September 2011

ammunition

To capitalize on Twitter mania at the International Consumer Electronics Show - and make sure a fair number of CES-related tweets were about Ergotron Inc.'s ergonomic computer equipment - the company enlisted attendees in a "Tweet 2 Win" promotion. Simple signage inside the Ergotron exhibit urged booth visitors to take a photo of themselves with one of the company's products and tweet the photo, using the hashtags #Ergotron and #CES. Ergotron employees monitored the tweet stream and entered all participants into a drawing for one of 15 daily prizes, including products such as Ergotron's arm-like monitor mounts. Not only did the promotion generate hundreds of product-related tweets, most of which featured photos of smiling attendees alongside Ergotron offerings, but it also established a stable of tech-minded tweeters that Ergotron can now follow on Twitter to see what else they might be saying about the company and its products. When it comes to graphics, you can't get much more effective than this back-wall graphic from Optima Design. The focal point of the design firm's 20-by-30-foot space at GlobalShop, this 15-foot-tall tension-fabric wall clearly communicated the company's name and its offerings for the retail industry - i.e., "interior design, general contractor, and millwork manufacturer." But perhaps more importantly, and definitely more noticeably, the back-wall image and "We need to talk" tagline demonstrated the level of creativity the company can afford its clients. This off-the-wall back wall proves that when executed well, a single, creative concept is all you need to communicate your services, draw attendees to your space, and capture a little bit of press in the process. For Vertex Standard USA Inc., a provider of digital and analog communications products, an exhibit ceiling is far more than an overhead enclosure. At the International Wireless Communications Expo, the company played off its logo - mirroring its red and grey hues as well as its curved V and S forms - to create an eye-catching ceiling element that bathed the booth in the Vertex Standard brand. Comprising 10 tensioned-fabric panels measuring roughly 3-by-6-feet each, the ceiling elements were simply attached to an overhead truss assembly and accented by carefully positioned spotlights. According to Madonna, music makes the people come together. But according to Palo Alto, CA-based Speck Products Inc., a maker of cases for personal electronic devices, it's not music but beer that really makes the people come together. So inside the company's booth at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show, it welcomed attendees with branded cups of the brew served at a small bar in the back of the booth beneath a graphic that read, "Drinks are on Speck; Everyone wins." Hundreds of attendees lined up to claim their complimentary brewski, then bellied up to pub- height tables that peppered the booth space, giving Speck's staffers ample opportunity to engage them in qualifying questions.		Offering colorful, hand-painted eyeglass frames, Newlight Eyewear wanted a display as eye catching as its products for the International Vision Expo 2010 in Las Vegas. So the New York-based company scattered a mixture of seashells, glass beads, and tiny round mirrors on its product-display tables. The mixture of items made the display look like a seaside scene with the beads and mirrors catching attendees' attention like the sparkle of water on the beach. What's more, the brightly colored frames resembled trinkets lying next to the surf. For flooring companies Tarkett SA and Johnsonite, a Tarkett Co., creating a corporate connection while maintaining their own identities is tricky. But at Surfaces 2010, the two companies tackled this sticky situation by using their own products and an overhead banner. With two different exhibits positioned across an aisle from one another, the companies placed Johnsonite's colorful vinyl tiles across the aisle between the two spaces. The roughly 12-by-18-foot path led from an aisle-side section of Johnsonite's booth straight into Tarkett's main entrance. A white banner suspended over the aisle featured the Johnsonite logo on one half, the Tarkett logo on the other, and the words "The ultimate flooring experience" between the two. Now that's a brand marriage made in exhibit-marketing heaven. How do you turn a cumbersome convention-center column from an ugly eyesore into an exhibit-marketing asset? If you're Telecast Fiber Systems Inc., you simply project a rotating, illuminated logo onto the column, which is exactly what the company did inside its exhibit at the National Association of Broadcasters Show in Las Vegas. The clever projection not only made use of an available surface, but it also adequately branded Telecast Fiber Systems' entire booth space, turning what could have been another one of life's lemons into brand-building lemonade. The Print show floor is full of huge printing equipment that costs exhibitors a fortune in shipping and drayage fees. So to sidestep the expense of ship- ping heavy equipment from its Netherlands' headquarters to McCormick Place in Chicago, AmbaFlex bv instead brought a 13-foot-tall inflatable model of its vertical conveyor belt. The inflatable, which featured the company's logo at the base, resembled a corkscrew with a navy-blue central column around which a yellow piece was wrapped, much like the thread on a screw. Since the blue and gold inflatable weighed approximately 70 pounds when deflated, an AmbaFlex staffer was able to pack it in a duffel bag and check it as luggage for the international flight, saving the company hundreds of dollars in shipping and drayage.
		What's The Big Idea? Do you have a clever exhibit-related tip? Did your last exhibit have an über-cool traffic builder? Contact Travis Stanton at tstanton@exhibitormagazine.com.