Ten New Startups that Will Change the Trade Show Business

The following startups are all visually stimulating, with great potential!

Mountary.com

Mountary.com lets customers take their own photos and order custom frames online. 

Using Mountary.com, photographers snap their own special moments from weddings, showers and family gatherings and find frames for them. Create your own images from the online galleries. The frames arrive in attractive packaging, ready to hang, saving you stress, money, and time. The service is simple and affordable, and they offer price categories based on image size.

Pijon.com

Pijon.com provides monthly care packages for college students. These are not your typical cardboard boxes filled with cookies and candy—these contain healthy snacks, beauty and household supplies, and fun gifts. 
Pijon has a mission to keep college students happy and healthy while keeping families connected. They carry out this mission by using brands college students love, the digital world, the local campus store and customization.

BRCK.com

BRCK.com is a team of software developers, engineers and technologists from Africa who live in America. They are skilled in software and hardware. The BRCK was designed and its prototype built in Nairobi, Kenya. It’s a device that keeps everyone connected when electricity and internet connections are sketchy in urban and rural settings. The BRCK is strong and able to connect to multiple networks, serving as a hub for all local devices with enough backup power to survive a blackout.

Feast.com

Feast.com has a simple mission: to help everyday people become cooks. They believe we can learn without fancy recipes and spendy schools. We simply need to make cooking a regular part of our lives. 
Feast.com boot camp goes beyond teaching people to cook and helps them build cooking into a habit. Over 30 days, Feast teaches the psychology of habits, the fundamentals of cooking and the basics of nutrition. The promise is to learn to cook in 30 days for 49 dollars.

Pinshape.com

Pinshape.com has a mission to make a complex technology like 3D printing simple and accessible to everyone. Pinshape lets customers explore, buy and sell 3D designs from designers worldwide. They aim to build a 3D printing marketplace full of highly skilled designers and the highest quality, guaranteed-to-print designs, while making customizing and ordering 3D prints simple and fun. They strive to be a community full of thinkers, pushing themselves creatively and helping drive the 3D printing industry forward.

AppZen.com

AppZen.com provides an innovative solution for travel and expense compliance and audits. AppZen.com’s technology provides real-time compliance for IRS rules and company policies, and audits, and assigns a risk score to every expense to detect fraud and misuse. AppZen is like having a virtual personal assistant for expense management with searchable expense reports. AppZen’s technology uses natural language processing, machine learning and Artificial Intelligence to provide its solution. AppZen creates expense reports from various sources of data, including credit cards, receipts, calendars and travel itineraries.

Survmetrics.com

Survmetrics.com created a web tool to help customers make engaging surveys that clients want to answer. The surveys are attractive and easy to answer from any device, increasing the response rate up to 34 percent when compared to other market leaders. The survey results may be obtained in real time and generate visual data. 

After testing and validating Survmetrics in LA, they are working to bring the product to the United States.

Smart Vision Labs

Smart Vision Labs developed a state-of-the-art scanning laser ophthalmoscope called the SVOne. Their mission is to make their technology accessible to one billion people worldwide who need eye care. The SVOne slides onto an iPhone and lets doctors measure refractive errors of the eye. This is less expensive and more portable than old-fashioned auto-refractors. Doctors who tested the SVOne, which has a 56-hour battery life, found it produced more accurate readings for children than the traditional machines. The device connects to the cloud, so a pediatrician can perform the test and have data sent directly to an optometrist for review.

Plated.com

Plated.com is a New York City-based company whose mission is to help Americans eat more healthfully. Every week, seven recipes are featured on the Plated menu, including four meat and fish options and three vegetarian dishes. You select the recipe you want to prepare and eat, and Plated delivers all of the pre-portioned meat, fish, spices, proteins, and produce—plus a chef-designed recipe card to you. Plated.com already delivers to 90 percent of the lower 48 states.

