One of the toughest yet most rewarding tasks in preparing for a trade show is the design and selection of your trade show booth.
Your trade show booth establishes your show presence and is a core component of how your company will fare at that show. Time, care, and attention to detail in designing and choosing your booth is of the utmost importance.
There are many booths on the show floor that look like over $100k were spent on them, yet visitors walk away with no idea of what the company does or what benefits it offers. The MOST important aspect of your booth is NOT the creativity, graphics, money spent, or overall look and feel. Rather, it is this: Does it convey accurately and quickly what your company's product or products are, and what benefits they bring to your customers?
The very first thing that you must do as a marketing manager in charge of a show is establish how you are going to convey these two critical pieces of information. Once you have your key messaging - then you can start to figure out where to place them.
A picture is worth a thousand words, and a big mistake made by many newbies to trade shows is to have all verbage on their booths. Many who walk by will not read verbage, but will just keep walking. If there is a picture to grab their interest, then they will stop.
This doesn't mean using one of the many curved 10'x10' ready-made booths that you can buy on eBay and slapping a graphic on it! If you do this, you will have no unique appeal and will appear just like most of the other booths on the show floor.
It does mean creating well-thought out graphic ideas that clearly convey, in 30 seconds or less, what your products are and what they do. Professional graphics artists are also a necessity for having a booth that looks professional and convincing. A good graphics designer can take your concepts from a piece of paper and turn them into a compelling design. Shop around if you are on a budget, but don't try to do it yourself if you have no graphics training.
The Nimlock - Charlotte booth portfolio shows some examples of some simple, yet well done booths that are appealing, yet convey the product idea and benefits visually.
With booth design, it is also a very good idea to make sure you set your budget before you go shopping.
If you are on a tight budget, check with local booth designers. Often, they have returns or used booths they are happy to get rid of at a reduced rate. Otherwise, for a typical well-done 10'x10' booth that doesn't look cheap, you are looking at about $10-20K.
A panel system, if well done, can present a lowered cost alternative. Panel booths are also flexible in that you can easily change graphics for future shows, or buy extensions to add on to your booth as the company grows. Abex is the premiere supplier for panel systems, and they have a generic second label booth as well that is sold by some local booth suppliers. Call around, and ask about this second label - your choices of finish and colors are more limited, but the savings are significant. Panel systems are usually more lightweight too - which helps when considering shipment costs to the show location.
If you have limited trade show booth personnel and will be manning the booth for the majority of the show with just a handful of others, chairs are a must. Work them in so that they are part of your overall design, and not a detractor.
Also, if you have product demos or products physically placed in your booth, you will need cases or a countertop in order to show them. Panel systems have laminates as an option, or you can purchase stand alone acrylic cabinets.
Before making a final decision on your overall trade show booth and placing any orders, draw a sketch of what it will look like. How accessible is it from the show floor? Does it look open and inviting? Are your products and benefits clearly explained?
If not, make all needed changes on paper, and go back and visit your booth supplier again, with paper in hand.
Once all is ironed out, order your booth - preferably 2-3 months in advance of the show in case anything goes wrong. Remember, Murphy is alive and well!!
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