When you sign up for exhibition space the question always is - how much do you book and where do you book it?  It’s difficult to work out how much space you should book at an exhibition - well, it’s hard if you don’t know what you want to do on that space.  Often my role is to work with clients on the background to their events, as well as the actual planning.  This is where I really feel I can add value.  It’s so easy to book the same amount of space as last year or to just pick a nice looking space. Why waste your money if you don’t need so much or why push your design beyond it’s limits if you book a space too small?

As you often book space a year or more in advance it can be really hard to know what products/services you’ll have online at that time, and more crucially, how you want to demonstrate them.  However, we have to make some decisions so lets start with the basics.

Why are you exhibiting?

Are you there to promote your brand, to meet new clients/dealers or to sign deals and sell product off the stand?Each element requires a very different presence, and so a different space.  I urge you not to book space just to look good  - it’s easy to sign up for more space and create a very open, airy booth but is it really worth it?  Could you spend your marketing money better if you had a smaller space and had sponsorship or a secondary offsite meeting room?

There are so many considerations and each company is different - I’ll try and outline some questions in a future blog but for now, here’s a case study of what my client did at ISE 2012 this year.

ISE 2012

My client had a relatively small space on the show floor so we didn’t have too much flexibility.  They were at the exhibition to meet old and new dealers and distributors - to build relationships and show their latest products.  We all know that trade show floors are not the best places to show off video and audio so we have to compromise but that doesn’t mean we can’t give a good overview of products.

Traditionally, they had several small demonstration areas where sales staff could bring their visitors and explain how the products worked, we also had a table and chairs where we could hold informal (but often planned meetings). Lastly, we had a reception which enabled us to monitor the booth activity, act as a focus for meeting visitors, have a small demo area and track visitor presence.

This year they wanted to try something new to demonstrate their latest product.  This would involve putting a theatre onto the booth - not easy on the space we had.  In fact some designers we discussed this with, said it couldn’t be done. So we had to maximise our space.  To do this we took up much of the stand with an enclosed theatre. We then moved a product rack to an outside wall, allowing us to utilise aisle space effectively (and within regulations).  The reception was positioned to allow us to welcome oncoming visitors but also to manage entrance to the theatre (scanning every badge as they entered) and be a last resort demo station.  We then had a single product demo area and a separate museum case which gave us two more spaces to discuss products.  Lastly, we managed to squeeze in a table and chairs.

The design wasn’t roomy but it was effective, we gave sales people 3 areas to discuss products.  We had space for the development teams to sit informally for their pre-planned meetings and we had an enclosed theatre which demonstrated the latest product.  What’s more - as we had a booth by the aisle and catering concessions we could use their tables and chairs for further meetings when we were overrun.

All in all it worked really well - there were some things we’d change for next year but stands should evolve and we should always review how each aspect worked for sales, marketing and top management.  By adding in this feedback we will know how to amend the design for next year - whatever products we have at the event at that point!

Once again it was a real pleasure to work at ISE. It's the 3rd year I've been to this AV and Systems Integration tradeshow and I'm interested in the way it's growing, the quality of the exhibitors and the sheer number of visitors.  This year they surpassed expectations and increased visitor numbers by 17% to 40,869.  Pretty impressive figures for a very cold week at the end of January.

This year I was working with a client in the Residential systems area in Hall 1. They had a good presence and made full use of their space and surrounding areas.  But more of that in the next post, for now I want to concentrate on the positive ways that ISE attracted visitors to their show. 

Organisers can no longer assume that they’ll automatically get the footfall they, and their exhibitors need.  They need to engage their audience and really work to pull them in - not just to register but to actually turn up.

Encouraging exhibitors to market the event for them

The organisers engaged with the exhibitors on a personal level.  Even with 825 exhibitors at the event, every time I phoned to speak to sales or admin I was treated like a friend and colleague. I accept that my client has been part of the association and exhibited at ISE for years but they're not a major exhibitor, so it was good to know that I had the organiser’s ear when I needed it.  This was just the start of building a relationship that engaged the exhibitors and really them become part of the exhibition.  I really think this is key to how exhibitions should move forward - it’s about working together to promote your investments.

Marketing Plan

I’m sure the organisers had a comprehensive marketing plan to draw in visitors, both directly and via their exhibitors.  However, this is my take on the elements that I saw and felt were effective.

Exhibitor Newsletters: regular information to exhibitors outlining key information and deadlines.  It’s easy to forget deadlines when you’re caught up in many events or marketing projects so these newsletters were a bonus for many exhibitors.

Visitor Newsletters: this one was sent to registered visitors and previous attendees.  These newsletters built in frequency as the show approached but didn’t seem to push the “TOO MUCH” button.  Exhibitors could sign up for advertising slots on the newsletter and submit their press releases for inclusion.

Pre-show Magazine:  another opportunity for exhibitors to promote themselves via PR and advertising as the organisers produced and sent out this valuable and informative magazine.

Show Daily:  I’m never sure how useful these are as I see so many littering the bins but they’re always popular with exhibitors keen to get their latest information in and encourage people to visit their stand on the day.

Partners: A series of key partners built a good sponsorship marketing campaign enabling the partners to promote the event, their presence at it and show how important they feel the event is.

Customer Tickets: exhibitors could download free branded entrance tickets for their customers.  The exhibitors show goodwill by sharing these, help save the client some effort and money as well as using them as the basis for their own marketing campaign.

Banners and Logos: These were readily available, again enabling the client to incorporate the exhibition into all their current marketing plans.

Mark your Diary:  How simple!  A button on the home page of the show website which automatically put the dates into your diary - with one click the date is marked.

Connecting on LinkedIn: some of the key staff connected with their exhibitor contacts enabling them to be visible on their contacts profiles.

Show guide app:  This app was downloadable onto Smart Phones and enabled visitors (and exhibitors) to get basic info, find exhibitors and plan meetings.

Twitter: if there was one weak area then it might be Twitter.  I had to work hard to find their Twitter feed and they only had around 800 followers.  Twitter is a great way to communicate with your fans.

I recently worked at ISE 2011 in Amsterdam - how fantastic to be involved in a thriving show.  The official figures quote an increase in traffic of 22% which really is quite amazing and so refreshing.  It was great to see some bright innovative stands as well - this blog is my take on the stand designs around the show.

There is still a lot of white, angular walling but white as shown on it’s extensive use in websites is still one of the most versatile colours to go with.  Most brands work well against white and indeed brand guidelines always cover that combination.  However I do feel it is a bit of a safe colour, one that is not going to offend the board and split the red haters from the red lovers.

Most stands seemed to be relatively simple with little excessive catering - no bad thing, given the cost and mess that result!

Carpets seems to have given way to harder flooring.  I’m not sure if this is due to the outrageous wastage that comes from using carpet for 3 days and then throwing it out or if it’s just a fashion thing.  Hard flooring may be easier to re-install at another show but it ultimately depends on planning a series of exhibitions so you get the most use out of your stand components.

Our stand had considerable under-floor padding to make it easier on the feet and legs.  This is an American led item where most stands over there will not build a platform as they’re allowed to run flat power cables underneath a thick pad. Personally I’m not sure if it helped my feet but I know most people who walked on the stand cooed with pleasure at the soft flooring.

Lighting rigs are being used more and more to give a much more gentle light wash to a stand.  They’ve always worked really well to accent particular signs and products but maybe now the price is coming down so the smaller stands can consider using it.

The last thing I noticed was the large number of angles - this is a much more cost effective solution, enabling a stand to be used in different configurations at a variety of tradeshows. However, it did seem quite harsh so maybe a few strategic rounded elements or non 90º corners would help make you stand out.