your advantage, letting you literally rise above the crowd.
3. Work With an Expert: Trade Show Exhibit Companies
Remember: you only have one chance at creating a stellar trade show booth design. A company that specializes in unforgettable custom exhibits can be your best chance for making the right impression. Ultimately, a strong exhibit with clear messaging ensures that the people entering your custom exhibits are actually interested in your specific product and not just confused about what you’re selling.
Careful custom exhibit design is the way to go for showcasing your brand. Use these tips so that your next trade show runs smoothly!
Trade Shows 101: 7 Proven Pieces of Advice For Designing Your First Exhibit
Custom exhibits can be incredibly fun to design, but ultimately trade shows are about business. Although you want to have fun and show off your company’s personality, there are certain guidelines you need to follow to actually attract new leads. Otherwise, attending a trade show is just a company-sponsored vacation, only instead of hanging out poolside, you’re handing out business cards. So to make sure you aren’t wasting any time, or money, when designing your first custom exhibits, here are seven proven pieces of advice you can run with:
Know Your Audience
Custom exhibit booths should be tailored to reach specific audiences. While much of your audience is determined by your company or products, you may also want to tailor it for the different shows you plan to attend. This means that your custom exhibits may have multiple elements you can choose from depending on the show. Ask the exhibit house you work with what kind of options are available for your budget. You just might be surprised at what you can do.
Show Regulations
Different trade shows have different rules, and it’s an amateur mistake to skip over the fine print. For instance, some shows may limit the size of your custom exhibit displays, so you need to strategically plan how to best use that space. If you need electrical outlets or other services, plan in advance to make sure they will be available at the site.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
If you plan on reusing elements of your trade show displays from event to event, then versatility should be a major priority when making a custom exhibit design. Different venues will require you to obey specific dimensions, and your designs need to abide by those rules. This allows you to maintain the visually stimulating elements of your design and stay true to your brand, while also increasing or decreasing your trade show footprint. Even better, you can reduce costs.
Use Graphics, Not Clip Art
If you want to attract more consumers and get your point across, your custom exhibits are going to need some graphics. And while there are plenty of free clip art libraries online, it’s worth the money to invest in graphic designers to create original, attractive visuals for your space. Additionally, some of the best custom exhibit displays have three different types of graphics to draw in visitors from different areas of the venue: longrange, mediumrange, and shortrange. These will help grab the attention of consumers, whether they are on the opposite side of the exhibit hall or just on the other side of the aisle.
Create Taglines and Attention-Grabbers
Your exhibit booth design needs to make its point in the time it takes someone to walk past your space. Our exhibit experts recommend a sixword tagline that consumers can interpret in three seconds. It shouldn’t be too abstract, and it should of course be honest. With this type of preparation, the people entering your booth are more likely to actually be interested in your brand or product, helping avoid timewasting, lowquality leads.
Stick To Easy-to-Read Fonts
Strange or unreadable fonts can quickly turn consumers off, even if they look sophisticated on your computer screen. You need something that can be easily read from a distance. When creating your custom exhibit designs, you also need to take into account how big the font needs to be. Experts recommend adding about an inch to the font’s height for every foot away your consumers will be. So if they’re standing 10 feet away, you should add 10 inches to your font size to allow them to be read comfortably.
Don’t Go Overboard!
Finally, we’ve mentioned this before in previous blog posts, but it bears repeating: sometimes less is more. Don’t give into the temptation to crowd as many different graphics, slogans, product samples, interactive displays, and other elements into a single space. Even when it comes to something basic like your graphics, experts say that at least 40% of your design graphics should contain empty space.
If you have any more questions about your first trade show exhibit, don’t hesitate to contact our team of experts for professional help.
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The Exhibit Company, Inc.
239 Old New Brunswick Road
Piscataway, NJ 08854
Phone: (732) 465-1070
Email: [email protected]
Fax: (732) 465-1071