Oscar.com

Oscar.com is an insurance company out of New York City. In the first several weeks of its launch, the company enrolled thousands of customers and earned tens of millions of dollars in annual revenue. With President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act taking hold, business people have an opportunity to offer other options. Oscar.com raised $70 million in two rounds of funding. This startup aims to combine technology, design and data to make healthcare less abstract and more personal to the everyday person.

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The Anatomy of a Great Trade Show Exhibit

There are plenty of things that come to mind when thinking about the best way to have a great trade show exhibit, but a little more detail will help get the message home. By following this road map, you’ll be on your way:

DETAILS, DETAILS

Taking care of all the little things beforehand can help avoid big things negatively affecting your trade show experience.

First, make sure that you budget accordingly for the event. Nothing’s worse than realizing that all those new sales you racked up will only cover your cost overruns.

Next, try and get a high traffic area, with the ends of aisles or somewhere near bathrooms the best options. Let’s face it, every big shot moving up the corporate ladder wants the corner office, so any corner booth is a good booth, right?

As far as being near bathrooms, that might be a problem if you were at a restaurant. The fact is that everyone will likely have to make that trip at some point, so why not be where the action is!

Then, let your customers and any potential prospects know that you’ll be at the trade show. That’s because you’ll be about five different shades of red if a customer happens to stumble across your booth, not realizing you were going to be there.

Make sure your area has good lighting, since most people have never been big fans of dark alleys. Plus, everyone wants their closeup, and yours will look a lot better under the proper wattage.

Since some trade shows take place in cavernous facilities, things can get tiring for those making the trip. That’s why offering an area with comfortable seating, some snacks, maybe even some soft music would be a great idea. You’ll have a captive audience to listen to your pitch and they might just remember you for it.

MESSAGES MATTER

At any trade show exhibit, there are countless businesses offering countless messages. That’s why you need to make sure your brand is clearly visible. Nobody wants to waste time looking around for information, and it’s embarrassing to be asked, “What’s the name of your company?”

Those countless messages are often part of some trade show soup, so it’s best to stick to just one or two marketing concepts. It can take the form of a familiar image or perhaps a catchphrase that will stick in a person’s mind. Either way, focus on the message you want to drive home.

FEEDBACK AND FUN

We’ve all been to trade shows where certain booths are where you go to die, with disinterested people staffing them. Make sure you have engaging people who (hopefully) have the gift of gab and know how to demonstrate the wonders of your product. This might take the form of a kiosk, or just an area that gives any potential customer some privacy.

Who says business can’t be fun? You can hand out samples, offer the chance to play some games, maybe show a video or digital presentation. You might even set up a presentation where a customer can have some post-event cocktails. Whatever you doing, avoid boring visitors.

Finally, once you start engaging customers, give them some incentive in exchange for leads. Just make sure you follow up on those leads after the event ends.

Trade shows have always been ripe for satire, but there’s no reason that you can’t use the above information to tell your competitors, “The joke’s on you.”

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7 Things About Trade Shows Your Boss Wants to Know

You get back from that week long trade show and your boss drags you into his office to start extracting information from you. You are tired, your back hurts and you are pretty sure that is gum in your hair from that kid that sat behind you on the plane ride home. But if you want to keep your job, then you need to debrief the boss immediately on what happened. Here are the seven things your boss wants to know about your trade show experience.

Where is the booth?

Sometimes plans get made on the fly for trade shows and, well, arrangements to get the company’s $100,000 booth back home were a little sketchy. The best thing you can do, since you know the fate of the booth is in your hands, is to make solid arrangements to ship the booth home well before the trade show even starts. When the boss asks where the booth is, you can provide a tracking number that he can check for himself.

How much traffic did you get?

One of the things that justifies participating in trade shows is foot traffic. Without visitors to your booth, you really have no reason to be there. When the boss asks about foot traffic, all you need to do is show him the stack of business cards you collected and just wait for the smile to slowly develop on his face.

How were sales?

