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How to Run a Successful Portable Exhibit Program

  
  
  
portable exhibit program

A portable exhibit program often begins with a Sales Rep who asks their marketing department for some type of display to use at a local or regional show. Depending on the Company, one may or may not exist. And if it does exist, are the graphics and messaging up-to-date? Are all the pieces parts there to ensure a proper set-up on showsite?

Interactive Technologies for Experiential Marketing Results

  
  
  
experiential marketing

Technology on the trade show floor, at events, or within permanent environments is constantly evolving. A plasma with a loop video used to be standard, but now with the rise of on-demand information at everyone's fingertips, how do you keep attendees' attention when it matters most?

Engage Attendees with Twitter and Live Polls at Trade Shows

  
  
  
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Social engagement is a valuable asset with todays fast pace trade shows, with attendees planning far in advance about which exhibitors they want to visit, and what new products pique their interest. At the show, they are bombarded with literature and sales people down every aisle. Exhibitors need a unique way to begin a conversation that captures the attention and engages attendees, while allowing feedback. And integrating social media for those prospects who weren't able to attend the show is always a bonus! So how can you use Twitter at a Trade Show
 
LCD screens and digital media have become quite a common within exhibit spaces. But what is the best method to use your LCD screen? . . . a slideshow? a Video? should booth staffers use the screens as a touchscreen survey devices?
 
Imagine turning your LCD screen into a real-time digital display reflecting actual events occuring within your exhibit space. During your pre-show marketing, begin mentioning and using the trade show's hashtag or create your own. At the show, display a Tweet Wall in your in booth group discussions using Twitter and event specific hashtags. Demoing a product in 30 minutes? Tweet about it using a hashtag, and run the feed within your booth space. Begin conversations using your Tweet wall with attendees. These communications are not only shared at the show, but for online followers to see and become engaged.
 

What is a Tweet wall?

A Tweet wall displays all Twitter messages containing the hashtag you specify on the projector or TV.

Modular Display Solutions - Helping Exhibitors Save Money

  
  
  
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Written by Guest Blogger, Jay Burkette, ExpoDisplays - The increasing costs associated with exhibiting (especially for the larger sized exhibits) have many exhibitors scrambling for ways to control or contain the same. Enter some of the modular display solutions currently being offered within the market. Once only considered for the traditional 10 x 10 and 10 x 20 sized footprint, over the past few years Modular’s have morphed, evolved, and are now regularly considered for 20 x 20 sized exhibit spaces, and beyond. 

Smart Exhibiting to Save Money at a Trade Show

  
  
  
Save Money at a Trade Show

Exhibiting is an investment, but if executed properly, can help achieve your company brand recognition, launch a new product, obtain new leads, and build stronger relationships with your existing customers. But, like every investment, there are things you can do to save money at your next trade show. Have you ever tried the following exhibitor tips?

4 Exhibitor Tips to Tranship a Trade Show Exhibit

  
  
  
Tranship a Trade Show Exhibit

Many companies have one larger, more custom trade show exhibit, and a few portable exhibits to use for their trade show schedule every year. But when you have two trade show commitments that are within weeks of each other, and they both require a larger presence, there are only a few options.

Why are Face-to-Face Marketing Strategies Important?

  
  
  
face to face marketing>Meet. Play. Love. Bob James, ITN International Study after study proves, without doubt, that "face-to-face" is the most powerful marketing medium.

"Why?" you might ask.

The answer lies deep in our limbic system, says author and speaker Carol Kinsey Goman.

In face-to-face exchanges, besides spoken words, our brains process a cascade of nonverbal cues.

In fact, during face-to-face encounters, we interpret what people say only partly from the words they use. 

We get most of the message from vocal tone, pacing, facial expressions, and body language.

"Interactional synchronizing" occurs when people move at the same time in the same way, as when two people start to speak at the same time. Synchronizing often occurs when we're getting along with another and feel as though we're "on the same wavelength."

Interactional synchronizing is the result of our subliminal monitoring of, and response to, each other's nonverbal cues. 

During face-to-face encounters, tiny structures in our brains called "mirror neurons" actually mimic others' behaviors, sensations, and feelings.

Neuroscientists call the phenomenon "limbic synchrony."

The moment we see an emotion expressed on someone's face, or read it in their gestures or posture, we subconsciously place ourselves in the other's shoes.

For this reason, mirror neurons are sometimes referred to as "Dalai Lama neurons," because they provide a biological basis for compassion.

 The above is a perfect example as to why face-to-face marketing strategies will always be crucial in developing relationships with prospects and nurturing relationships with customers at trade shows, events, and meetings.

