What makes one person skip over one trade show booth versus another? In some instances, the entire trade show floor watches as hundreds gather in one trade show booth and ignores their booths. Why? Is it because they have a superior product, superior service, or happen to be the best known in the industry? Many businesses tell themselves this but we’ve seen it happen with the new kid on the block with nothing new and no different than what hundreds of other competitors offer. So why the large crowds? What if we told you much of it had to do with reaching the right audience with the right trade show messaging?
Trade Show Messaging and Line of Sight
We’ve discussed line of sight before, but this is an incredibly important aspect of trade show display design. If your trade show messaging is not in the line of sight for trade show attendees, you could be missing out on massive traffic. Trade show messaging should be visible at multiple levels, but the line of sight should be of paramount importance. Trade show attendees tend to look at different aspects of a trade show booth, but the most visible within line of sight are the overhead hanging sign, the reception counter and the back wall of a trade show display. Line of sight is incredibly important to trade show messaging and should be considered very carefully.
Don’t Bury the Trade Show Messaging in Clutter
To get your message across, it’s important you don’t bury the lead. It’s a basic principle of not only public relations and marketing, but also trade show display design. You want to ensure both your graphics and trade show messaging are complementary. By cluttering your display graphics with too many words or too many graphics, you could be damaging your trade show messaging. This could spell disaster if you’re seeking to stand out in the exhibit hall. Instead, make sure your trade show messaging is clear and free from the 100 word texts that some exhibitors want to include in their displays. Be concise, be relevant, and be engaging. Give trade show attendees a reason to stop by your trade show booth. Don’t turn them off with a wall of text.
Present Your Trade Show Messaging Prominently
Too often, exhibitors are subject to poor placement of their trade show messaging. If you know you’ll have a partially obstructed view of your trade show exhibit by a pillar in the exhibit hall, then don’t place your most important trade show messaging behind that pillar. Instead, put it on display in the areas that will be seen by the most amount of people. You don’t want to work so hard to get your messaging out there to increase your brand awareness and then find out nobody knows what you do because of poor trade show messaging placement. Be smart and plan your trade show booth design appropriately. Make sure you know your booth layout and where you should concentrate your trade show messaging to reach the most amount of people.
One of the greatest mistakes an exhibitor can make is to ignore the design elements and location considerations of their trade show messaging. This can literally decide whether or not you’ll have your booth packed with leads, prospects, and clients, or whether you’ll be empty, trying to call passerby like a carnival barker with a sore throat. Be smart about your messaging and you too can attract more people to your trade show booth.
