Traditional methods of marketing, like attending exhibitions and other events, are still one of the best ways to reach your audience and make connections to generate loyal customers. Exhibitions and trade shows give businesses a great opportunity to show off their brand and products or services to attract potential customers if they do it right.
However, with so many businesses and sectors going all out to maximise their event experience, how can you stand out from the competition and encourage visitors to choose you over a similar company? We will be looking at the best stand design ideas and top tips we have found to be the most successful in our years in the industry to give you and your stand the best chance to shine.
5 Top Tips for Creating a Memorable Stand Design
Don’t be afraid to be creative
If you have an idea that is unique and completely outside of the box, why not include it in your stand design? Giving people something they haven’t seen before or telling them about it in a different way is one of the best ways to make yourself memorable to the crowd. There might be other businesses at the event that are promoting similar products or services to you, but no two companies are the same and you should capitalise on what makes you original and how you can meet your audience’s needs better than anyone else.
Examples
- Muller exhibited a giant back lit milk carton at indoor shows, the height of the carton making it visible across the exhibition hall.
- Milwaukee used an exhibition trailer called ‘Big Red’ which developed a following on Twitter.
Find exciting ways to interact with visitors
Trying to make eye contact to strike up a conversation with visitors is not always the best or most natural approach to interacting with them. Why not try setting up a game or competition that they can take part in? Not only does this help you break that initial barrier of communication, but also it can help you collect their contact information, you can simply ask them to leave their business card in a bowl as an entry fee to the competition or game.
Example
- Bentley set a challenge during an event they attended to roll sixes on seven dice to win a car.
Make the most of your graphics
Graphics are extremely versatile and can be used in so many different ways that you would be putting yourself at a severe disadvantage to not make the most of them. The last thing you want is for people to be unsure, when they are walking by your stand, of who you are, what your message is, and what products or services you are promoting. Using backlit graphics is particularly striking and effective at ensuring your brand stands out among other exhibitors.
Get your lighting, music, and video right
By having lighting, music, and video all working in sync with each other to convey a specific type of tone, you will be enhancing the visitors’ experience by connecting with multiple senses. You need to maximise the tools that are available to you, for instance, if you have a great video you want to share with visitors you could project it onto one side of the stand.
Or maybe you could film your best customers providing an interview that you could use for a testimonial, which would be much more interesting for visitors than simply being handed a flyer that they probably already have an abundance of from other stands.
Ensure you and your team are at your best
Visitors won’t want to come to your stand and enquire if your team are looking disinterested and negative. Ensure all team members on your stand are full of smiles and positivity so anyone who is passing by will feel acknowledged whether they are interested in your products or services or not.
Exhibition Stand Design Ideas
Large exhibition stands
Large exhibition stands can be fully customised and bespoke in terms of design. If you have the spare budget available, tailored stands are ideal for large-scale product launches or other one-off events. Larger exhibition stands can be impressive, but the size is not the most important thing and if you don’t need a significant amount of space to reach your marketing goals you might be better off focusing your time and budget on something smaller.
Small exhibition stands
There are a range of reasons why a smaller exhibition stand may be a better solution for you and can make an even bigger brand impact than a larger stand would. This includes having more money to spend on marketing and giving visitors a more intimate and personal feel, but whether you feel a small or large exhibition stand is right for you, making sure it demonstrates your brand and message is a must.
Creative ideas for exhibition stands
Below are some fundamental ideas that will make sure your stand is a true reflection of your business and products.
- Planned and well-defined trade show strategy
- Clear and consistent brand identity
- Bold and effective layout of graphics
- Consider including bespoke videos and possibly animation if appropriate for you
- Integrate social media to help grow a following beyond the event
Interactive Exhibition Stand Design Ideas
We have already mentioned competitions and games you could include but here are a few more ideas you might want to think about when considering ways to encourage interactivity with your audience.
Photo booths
Everybody loves and has fun with a photo booth, and when you’re at a party, they are often the focal point of the event. So, why not use them to enhance your exhibition stand experience and offer visitors something a bit different to your competition?
You could invite people over to have their photo taken and ask them to generate a caption for the photo that relates to your brand. After the event, you can share the photos and captions online across your social media platforms, which will allow people to comment on and share them.
Q&A
A useful way to interact with your audience is by encouraging them to ask questions via social media platforms and hosting a Q&A session throughout the exhibition. This will help to widen your audience and improve communication between your customer and you as a brand, both online and in person.
Contact our friendly and experienced team at Showplace today if you need help with creating an exhibition stand, structure, or trailer that has the wow factor.
