While we have an increasing focus on content strategies for our clients, we’ve always encouraged them to attend industry conferences and trade shows. Trade shows have an incredible impact on building the awareness of your brand with a captive audience that’s more apt to be researching their next purchase decision than the average visitor to your site. In fact, 81% of trade show attendees have buying authority and 99% of marketers found value in being there
Trade shows and exhibitions are highly valuable for any business, as they allow face-to-face communication and networking opportunities, which many businesses take for granted these days. Whether it be communicating to existing clients, promoting your services to new prospects or showcasing your brand to key figures in your industry, trade shows are invaluable to businesses and shouldn’t ever be overlooked. Losberger
Our agency has designed trade show booths for a couple of clients. The mechanics of designing the booth are typically pretty simple. Booth providers typically have all the design files to hand over to your designer for customizing the templates. However, designing for maximum impact requires some talent. Here are 8 elements that Losberger have found for designing an effective trade show booth:
- Attention – displays need to be placed to engage passing visitors within 3 seconds.
- Industry – should be consistent with other industry booths while still standing out.
- Contrast – highly contrasting text is essential to easily catch the eye from a distance.
- Colors – use colors that evoke behaviors that you’re seeking in trade show attendees.
- Space – your banners, screens, and collateral evenly and openly instead of cluttering too much information that’s looked over.
- Branding – should be consistent across your signage, collateral, and web site.
- Graphics – must be absolutely simple and viewable from a distance to capture attention with clear messaging.
- Fonts – should be large, easily readable, and contrast greatly from background colors.
I’d add one more tip… find out how much clearance you have in the conference center and take advantage of space above your booth. Most conference centers do allow hanging a light sign of some sort – which can be a huge advantage in a busy hall. Losberger’s infographic, Why Trade Shows Are Important To Your Business, also includes regulations in the UK, safety measures, types of event tents and booths, advantages for temporary structures, and other preparation tips!
