oing into the 2010 Mobile World Congress, Comverse Ltd. wielded a Goliath-size exhibit challenge: Communicate the company's "Meet the Experts" slogan with a simple, low-cost design element and create an enclosed exhibit to provide a physical and mental barrier from the raucous show floor. Show management, however, forbid exhibitors from erecting solid, aisle-side walls so as not to impede sightlines. Not intimidated by Goliath, the crafty designers at RM Studio responded with an army of Davids in the form of 1,500 wooden mannequins.

In the fast-paced mobile-communications industry, customers need a variety of experts to help them surf the waves of change. So to suggest that Comverse had a host of such experts, designers peppered the exhibit with a multitude of mini mannequins.

Within the laminate-clad wooden frames of the booth's four exterior walls, designers strung diagonal wires to which the 1-foot-tall wooden mannequins were attached. This tactic satisfied Comverse's enclosed-exhibit request and met show management's mandates, as the mannequin "walls" seemed to envelope the space while maintaining open sight lines.

Designers also sprinkled the booth's interior with mannequins painted to match the Comverse brand palette and manipulated into whimsical poses. The clever dudes scored high marks with Exhibit Design Awards judges. "When you say, 'Let's fill the booth with hundreds of wooden mannequins,' people think you're crazy," they said. "But this touch of well-executed whimsy was spot-on."

So Lilliputian-size high fives to the Comverse Davids. Rather than using slingshots against the giant, these mini men conquered the beast en masse with little more than a powerful comedic punch.e