December 2011

ammunition

Rather than passing out same-old sweets at EuroShop 2011, Istanbul-based Stand Tasarim offered up a more unique - and far more brand-appropriate - treat. Staffers invited booth visitors to sample lokum (aka Turkish delight), a popular confection that originated in the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century and is sold in countless shops across Turkey. Since many attendees had never tasted Turkish delight, not to mention fresh, authentic lokum, the samples became as much a conversation piece as a complimentary snack, while simultaneously branding Stand Tasarim as the Turkish delight of the design world. In the Disney movie "Fantasia," one of the most endearing images is the dance sequence with the ballerina hippo. After all, audiences love to see something so big move so gracefully. Attendees at the 2011 ConExpo-Con/Agg show were treated to a similar sight by Wacker Neuson SE. The outdoor exhibit for the heavy-equipment manufacturer featured a trained driver running one of the company's giant loaders through its paces. The show, set to upbeat rock music, ran several times a day and drew huge crowds to watch the big machine skid and pirouette on the cement stage. As the driver artfully moved the loader, attendees got an entertaining demonstration on just how agile the construction vehicles were. Now that's show business. MMD GmbH wanted to give attendees at EXHIBITOR Show a larger view of the company's work than its cozy 10-by-10-foot exhibit space permitted. So the Munich, Germany-based exhibit-design firm offered the grown-ups a charming child's toy: It dangled eight View-Master-like devices on coils of silver steel from the booth's ceiling structure. When curious attendees placed an eye up to the tiny view screen on the back of the plastic devices and pressed down a lever, they could see 10 sequential images of MMD projects. The creative display helped keep attendees engaged and in the booth for an average of 15 to 20 minutes, all the while reliving warm memories of View-Masters and talking shop about MMD's designs. By using a nostalgic item that also enabled visitors to view a portfolio of the company's work, MMD made a big impression through a relatively small window of opportunity. Italian company Flou S.p.A. makes upholstered furniture out of fabrics that are fashionable enough to wear. So to demonstrate that its products could hold court with the world's most fabulous haute couture, the company had three custom cocktail dresses designed and produced using the same fabrics used in manufacturing its upholstered furniture. Complete with Flou-branded labels sewn into the seams, the dresses were fitted on chic mannequins bedecked with pearl necklaces and positioned in various displays inside the company's booth at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair at Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York. Apparently, Flou's fashion-forward display strategy hit a runway-worthy home run, as booth visitors not only inquired about the company's furniture, but also about where they could purchase the cocktail dresses - which, unfortunately for attendees, were designed "for display purposes only."		How do you say "precision metal fabrication" without uttering a word? If you're Amuneal Manufacturing Corp., you fabricate a metal box that announces your offerings via a sort of three-dimensional word-find puzzle. Originally created for GlobalShop 2010 and used at several subsequent shows, the roughly 15-by-15-inch metal box featured 14 rows of custom-cut metal letters, with 14 letters per row. By varying the font as well as the thickness of the metal, Amuneal created a subtle message amid what appeared to be a mishmash of random letters. Housed within a square cutout in the exhibit's exterior wall, the box displayed the message "Amuneal, prototype custom fabrication. Get what you want." As attendees stopped to examine the box, less-noticeable words, such as "fixtures," "metal," "glass," and "furniture," also came into view. The clever, intricate display attracted attendees' attention and quickly relayed both a literal message as well as the company's metal- fabrication capabilities. For auditors, being labeled a "control freak" is a badge of honor. At the 2011 RSA Conference, Approva Corp., a continuous-controls monitoring and audit-automation software manufacturer, decided to embrace that label, and encouraged attendees to do the same. Throughout the show, the company distributed white buttons with one of three slogans on them: "Proud to be a Control Freak," "I (heart) Control Freaks," and "Certified Control Freak." The buttons, which featured the company's name and URL, not only served as a reminder that Approva caters to the control-freak set, but they also promoted the company's Control Freak online campaign, which features blogs, Q&As with industry experts, polls, and a virtual environment. A boring booth just won't cut it when your product is best experienced via a hands-on demonstration. Bearing this in mind, Hasbro Inc. showcased its offerings at the Licensing International Expo by building an aisle-side shooting range for its Nerf line of foam-based weaponry. The range comprised four targets of varying sizes suspended in front of an 8-foot barrier that resembled a graffiti-covered brick wall. Three shooting stations were positioned beneath a branded arch, with plenty of Nerf products for booth visitors to fire. While no booth staffers kept score - and there were no prizes for the sharpest shooters - dozens of passersby stopped to take up arms and test their marksmanship, leaving the carpet littered with Nerf arrows and Hasbro's booth inundated with trigger-happy attendees.
		What's The Big Idea? Do you have a clever exhibit-related tip? Did your last exhibit have an über-cool traffic builder? Contact Kelli Billstein at kbillstein@exhibitormagazine.com.