Off and On
Cycling aficionados typically fall into one of two main categories: fitness-minded road racers or adrenaline-seeking off-road cyclists. Because Oakley Inc. has products that serve both camps, the company created a split-personality booth at Interbike Marketweek 2018 in Reno, NV, bisecting its space and using a mix of graphics and flooring to create two distinct zones. The "road" half boasted a large-format graphic of a spandex-clad cyclist, a faux street comprising gray carpet and yellow lane lines, and displays showcasing athletic and racing gear. Meanwhile, the other half featured graphics showing an off-road cyclist; looser, more laid-back gear; and cream-colored carpet with a bike tire's skid mark urging adventure enthusiasts to enter. The segmented strategy enabled Oakley to serve two discrete audiences while still maintaining a cohesive corporate identity on a single patch of show-floor concrete. Pint-Sized Presentation
How much room do you need to host an in-booth pre-sentation? If you're the Hong Kong Tourism Board, about 25 square feet will do. At IMEX America, the organization positioned a 10-seat theater on an otherwise unused corner of its exhibit space. Comprising little more than some chairs and a monitor, the theater drew near-capacity crowds throughout the show, proving that practically no space is too small for a sit-down presentation. Cage Match
Sure-Fi Inc. sells what it claims is the world's first radio designed to reliably connect through heavy obstruction. But because the proof is in the pudding, the company wanted to create an in-booth product demo that would silence any naysayers. So Sure-Fi erected a full-blown Faraday cage inside its exhibit at the 2018 International Consumer Electronics Show. The enclosure's conductive materials and metal mesh effectively curbed most radio waves. But throughout the four-day show, staffers continually invited clients and prospects inside the cage to demonstrate that the firm's products were able to function despite the frequency-impeding barrier. Lit Wit
A provider of cutting-edge multimedia applications and installations, Bluewater Technology Group Inc. stocked its exhibit at the Healthcare Convention and Exhibitors Association's HCEAConnect show with all sorts of interactive eye candy staged in a whimsical, storybook-like setting. Finding ways to integrate such digital delights into an exhibit program, however, takes no small amount of careful planning. So rather than overwhelm visitors with an in-booth crash course in multimedia strategizing, Bluewater distributed copies of its "Field Guide to Perfecting Technology-Forward Experiences." The 24-page, 5.5-by-3.5-inch booklets included design elements that referenced the exhibit's storybook theme and were filled with tips, terms, and exercises to help readers envision how they could apply Bluewater's services to their programs. To ensure that inspired booth visitors could immediately begin filling their field guides with fresh ideas, the company also handed out cigar-sized cardboard tubes filled with sets of recycled pens and pencils. The old-school giveaways were the perfect foil for Bluewater's high-tech offerings and provided recipients with a handy, pocket-sized resource. Back-Wall Backdrop
To put its products in the best possible light, Frame Rental System S.L. (dba AV Drop), a Barcelona-based maker of modular backdrop systems, combined projection, graphics, and exhibitry inside its in-line booth space at Integrated Systems Europe in Amsterdam. Featuring a back wall built using the company's own offerings, the exhibit left the structural elements exposed to showcase the products themselves, while fabric graphics labeled various components and denoted the systems' many benefits, including reduced installation time, tool-free assembly, and reusable materials. Meanwhile, images and videos featuring the installation of past projects appeared on a screen, courtesy of a hidden projector. Together, the strategic assembly of various elements helped keep the focus on what AV Drop had to offer and ensured that its in-line exhibit was worth far more than the sum of its parts. Foot in the Door
In preparation for the American Society of Association Executives Annual Meeting and Exposition, Visit Omaha found a fresh approach to pre-show mailers. The tourist bureau sent roughly 200 targeted decision-makers a single sock sporting infographics touting the city's attributes. Each sock had a call-to-action card attached that read "Meet Your Match. Bring your sock to the Omaha booth to find its match … and meet yours." The promotion had attendees marching to Visit Omaha's exhibit to acquire the sock's estranged mate, which staffers supplied along with a spiel about how the city can meet their meeting and venue needs. Wheel of Demonstration
At EuroShop in Düsseldorf, Germany, Scandit AG wanted to prove its technology's ability to turn simple smartphones into sophisticated barcode scanners capable of decoding labels at a previously impossible pace. So the company covered a disk with barcodes, positioned a smartphone loaded with Scandit software in front of it, and set it spinning. Throughout the five-day show, the smartphone emitted a telltale beep every time a barcode passed in front of it. Staffers manning the demo station discussed the technology with attendees and varied the disk's speed to illustrate how the software can easily shift between performing 160 to more than 560 scans per minute. The constant beeping attracted a stream of curious onlookers, showing that effective demos don't need to send your budget into a tailspin.