EXHIBIT DESIGN
 Despite my diligent pre-show marketing efforts, attendees walk by our booth rather than entering it. I suspect it has something to do with my booth design. What are some ways to ensure attendees actually walk into our space without a personal escort?
 Picture this: You're walking around a shopping mall and happen upon a store with blacked-out windows and no logos, images, or text to hint at what's inside. Unless you're uber curious and have time to burn, you probably stroll on by.
The same concepts at play in the mall scenario apply to trade shows. Even the most willing buyers won't step foot inside your space unless: a) they can see enough to determine what you're offering and that it's of value to them, and/or b) your exhibit contains a hint of something exciting inside that they simply can't resist. So before you fiddle with your overall exhibit design, make sure your exhibit communicates who your company is and what it's offering.
Start by examining your exhibit from the attendees' perspective. Is your company logo or brand clearly visible to attract attention as they look at your booth from various angles? Are there clearly visible images or text that tells them what you're selling? Better yet, does the booth sell them on why your product or service beats the competition or offers a compelling sales proposition?
You certainly don't want to clutter your space with oodles of products or splatter your graphics and exhibitry with paragraphs of text. But somewhere, somehow, your exhibit should quickly inform attendees - perhaps with a product photo, an image of your service in use, or text as simple as "world's fastest power drill" - to tell people what you're offering, and if possible to identify its key differentiators. Without this basic knowledge, your booth is a blacked-out storefront, and most shoppers will just walk on by.
If your exhibit clearly explains who you are and what you're hawking, however, it's time to move your analysis out of the aisles and into your space. Two key areas to examine are exhibit design and message delivery, as they may be preventing all but the most persistent attendees from entering your booth.
Begin by scanning your exhibit exterior for possible barriers, such as large walls, looming video screens, or even small counters or rows of kiosks that create a "boundary" attendees must cross before entering your space. While these barriers might create physical obstructions literally impeding entrance, even small exhibit elements may create a psychological barrier as well. Research has shown that even dramatic color contrasts between your exhibit carpet and the aisle carpet can prevent some attendees from crossing that "threshold" and entering your space. So examine everything including large structures, the positioning of various exhibit elements, and smaller details such as carpet color, flooring materials, signage visibility, etc. Simply eliminating or repositioning these real or perceived barriers can make dramatic improvements in exhibit traffic.
On a more proactive note, don't just eliminate barriers, also plan visual avenues and sight lines to the center of your space or to a specific activity. Create a can't-miss visual anchor or intriguing element within your space and position obvious traffic paths toward it. For example, entry points at the corners of an island exhibit can draw traffic directly off the aisles and into the center of the space. Even with an in-line exhibit space, you can create a focal point or activity on the back wall and an obvious path toward it to force attendees to step out of the aisle and investigate.
Once you've cleared the path into your space, take a careful look at how you're presenting your message. Anything that's interactive, as opposed to static, will increase your chances of getting people out of the aisles. Obviously, you can add actual traffic builders such as games, entertainment, etc. But first revisit the way in which you present information.
For example, looping videos simply push information out in a passive manner. Instead, create attractions or presentations that require people to interact with something - a button, a presenter, a kiosk - to obtain information. That way you're not pushing info out to attendees in the aisles, you're actually pulling people in where you can interact with them and where they can interact with you and your product.
Take the idea a step further and customize your message to each customer. For example, break your sales video into segments based on topic, and allow attendees to select topics based on preferences. Not only does it pull attendees into the experience, it efficiently provides the info they need - and offers you data for further use after the show.
If you're at the right shows, you're targeting the right attendees, and your pre-show promotions are spot on, your exhibit design and messaging may be propelling attendees out of, rather than into, your space. However, some careful analysis and minor changes will likely have your booth filled to the brim in no time.
- Tony Castrigno, founding partner and CEO, DesignContact, New York
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