An effective tradeshow booth design goes beyond flashy signage and exciting swag. So, how do you begin to measure the effectiveness of your design? It starts with determining the primary goal of the tradeshow and evaluating the audience in attendance. There are two major goals that exhibitors aim for when displaying at a tradeshow — lead generation and brand awareness/promotion — and for both, there are varying ways to reach them.
Goal: Generating as many leads as possible
• Primary objective: Make new contacts and sign new contracts.
• Design aspects: Include focused branding in your booth, but more importantly, provide areas to gather and host meaningful conversations; furniture groupings, high tops or even a private conference room for presentations will allow you to interact one-on-one with customers.
Goal: Brand awareness and promotion
• Primary objective: Draw masses of foot traffic and visitors to your booth
• Design aspects: Over-the-top branding, spectacle entertainment (e.g. costumed characters or acrobats/magicians) and popular giveaways that become the “it” item of the tradeshow are great ways to draw a crowd. You may not have deep conversations with any customers, but attendees will know who you are.
Of course, the best tradeshow experiences are ones in which you achieve both goals! Some additional tips for success include:
• Study the demographics of the audience — is your money well-spent on reaching out to them?
• Think vertically! A large banner hanging from the ceiling above your space is guaranteed to stand out in a sea of booths.
• Pick a signature piece to frame up your booth and create a bold impact: illuminated light boxes, branded columns or other branded features are perfect for this.
• Engage the senses: showcase your product in ways that attendees can see, touch, hear and feel.
metroConnections is a unique conference and event services company, providing the best possible experience for you and your attendees. The award-winning company operates from its headquarters in Minneapolis, MN and produces thousands of programs per year. The metroConnections team uses its expertise and resources to specialize in the design and implementation of events, stage productions, transportation, tours, conference program logistics and meetings. metroConnections also offers audio/visual and video services and is the creator of Attend-eSource®, a web-based solution that includes elements such as online registration, mobile apps and custom-built event websites.
