With a quarter century of custom trade show display experience, ExpoMarketing (celebrating its 25th anniversary in business this year) knows a thing or two about what works and what doesn’t in the world of trade show displays. In honor of the occasion, here’s 25 of the company’s top tips that are tried and true:
1 – Identify your audience. When designing a trade show booth, ask yourself, “what’s my goal?” and “who do I need to impress?”
2 – Plan ahead! There is always a long list of deadlines and obligations to follow before a show, so sooner is always better.
3 – Map out a realistic budget. For best results, talk with an exhibit house about what you’re looking to achieve and for what price.
4 – Consider renting your trade show booth. Rentals offer the power of flexibility to a business, without breaking the bank.
5 – Pick your spot. Examine the show floor plan to determine whether there are any “obstacles” that might be a hindrance to your space.
6 – Play by the rules. Know each show’s height restrictions, what kinds of signs are allowed, and how booths must set up within a space.
7 – Make your booth a “must-visit” presentation site. Providing a theater section as part of your layout can be ideal for presentations.
8 – Consider lightweight, portable options. Emerging businesses can save money and make life easier with innovative new portable displays.
9 – Stand tall. You can tower above the competitions’ structures with the maximum height tower that the show floor allows.
10 – Explore the two-story option. Expand upon your physical space and design canvas with a double deck rental booth.
11 – Know where the competition is on the trade show floor. Depending on your strategy, you may want to be close by…or as far away as possible!
12 – Fabric walls are a great trade show booth solution. The flexible texture is becoming more and more popular due to its versatility.
13 – Be a comfy oasis on a busy trade show floor. Add a hospitality lounge complete with device charging stations to help lure traffic.
14 – Shine a light on your booth. Nothing draws the eye to an exhibit space quite like lighting effects such as shifting LED lights.
15 – Draw attention to your booth with signs. Including an eye-popping hanging sign as an element of your booth has gravitational pull.
16 – Don’t clutter your trade show booth space. Simple, modern, clean, and uncluttered is a recipe for timeless booth aesthetics.
17 – Accentuate the booth design to highlight your brand. Artistic feature walls are a feature that has been trending.
18 – Plan for demo stations. For product demos that require stations, sketch out in your mind how many you need before the design process.
19 – Be cool and current. Don’t go with old-fashioned styles. Explore what works for your brand by downloading our latest design style guide.
20 – Don’t get too wordy with your graphics. Verbage should be limited to short, easy to digest messages with attractive visuals.
21 – Select the right size monitor. If you are having a video screen, make sure it’s the right size for where people will be standing.
22 – Be classy from the ground up. Consider a beautiful hardwood flooring that provides a psychological “at home” feel.
23 – Printing is important. UV printing enables production of more vibrant images and colors for booths than ever before.
24 – Make your team part of the trade show booth experience. Have your people stand in a location that is accessible and welcoming.
25 – Pick vendors with strong trade show experience. They will be well-versed on aspects of the exhibit world you may not know much about!