Sweet Spot
"Whimsical" isn't an adjective used to describe most exhibits, but when you're in the business of candy, it makes sense to inject a little fancifulness into your stand. While The Hershey Co.'s island booth at the National Automatic Merchandising Association Show (NAMA) skewed toward the corporate side of the spectrum, marketers did take the liberty of erecting a pair of playful wayfinding signs on the front-facing side of the exhibit. Designed to mimic everyday streetlights, the silver poles featured signs for Cocoa and Chocolate avenues and were topped with massive replicas of the company's iconic Kisses. Although purely decorative, the elements no doubt reminded attendees and staffers that while candy is a multibillion-dollar industry, it should still bring a smile to your face. Top of the Class
When your company moniker is Classy Llama Studios LLC, your exhibit better boast a spit-and-polish aesthetic. So in lieu of boring banner stands and prosaic pop-up exhibitry, marketers at the e-commerce services provider commissioned a custom solid-wood back-wall element for its exhibit at RetailX. The hand-crafted piece of furniture featured herringbone-patterned vertical panels – complete with a backlit metal silhouette of the company's namesake – and a series of low drawers that offered the exhibit-marketing trifecta: ample storage, seating, and a display surface for promo items, literature, and decor. Set atop a swath of equally luxe horsehair flooring, the pint-sized in-line served up as much sophistication as an entire season of "Downton Abbey." Photo Sharing
In our networked world, social-media impressions are worth their weight in gold, especially if your target market includes Millennials and members of Gen Z. But how can you encourage attendees to upload images of your exhibit or offerings, thereby extending your message far beyond the convention center confines? Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. used a low-tech approach that generated a high volume of posts and impressions at the International Consumer Electronics Show. A handful of brand ambassadors meandered through the company's booth holding signs that read "Are you taking photos? We can't wait to see!" Additional text asked attendees to tag their Tweets and Instagram posts with any of three hashtags (#samsung, #samsungcity, and #samsungces2019). Booth visitorswho showed staffers their appropriately hashtagged uploads were invited to select one of several branded giveaways, including smartphone-friendly gloves that allow wearers to use touchscreen devices while keeping their digits warm. Celebrity Status
All marketers want to make their products a star. But at Integrated Systems Europe, Streamit B.V., a provider of audio and video streaming solutions, gave its wares celebrity status via a tongue-in-cheek display. Within the firm's roughly 10-by-20-foot space, marketers positioned a streaming device (which was only about the size of a hard-cover book) inside a Plexiglas box and set it atop a podium. While the display stood front and center, marketers added two floor-based spotlights to further highlight the product, and they ran two red-carpet-style stanchions from the aisle up toward the product. The combined effect added an air of celebrity to the otherwise mundane product, and the clever concoction made passing attendees stop long enough for staffers to swoop in and explain their wares. Seeing Double
Screen-based product demos and brand content are par for many exhibitors' courses, and for good reason: They can be professionally produced in advance and played on a loop, take up almost no space, and don't require a staffer. That said, it's pretty easy for attendees to breeze past a mundane monitor. But Hobart Corp. found a clever and effective way to draw attention to an aisle-side screen playing a video highlighting its commercial-grade dishwashers at the National Restaurant Association Show. The tactic was remarkably simple: place a life-sized cutout of the film's protagonist next to the monitor. The endearingly nerdy 2-D figure, dressed in a lab coat and safety glasses, piqued the curiosity of countless passersby, who then spent a few moments learning about Hobart's innovations from his on-screen iteration. Cold Call
Rather that feature its products at LightFair, RAB Lighting Inc. suspended four giant blocks of ice about three feet off the ground with a QR code frozen in each. As the ice slowly dripped into a trio of basins during the three-day show, hundreds of curious showgoers whipped out their mobile devices and scanned the QR codes, which launched a short video highlighting RAB's commitment to sustainable lighting design. The icy reception turned out to be one of the hottest draws at the show. Monster Mash-Up
Brumark Total Flooring Solutions, an Exploring Inc. company, wanted to let the trade show and event pros at EXHIBITORLIVE know it's been busy breathing new life into its carpet capabilities with the opening of a new 50,000-square-foot mill. To do so, it created a 20-by-20-foot laboratory straight out of Mary Shelley's classic thriller. Dr. Frankenstein's own creation lay on an elevated slab at the heart of the exhibit with myriad wires attached. Every few minutes, the previously lifeless monster sat up amid a torrent of flashing lights and chaotic sounds. The literary display turned heads and drew hoards of visitors – sans pitchforks, of course – to inquire about the connection to the company's flooring capabilities. Staffers were quick to point out Brumark's new production facility wouldn't be costing its customers an arm and a leg.