Trade shows have been an integral part of every organization’s sales and marketing handbook for several years. While technology has helped bridge gaps between sellers and buyers with video conferencing, social media, and webinars, there’s nothing that has been able to replace the impact of good old face-to-face conversations.
Exhibiting at trade shows allow for more immersive & experiential product demos, deeper customer insights, valuable lead generation, and precisely targeted offers. The big challenge that most businesses face, however, is converting attendees into customers.
According to a recent survey, key business decision makers from around 86 percent of show attendees. Keeping this in mind, it is important for exhibitors to set up booths that leave a lasting impression.
Creative trade show exhibit ideas help organizations to attract more eyeballs and increase the likelihood of sales. A booth that has been designed well can increase your footfall during a show and give you a better shot at converting visitors into customers.
Here are some creative exhibit ideas that will help your booth stand out at the next trade show:
Provide a multi-sensory experience
We know that optics are critical at any trade show. But if you are able to engage visitors by stimulating most of their senses, it’s likely that you will offer them an enriching experience.
You can incorporate sounds, smells, vibrations and various textures into your booth’s design to offer visitors a multi-sensory experience. Aroma oils and candles are a great way to create a relaxed atmosphere.
The material that you use to build your booth could also help invite attendees into your space. Materials like silk, satin, textured fabrics, metal and wood all provide a tactile element to your booth, which is a sense that most brands overlook.
Additionally, adding vibrations to interactive flooring could further enhance a visitor’s experience. Whatever you choose to do, ensure that the textures and colors of your booth match the mood of your brand.
Create a social media display
Social media marketing is currently on a roll, and for all the right reasons. It’s democratized the way people communicate with brands and empowered them to engage in meaningful dialog with these brands.
Prospects are also learning more about services and products through social media platforms. Given this context, it might be interesting if the wall of your booth displayed tweets or Facebook posts that attendees shared about your brand.
Showing this to your visitors will only increase your business’ credibility. You could also use a variety of social media platforms to run interesting in-booth contests.
Make the booth experience interactive
While social walls will add a distinctive touch to your booth, it’s crucial to ensure you include interactive elements in your display as well.
For example, an interactive floor that lights up when visitors stand on it, or a few tech devices asking for feedback at the counter may encourage visitors to linger around your booth for a little more time. This will increase the window for your sales team to convert leads.
Place potted plants around the booth
By including plants in your booth, you can create a refreshing and relaxing ambiance for your visitors. This will help your booth stand out by offering a few peaceful moments during what will probably be a tiring trade show.
Green décor will also imply to visitors that your products and services are environment-friendly, proving that you and your brand do whatever is required to protect and conserve nature.
Alternatively, you should choose to add a living wall to your display. This will turn an entire wall of your booth into a green wonderland that will offer visitors some visual relief from the bright colors and harsh lights all around them.
Living walls are ideal since they don’t take up too much floor space but still let visitors know that you’re dedicated to protecting our planet.
Find the right size
Your stall will definitely stand out if you use larger than life props as part of your booth design. Depending on the kind of industry you’re a part of, you can find a way to use disproportionate props to draw attention to your booth.
For example, a mobile app creator may install massive touchscreen phones around their booth to invite people to interact with their latest offering and provide instant feedback.
While gimmicky on the face of it, designs like these not only attract visitors, but also make it easier for folks to get a sense of your product or service. If nothing else, your props will definitely feature in a lot of exhibition selfies!
Upcycle your booth
A great way to truly shatter all expectations of your booth is by driving to the show in a vintage vehicle that doubles up as your actual booth. Old food trucks are especially useful in such cases.
They allow you to create a completely enclosed booth, while still allowing your staff and team to interact with audiences on the show floor. If you have space, you could consider converting an old RV into your booth.
Using vehicles at trade shows generates curiosity amongst visitors and invites them to investigate what the buzz is all about. Apart from this, it will reflect your organization’s creativity and innovative use of space – an impression that attendees are likely to recall even after the show is over.
Create a comfortable lounge
At trade shows, attendees spend all their time walking around and interacting with people. This can often take a toll on their legs, but with limited seating options available, they are forced to power through the day.
By creating a relaxing space with comfortable seating, you’re inviting visitors to step into your booth and enjoy your hospitality.
You could consider adding charging stations for their phones and other handheld devices or even screen short films at regular intervals to increase the footfall to your booth. While you have them relaxing, your sales team can engage with and present your products to the attendees.
Include a small library
Enthusiastic readers can be found at almost every trade show. If you want to draw their attention to your display, place a small shelf of books in your booth.
If you’d like to take things a step further, you could even offer seating options so that bookworms can rest their weary legs as they dive into the books you’ve so kindly offered them. A good book creates a good mood, which is exactly what’s required to increase sales.
Use overhead props
If you’ve got a small booth to work with, draw attention upwards by using overhead props. From dangling logos to reinforce your branding to interesting lights and images that enhance your booth’s overall appeal, there’s no end to the ways in which you have use the ceiling space above your booth to create a lasting impression on visitors.
Light up your booth
When we look at the world around us, we tend to seek out spaces that are pleasantly lit. Unfortunately, most exhibitors overlook the importance of lighting their booth properly to invite people in.
While some brands are more than happy to leave their booths in the shadows, relying simply on the overhead lights available at the venue, other organizations may go overboard with far too much white light surrounding their display.
Being on either extreme of the spectrum could seriously damage your business prospects at the show. There are a number of ways in which you can light up your booth to make it an inviting place for attendees.
You can use fairy lights to create a homely environment or consider using backlit fabric displays through your booth for a brighter effect. If you want to draw attention to certain products or areas, spotlights will work a treat.
For a more dramatic booth, you can choose to use multiple light sources and layer them up. Whatever you decide to do, remember to find the right balance between light and dark through your booth.
Your booth’s design plays a significant role in your overall success at an event. At your next Orlando show, you can make use of these trade show booth design Orlando to create a booth that stands out from the crowd.
Find a way to use the tools at your disposal to create a booth that offers visitors a unique experience that reflects your brand’s story so far.
Read here – 10 creative trade show displays inspire you.
