Making a Splash
If you're confident your company's product is superior to competitors' offerings, then a side-by-side demonstration might be the best way to make waves in the market. That's exactly what Rubbermaid (a Newell Brands Inc. brand) did at the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago. To demo how baffles inside the company's Wavebrake mop bucket eliminate spillage as it's being rolled about, Rubbermaid placed its product on an electronic conveyor track alongside a competitor's bucket and filled them both with water. At the press of a button, the conveyor hurtled the two buckets down the approximately 10-foot-long track. When they came to a sudden stop at the end, the competitor's model spilled much of its contents, while nothing emerged from the Wavebrake, thanks to its smart design. The simple kinetic demonstration turned heads and helped Rubbermaid mop up the competition. Magical Thinking
Many small-booth exhibitors would kill for a genie in a bottle to grant a wish that makes fast-moving attendees stop long enough to learn about their companies' products. Not having an actual wish-granter on hand, Drunk Elephant LLC, a supplier of skin-care products, created one of its own at the Sephora SDC show in Las Vegas, where it showcased its new Protini Polypeptide Cream, which offers a seemingly magical solution for problem skin. The company tasked Meptik LLC with turning the entirety of its 15-by-15-foot exhibit into an enchanting faux genie bottle with a large opening that led to a pillowed interior, á la "I Dream of Jeannie."

To further ensure passersby took notice, two 50-inch interactive touchscreens embedded in the brightly colored exterior each featured a Zoltar-like genie that used facial-recognition software to greet attendees. As visitors responded, the spirit offered them a solution to a host of skin conditions listed on the monitors. When users touched the on-screen ailments that most plagued them, the genie responded with "Your wish is my command," which was followed by a puff of on-screen smoke that revealed an image of the company's skin-care solution. Attendees could then step through the bottle's large opening, where staffers encouraged them to relax and sample the magic of Drunk Elephant's potent new potion.

Cracking Up
We all get why cellphone screen protectors are important, but it's often not until we've cracked a screen or two that we pony up the dough to safeguard our devices. Knowing those wrecked screens serve as glaring reminders of the need for its products, Urban Armor Gear LLC made them a focal point of its exhibit at the International Consumer Electronics Show, where vinyl graphics on the stand's glass-walled conference rooms made the enclosures resemble shattered touchscreens. Simple yet effective, the subtle strategy helped break the ice with booth visitors. Desk Discovery
Treating your reception desk as an afterthought is a nonsensical error, seeing as it's an initial point of contact with your brand. At the Licensing Expo in Las Vegas, Discovery Communications LLC (dba Discovery Channel) didn't waste that critical greeting space by employing an uninspired box of wood and some vinyl graphics. Instead, its welcome desk was a replica of the company's iconic logo – a globe nestled into a capital D – adorned with nothing more than a simple glass top. The globe, which was flat on the back side, also served as a small storage space for literature, business cards, and water bottles, ensuring that unappealing clutter didn't diminish the uniquely branded point of discovery.
Theatrical Arrangement
Most in-booth theaters accommodate either large-group presentations or intimate conversations. However, at the Sweets and Snacks Expo in Chicago, Ferrara Candy Company Inc. managed to deliver both in one space. At the rear of its 50-by-80-foot exhibit, the confection company arranged a theater with a video wall comprising 135 LED tiles that displayed data on brand development, optimal store-shelf layouts, and more. The element could be used in its entirety for large groups or be segmented into three smaller screens to handle multiple meetings at once. Likewise, flexible seating, i.e., a combination of chairs and loveseats, allowed staffers to quickly reconfigure the space and accommodate groups of various sizes. Tabling the Idea
As any great chef will tell you, presentation is everything. Marketers at MP Lighting Inc. put this concept to work for them in a beautiful and effective display at Lightfair International. Although designers had only a 10-by-20-foot stand with which to work, they crafted an ingenious aisle-side product-display table that functioned as a freestanding piece of art. Elevated atop a raised flooring platform, the 8-foot-long table looked like a massive rough-hewn block of wood. Lit from the platform below, the structure featured myriad light fixtures embedded into its top. Near each product, designers hollowed out a business-card-sized cubby, into which they placed a stack of customized cards that corresponded to each nearby product. Luring in visitors with its sheer beauty, the table presented the products as art and gave visitors a handy takeaway card to aid their future at-home purchasing. Corporate Ladder
Displaying products inside an exhibit is one thing, but how do you effectively showcase a service? At EXHIBITORLIVE, labor-service provider Nuvista Event Management Services used little more than three ladders, back-wall graphics, and a reception desk. The back wall featured blueprints and listed the company's primary services: installation and dismantle, project management, and audiovisual services. Meanwhile, two branded ladders formed shelving with additional graphics that read "Installing Confidence" and "Do you know what it takes to build your booth?" Nearby, a table made from a third shorter ladder created an informal meeting space that completed the theme and conveyed the company's core competencies.