The Golden Ticket
Small exhibits can score the Golden Ticket with prime exhibit hall placement and a sweet concept. Exhibit house Highway 85 Creative did just that at EXHIBITORLIVE 2023 with a 10-by-20-foot booth located at the show floor entrance. The vibrant exhibit delivered an unforgettable experience taken from "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory." Attendees even got to grab a photo inside the Augustus Gloop chocolate tube before discussing how the firm can help exhibit managers deliver their own memorable experiences. As visitors left, they received a chocolate bar, 75 of which contained golden tickets that could be redeemed for a branded skateboard. Cold Case
To demo the effectiveness of its ultrasonic humidifier, Frigo Block crafted an aisle-side display sure to give attendees goosebumps – literally. At EuroShop 2023, the refrigeration company set up its machine in a front corner of its inline booth and turned it on. The firm rigged a pair of fans behind the machine so that passersby walked headlong into a frost pocket in the aisle. Nearly every single attendee stopped cold in their tracks and eventually noticed the unobtrusive 1-by-2-foot silver cube sitting on a pedestal and producing the invisible effect. A simple graphic with a series of bulleted specs on the front of the pedestal, along with the demo itself, no doubt turned more than one cool attendee into a hot prospect. Best-Case Scenario
Some fortunate exhibitors have products that stand out with what's known in retail as "hanger appeal," i.e., their offerings are inherently interesting and capture attention. Other exhibitors, such as Lindy-Elektronik GmbH, have to be a little more creative with their displays. So at Integrated Systems Europe, the maker of myriad audiovisual cables, adaptors, and other components elevated its wares from the prosaic to the picturesque via a series of apple-red display cases. The freestanding structures, whose squareness and couldn't-miss color nodded to Lindy's logo, included transparent sides and bright internal lighting that seemed more fitting for jewelry than DVI to VGA converters. Text at the top of each case identified the nature of the items, e.g., "Connecting"and "Extending," while QR codes directed attendees to Lindy's website where they would find in-depth descriptions. Weapon of Mass Attraction
People often associate gimmicks with underhanded attempts to garner attention, but they can entice trade show attendees to engage in a bit of fun. BeyondTrust Corp., an identity and access security company, knew this heading into the 2023 RSA Conference, where it hoped to collect the identities and emails of participants. It partnered with exhibit house EDE Corp. to develop an engaging activation while qualifying attendees. The result was the Choose Your Weapon activity where visitors shared their contact information on a tablet before answering qualifying questions such as what they are looking for in a security weapon. Then the tablet directed users to stand on a large X in front of a video mirror. Following a quick countdown, the mirror played a Looney Tunes-esque video that ended with visitors being all tied up. BeyondTrust captured about 120 leads, proving a bit of fun can be just the weapon to fill the sales pipeline. Smoke and Mirrors
How do you display two vehicles inside a booth with limited space? If you're electric-vehicle startup Indigo Technologies Inc., you employ a bit of smoke and mirrors – minus the smoke. At the 2023 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the company sent half of its Flow Plus delivery van and smaller Flow rideshare vehicle to its booth, putting the two pieces side by side. A large mirror slipped between the two created the illusion of a pair of vehicles. The illusion was so effective that staffers placed warning tape along the edges of the mirror to ensure attendees didn't run into it. That's a bit of show-floor magic that's guaranteed to dazzle attendees. Hands-Off Engagement
Gesture-based interactives are undeniably cool, but they have a major drawback in that they don't offer tactile feedback. Users end up simply flailing in the air, trying to get the software to cooperate. That posed a bit of a problem for Kia at the 2021 Los Angeles International Auto Show, where the car manufacturer wanted attendees to create personalized vehicles by selecting their favorite colors and trim packages while remaining touchless due to ongoing COVID protocols. With the help of EWI Worldwide, Kia created a novel digital experience using the haptic technology that uses ultrasonic soundwaves to "project" tactile sensations onto users' hands – providing that crucial touchpoint. By pinching and waving over the haptic pad in front of a large LED wall, visitors selected car models and trimmed them out in their favorite kits. Once they had the vehicle to their liking, users scanned a QR code that took them directly to a screen with an image of their vehicle and provided opportunities for them to share the image on social media and sign up for Kia offers. And in the process, Kia increased dwell time about two-and-a-half times longer than average digital interactives. Now that deserves an air high-five. Past Perfect
When you're fortunate enough to have a 100-year-long legacy and a brand renowned for its durability and made-in-America ethos, you'd better embrace it on the trade show floor. That's why Behrens Manufacturing LLC, which has been crafting galvanized-metal pails, tubs, and other homestead essentials on the Minnesota banks of the Mississippi River since 1911, leaned into its past at the 2019 National Hardware Show and put its history front and center. Marketers placed an authentic antique factory cart along the aisle and topped it with a sheet of clear acrylic. Inside the makeshift display table was a vignette of old photos, factory records, and handwritten memos worthy of a Ken Burns documentary, all of which drove home the fact that Behrens knows a thing or two about quality metalwork without saying a word.