Attract Traffic To Your Booth - Trade Show Exhibit

How do you can attract more traffic to your booth at your next event?, Here we give you some tips to help you achieve the attention of your target.

It goes without saying that the placement of your booth along with high impact large format digital graphics, quality trade show displays and knowledgeable staff are key to successfully attracting prospects. 

  Here some ideas:

• Ice cold beverages
• Great chotchkies; pencils, magnets, stress balls
• Professional models, Presenters and Celebrites
• Whack-a-mole game
• Drawing for fabulous prizes (must be present to win)
• Bowling alley (kid you not!)
• Free Wi-Fi with computers
• Video on a loop
• Alcohol (seems like there might be a down side to this)
• Chocolate fountain
• Magician doing tricks
• Chair massage
• Remote-controlled robot offering candy
• Live animals (love this one - as opposed to...)
• Comfortable seating so people can "take a load off"
• Automatic winning "lottery" tickets so people win something on the spot (perhaps one of the live animals?)
• An activity - one company that sold essential oils allowed you to mix your own body scrub
• Having a double layer of carpet (check out our trade show flooring options) is cushy to the feet and people just might stay longer
• Something interactive: Touch screen Interactive Table, sign up, drop in business card, fill out survey, throw a ring on a bottle

Start With Why: Inspiring in trade show

If you start with why you will find people (whether they be clients, staff, suppliers or stakeholders) that believe what you believe and you will in turn create loyalty and long-term relationships. So it is only logical to begin thinking how you would start with why to inspire others on the trade show floor.

Branding
If your objective on the trade show floor is to increase brand recognition, ask yourself these questions. Does your custom trade show display communicate why you do what you do? Or does it simply show what you do or how you do it? If you can’t find the why it might be time to review your design to increase your likelihood of inspiring trade show attendees and finding those that believe in the same thing you do.

 Recruitment
Communicate the why of your organization to target the candidates that will be the best fit for your company. Ask your employees why they get out of bed every morning to come to work for you, and then share those stories in your booth through your display, audio visual presentation, and/or your booth staff. This is a great way to factor in why you do what you do.

Product Demonstration
Many exhibitors go to events to showcase or demonstrate product. This is a valid objective, but then your trade show booth is all what and no why. Are you advertising your company and your products as commodities? If you are, your what will shadow your why; think how you can better communicate your why to inspire and lead on the trade show floor.

Educate and Inform
For those going to shows to educate, inform and communicate messages it makes sense to start with why. Tell your audience what you believe, why you began doing what you do, and then the how and what that resulted from the why. Inspire people to join your cause because they also can relate and believe in your why.

Build Networks, Relationships & Alliances
The best relationships result from people coming together due to a common belief or outlook. Clearly communicate your why to target and inspire those people that share your why to start beneficial, loyal and long-term relationships.

About the Author: Samantha Heyden is the Marketing Manager for Skyline Displays Australia and has worked with Skyline since 2002. She has been responsible for developing the

marketing strategies, branding and event programs for Skyline throughout Australia. Working alongside the Skyline Displays Australia Project Management Team, she has also been actively involved with assisting clients in meeting their event marketing objectives and return-on-investment with their Australian trade show displays .

New Antenna Wifi for Trade Shows

Ventev Wireless Infrastructure, a division of Maryland-based TESSCO Technologies Inc. (TESSCO) that designs and manufactures solutions for wireless networks, has launched high-density antennas for large indoor and outdoor venues.

Flawless Wi-Fi access at high density venues is a must for conventioneers. Simultaneous use of smartphones, tablets and laptops by a large concentration of users from a single access point could slow down wireless networks. 

“As Wi-Fi continues to move beyond carpeted environments, including outdoors into stadiums and on campuses, the ability to provide stronger, reliable Wi-Fi signals to large numbers of simultaneous users – while mitigating interference – is a huge benefit,” said Jeff Lime, vice president, Ventev Wireless Infrastructure.

TESSCO developed TerraWave High-Density Antennas, designed with a narrower, focused beam of coverage that enables stronger, more reliable Wi-Fi signals, reduces channel-to-channel interference and increases capacity in such environments.

Deploying 300 TerraWave High-Density Antennas, TESSCO’s largest installation to date, classrooms at Georgia Institute of Technology were outfitted with the improved design. Dennis Burrell, product manager, TESSCO, explained that the more than 21,500 university students typically use two or three devices during class. Designating 100 users per access point, the campus installed up to three access points in the larger lecture halls for seamless data coverage.

Using a narrow 35-degree beamwidth and featuring a higher gain of 14 dBi, external antennas within the access point targets a smaller subset of users to enhance wireless network performance. Providing seamless data usage even at great distances from the user, the antenna allows for more flexibility in placement of the antenna.

As the only ceiling-mount high-density antenna available, the high-density antenna is specifically designed for indoor applications at convention centers, auditoriums, large warehouses and factories. Alternate designs can be mounted onto a mast or pole, or even placed underneath stadium seats.

TESSCO is bringing the wave of the future in antenna equipment to convention centers and other large facilities for seamless Wi-Fi connectivity with the TerraWave High-Density Antennas.

by Exhibit City News

New York’s Javits Center Renovation

New York’s Javits Center Completes 110,000 Square Foot Expansion, $465 Million Renovation

Renovations included the installation of a new 240,000 sq. ft. glass curtain wall and the construction of the largest green roof in the Northeast.

Billed as “the busiest convention center in the United States”, the Javits Center generated $1.4 billion of economic activity in FY 2012 for New York City and New York State.

“The Javits Center fuels the economic engines of New York City and New York State unlike any other facility, and with our renovation complete, we have more horsepower than ever before,” said Alan Steel, CEO of the New York Convention Center Operating Corporation, which owns and operates the facility.