4 Ways to Use Social Media in Post - Trade Show Marketing

  
  
  
social media and trade showsSocial Media and Trade Shows : A social media platform can affect a trade show marketing program when used to promote an upcoming event. It helps you reach a large audience while allowing you to market your brand with the help of attendees. It is important to use the longevity that social media offers to extend your trade show marketing efforts long after the trade show ends. To ensure success, you must build a base of Facebook fans and Twitter followers, so you can turn updates with your fans and followers into conversations about your trade show. By changing the focus of your Facebook and Twitter posts, this can be successfully accomplished and measured.

Using social media with your promotional efforts is one of the cost-effective and convenient media of post-trade show promotion. Here are 4 examples of how to accomplish post trade show promotions through social media channels:

What Types of Trade Show Exhibit Rentals are Available?

  
  
  
exhibit rentalWhen choosing new trade shows and display formats to present your products or services in, utilizing trade show exhibit rentals can be a convenient and low cost alternative to purchasing your own display materials. Exhibit rentals can provide you the flexibility to vary display sizes and test new concepts without committing to full exhibit equipment costs. And along with the opportunity to choose various sizes of displays there are also numerous types of exhibit materials pick from. 

Island Exhibits


Islands are a popular option for larger displays and provide a nice open feel to welcome attendees. Typically utilized in square spaces 20' X 20' or larger, islands come with multiple vertical sections supporting an overhead display or individually attached signage.  The signage and graphic display options for island exhibit rentals are nearly endless with numerous sizes and shapes available. Island displays also provide the opportunity to incorporate kiosks or other marketing components within the open floor space. 

In-line Exhibits

A very common trade show display for vendors exploring new markets is an in-line, or linear, exhibit layout. Starting out at 10' but offering numerous length extensions, in-line exhibit rentals provide large backdrop signage and product display opportunities with a variety of lighting options to brighten your company's image. 

Tabletop Exhibits

A very affordable and versatile display option is the tabletop exhibit. Quick assembly and light-weight transport have made tabletops an attractive choice for years and an effective option when exhibiting at smaller trade shows or numerous events. Tabletop exhibit rentals can be used in conjunction with any table 6' or longer, and typically include a convenient wheeled transport case that can easily be rolled in by one person. 

Kiosks or Other Exhibit Components

Kiosk exhibit rentals vary widely in design and display options. They include:
  • Workstations with the ability to display touchscreens or video monitors, that have tabletop space available to hammer out deals with customers or demonstrate small products.
  • Towers that provide opportunity to make brochures or other marketing materials readily available, display vertical signage, or show videos via an attached video monitor.
  • Small conferencing enclosures that can support signage on the exterior while making private space available inside. Conference rooms start out at approximately 5' X 5' but can be designed in nearly any size or shape - semi-private or private.

Exhibit rentals allow the ability to test out the functionality of your exhibit space before investing into an exhibit purchase. Consider exhibit rental properties for your next upcoming trade show.

3 Basic Questions That Can Lead to Great Museum Exhibit Design

  
  
  
Museum Exhibit Design resized 6003 Basic Questions That Can Lead to Great Museum Exhibit Design
There are a number of approaches to design: eg, storytelling, visitor participation, immersion, and high-impact. What approach to use and how to best use it can be clarified by answering a few basic questions. 

First and foremost, what are you trying to say?  For example, if this is an artist retrospective, within the chronological narrative there is a great deal of room for contextualizing work to emphasize. For example, stylistic or philosophical periods, to reflect historical events of the time, or illustrate how the artist's personal life affected his or her work. A definite notion of what you want to say will, in many ways, inform how you present the work, and what work you select for presentation. Similarly, if you are creating a display about the life-cycle of the frog within a larger exhibit addressing global warming, you will phrase the display in such a way as to reference and reflect the 'larger' story.

Second, to whom are you speaking?  An obvious example of how this plays out is in the differences between an exhibit designed for adults and one designed for children. At the very least, a museum exhibit designed for children will be presented at a lower level, for lower eyes. No less important is understanding what will be interesting to a child.  Do you watch a polliwog grow legs to talk about DNA, or vice versa? Understanding your audience is the first step in creating an educational environment. 

Third, what does the space itself offer in location, shape, size and features? Great examples of space usage are Raphael's frescoed rooms in the Vatican.  Large, dim, rectangular rooms without architectural adornment onto the walls of which the painter applied putti as trompe l'oeil columns. They gaze mischievously, longingly, scornfully, amusedly, from shadowy corners at one another, interacting with each other, commenting on the Vatican - the center of  public morality at the time - and teasing the visitors, as though impishly reading their secret thoughts. The rooms are both funny and disquieting - a triumphant use of all of the elements of the space itself. 

There are scores of decisions to be made in great museum exhibit design.  'Framing' that process with these three questions will start you on the right path.         

Check out our Museum Exhibit Design web page for more information about branded and educational environments.
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Over 75 years of event marketing experience translates into an abundance of valuable information to share. We hope to help educate, inform, and learn from our communications with other marketers in the event and trade show industry!