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Trade Show Tips
A PopUp Display is essentially a backdrop used to give your floor
space definition and focus. Because it normally covers the entire back "wall" of
your space, a properly designed PopUp Display provides you the opportunity to
make a bold statement about your company and your most important product or
service. This is where Trade Show booth design is important.
When designing more extensive trade show booths — ones that
occupy larger amounts of space —you must give considerably more attention to
such things as position on the floor, relationship to other exhibitors,
orientation relative to other major exhibitors, traffic flow, etc. For
larger booths, trade show booth design is almost a different ballgame. A
larger booth must be planned in at least three dimensions, and viewed from all
sides. It must provide general display values when viewed as a whole, at the
same time as creating as many functional display-areas-within-a-display, as
space and budget allow. Ideally it will be strikingly creative, as well as
beautifully functional. It will attract visitors by proclaiming your presence
and your essential message, while giving you the space and tools to interact
with them one-on-one.
A PopUp's mission in life is much less grand, but many of the functional
characteristics mentioned above should also be kept in mind. Of course it is
possible just to throw the popup up against the back wall, stick a table in
front of it, spread our your brochures, and away you go. But you can do better
than that.
First, since you want to maximize the dramatic graphic impact of
your PopUp, you probably won't want to clutter the area directly in front of it.
Yes, you have limited space to work with. But rather than putting a table
directly in front of your most valuable asset (the PopUp), it is usually better
to create two separate areas to either side. If you will be working the booth
alone, then have a "distribution area" on the "incoming" side (the side most of
the traffic comes from), and a "sales area" on the other side of your space.
This will help both you and your visitors. They will be able to pick up
brochures, samples, etc. from the distribution area without intruding on your
one-on-one conversations taking place in the other area. And you will be able to
have at least a semblance of "privacy" — as if this were possible at a trade
show — when you pitch your more important prospects.
If there are two of you working the booth, then you should have
two self-contained sales stations — one on either side. In other words, make use
of your space intelligently. Don't clutter up the middle, if you can help it.
Which brings us to the design of the PopUp
I've suggested that your PopUp should do double-duty as both a
backdrop, and your most important vehicle for promoting your company's presence
and your "Primary Product Message". Stand back from your display for a second
and look at it from the perspective of the casual passerby. What is he or she most interested in?
First, since she has come some distance to see a number of
specific exhibits, chances are she is looking for a familiar name or logo.
Don't disappoint. Display your logo prominently near the top of the display.
That way it will be as visible as possible above the heads of the people
standing in front.
The same goes for your "primary product message". Try to boil
your product or service down into one or two words that you can focus on. This
could be a product logo, especially if it is well known and easily identifiable. But it
could also be a two or three word phrase — much like the "keywords" used in web
pages. If you can't think of anything creative, then just take your primary
product and stick an adjective in front of it (or a short phrase behind it) that
gives it some "zing"...like this...
Hair Cuts with Class
Superior Training Services
Hand-Crafted Gifts
PopUp Displays with Impact
The objective is to keep it near the top of your display, on one,
or at most, two lines, where it will get maximum exposure.
So that takes care of the top 1/3 or so of your display. The rest
should be devoted to enhancing or illustrating the "primary product message".
Forget about using lots of copy to actually tell people about your product. If
the show is successful, you will spend most of your time blocking the view of
your display, and prospects won't be able to see it anyway.
That means you should find one or two large striking images and
integrate them into a colorful background. The best designs often use just one
large image. In our design section we offer some suggestions and show you some
possible layouts.
The important thing to remember is that people are not going to
walk up to your display and start reading the information on it. That is why a
"graphic" approach is much more realistic than an informational approach. If you
are considering sticking a bunch of information-intensive graphics on your
display because you think that will give you more communication bang for your
buck, forget it. It won't. The situation, the environment, and the motivation
are just not right for this to happen. Your PopUp is a very specific kind of
"billboard", and it should be treated that way.
When copying or reproducing this article, or parts of this
article, please give appropriate credits to Richard Hendershot,
www.tradeshow-display-experts.com
Trade Show Tips: Trade Show Booth Design
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