He added, “The landmark renovation of the Javits Center exemplifies the importance of the building to New Yorkers and its business community, and we are happy to be an integral part of the upcoming development of the West Side neighborhood. I would like to thank Governor Cuomo and his staff, Empire State Development, the design and construction teams and our entire workforce for their commitment to ensuring our continued success.”
 

Also in FY 2012, the center hosted more than 140 events, including 16 shows on the 2012 TSNN Top 250 trade show list that ranks the largest shows by square footage in the United States.

“The Javits Center is a one-of-a-kind destination that brings the world's leading conventions and trade shows to New York, as well as millions of attendees who support hotels, restaurants and other businesses across the city and the state,” said Joseph E. Spinnato, Esq., CAE, president of the Hotel Association of New York City.

He added, “The unique renovation project has produced a more attractive, more customer-friendly facility, and we are thrilled with the results. We look forward to years of quality business at the new and much improved Javits Center.”

The $465 million renovation that began in 2009 included improvements such as the green roof and the installation energy-efficient glass, among other enhancements, that allowed the building to obtain Silver LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
 

Even with the added space, the center currently has some issues stemming from New York State Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo requesting to have the Progressive New York Boat Show dates moved later in January in an effort to boost attendance.

The move has disrupted several other existing shows in the January timeframe, though, and the matter still is not completely resolved.

 

by Rachel Wimberly

http://www.tsnn.com 

 

11 New Rules of Trade Show Marketing

In the last decade there have been changes in technology and the economy have changed the rules in the event, these are the changes and how to adapt to them:

1. More Uncertainty: Economic uncertainty has lasted for years, and shows little signs of going away. This makes your top company executives reluctant to commit early to trade shows, and buy capital-intensive larger exhibits. You have to balance their need for financial flexibility by waiting longer to commit to shows and vendors, and yet still avoid more expensive rush charges. (I sincerely wish you luck walking that tightrope.) Rental exhibits help avoid capital expenses, too.

2. Measurement A Must: Gone are the days when you could end the show by saying to your boss, “We had a good show, didn’t we?” and that would be enough. Your trade show spending is being compared to more explicitly measurable electronic marketing mediums. So even if your trade show is producing greater results, if you don’t prove it with real numbers, such as ROI ratios or sales generated, it didn’t happen in the minds of your bosses, and your budget is in jeopardy. Here’s a free tool to help you measure your trade show results.

3. Trade Shows Stronger Than Some Expected: Trade shows are one of the winners in the marketing media wars. Along with electronic media, trade shows have retained a greater share of B2B marketing budgets than print and direct mail. That’s because trade shows still provide what all marketers want: face time with lots of real buyers in one place. So be sure to take full advantage of your face time at shows, because it’s harder to reach buyers elsewhere.

4. More Knowledgeable Buyers: Attendees now look up potential suppliers on the internet before the show, so they arrive already knowing about your products. If they visit you, it’s because they want to know if your product really does what you say it can, who your people are and how trustworthy your company is. You will need to provide more hospitality, have more space for longer meetings, and bring people who can answer detailed questions, but also deepen relationships.

5. Pre-Show Promotions Harder: Pre-show promotions with traditional media don’t bring in as many attendees as they used to. Your pre-show mailers get ignored, emails get deleted, calls get screened, and magazine ads are left unread. Buyers are just too busy before the show to pay much attention to your pre-show promotions. To get attendees into your booth, you have to do more at-show promotions, to grab their attention when they are focused on the show.

6. Social Media Rising: Social media is where people now spend their time. Fortunately, social media is not a replacement for trade shows, but is a great conduit to people who have tuned out of direct mail, email, ads, and phone calls. Social media can also help you extend the conversation that peaked at the show. Your activities in your booth (new products, product demonstrations, customer testimonials) are great content to share via social media after the show.

7. Which Promotions Work Now: Trade show attendees may walk the show floor, but it’s harder to get them out of the aisle and into your booth space. The internet has given them control of the buying process, so they don’t like to easily give it up at a show, either. So your promotions have to be better. To get them into your booth, you have to give them one of these three things: an exchange of value, an experience, or learning. Otherwise, they will keep walking.

8. Vertical Market Messages Love Flat Screens: In the old days, exhibitors would design their exhibit with a main message for the company overall, but swap out a portion of the exhibit graphics to customize their message for different industry trade shows. Now, with the price of large LED flat screen monitors about 25% of what they were when introduced (and lighter, too), exhibitors tailor their vertical market messages with pixels, not printed graphics.

9. Even Island Exhibits Are Lighter: While portable trade show displays have been the standard for decades, the high cost of shipping and especially drayage (up 488% from 1982 to 2010) have caused big-booth exhibitors to try to lighten their load, too. The improved style and flexibility of metal frame exhibit systems and the brilliant, sharp fabric graphics of today are taking over many trade shows.

10. Unqualified Leads Will Be Ignored: Your overworked sales force no longer has the time to work through a pile of business cards. Give them basically a list, and after several calls they will stop calling, if they start at all. You have to give them more qualifying information about each lead than just contact information, and you should only give them the qualified leads that are ready to talk to a sales person – or at least tell them which leads are the higher quality ones, so they can start there first.

11. Technology Everywhere: Technology has infiltrated trade show marketing. From iPads to enhance one-on-one interactive conversations and revolutionize lead management to flat screen integrated into exhibit designs to wireless internet hubs, and social media to entice booth visitors, technology is everywhere on the show floor. That means you have to know the difference between an HDMI and a VGA cable, a .csv and a .txt file, and a wireless or a hardwired internet connection. Because even in face-to-face marketing, technology boosts results.

About the Author: Mike Thimmesch is Skyline Exhibits' Director of Customer Engagement, with 25 years of Marketing and Trade Show Display Marketing experience.