If trade show booth workers forget one thing, it is to sell product when they are at a trade show. It can get really easy to get caught up in talking about the future of the company that you forget the company’s present revenue needs. Make sure there is a way to close sales at the trade show and prepare a report for the boss on trade show sales on the way home.

Who did you meet?

When the boss asks who you met at a trade show, he is not talking about the models that worked at the trade show booth across the aisle. When you are at a trade show, you must make time to network with significant contacts within your industry. This means talking to potential new vendors, making contacts with large customer prospects and talking to employment candidates who could take the company to the next level.

How much did you spend?

Yup, the boss will want to see your expense report the moment you walk into the office. While you should never be hesitant to spend money at a trade show, you should be prepared to justify every penny you spent. If you are trying to buy your kids some gifts at the hotel gift shop on the company’s nickel, then you may find yourself looking for a new job.

What improvements does the booth need?

Your trade show booth is what you use to lure in foot traffic and create revenue. As you talk to traffic at the trade show, pay attention to what the very popular booths are doing and also pay attention to the suggestions visitors make on how to improve your booth.

How can we do better next year?

Was there a particular part of the trade show floor that got more traffic than others? Was there a certain type of marketing giveaway that attracted more people to a particular booth? Pay close attention to the ways that your company can improve its presence at that trade show next year and prepare a full report for the boss when you get home.

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Addicted to Trade Show Exhibits? Us Too. 6 Reasons We Just Can’t Stop

Regardless of the industry you work in, there is a good chance that you may spend several days or more each year standing in front of your exhibit at a trade show trying to generate a buzz about your company’s products and services. While some people may find this task to be exhausting and rather unproductive, the fact is that many people love the experience of hosting a trade show exhibit. There truly is so much to love about trade show exhibits, and here are just a few of the reasons they can be addictive regardless of the industry that you are in.

Finding a Creative Way to Show Your Stuff

The best exhibits show off your products and services in a creative, and it can be exciting to create an exhibit design that you love. Some exhibits may be designed based off of an existing marketing campaign. Others may be the inspiration that you use for your future marketing campaigns.

Generating a Buzz About Your Company

When your exhibit is a true success, you will be able to create a buzz about your company that was not previously there. This is a great time to get people talking about your company and interested in new products and services you offer. By exposing your company’s offerings to hundreds or thousands of attendees at a single event, the interest generated can be widespread and even viral in some cases.

Passing Out Freebies

Passing out freebies can be fun, and trade shows give you the perfect opportunity to do this. If you have taken the time to develop a great freebie, you may love seeing the look on people’s faces when they get a free gift from you. Of course, the best freebies are those that individuals can continue to use long after the trade show has ended.

Drawing People to You

You can spend many weeks and months of the year trying to draw your target audience to you. At trade shows, the best exhibits have an almost magnetic power. You can see your marketing and promotional efforts working in person as you see people stop and admire your booth before walking toward you. It can be a great feeling when you see your booth enticing people to stop and talk to you.

Checking Out the Competition

A trade show would not be quite as fun if it did not provide you with opportunity to spy on the competition. Whether you casually walk by your competitors’ booths or you pay them a full visit to say hi, you can easily learn more about what they are doing and how they are positioning themselves. This gives you the ability to better prepare to step ahead of them at the next event.

Creating Relationships

Finally, trade shows are a great time to create new relationships with others. This may include your competitors or industry professionals as well as clients and customers. With so many people from your industry gathered in one large room, there is rarely a better time to create relationships than at these events.

If you are addicted to trade shows and cannot get enough of them, you are not alone. Trade shows and conferences provide you with plenty of great opportunities and benefits that you will be hard-pressed to enjoy anywhere else. You may be planning to attend an upcoming trade show, but you may also consider the benefits of hosting a booth. The fact is that running a booth can be a cost-effective way to enjoy each of the benefits outlined here, and you can start planning your booth design today.

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Think You’re Cut Out for Doing Trade Shows? Take This Quiz

Trade shows can draw in new clients, increase your business, and get your name out there. If you aren’t properly prepared, however, they can also be a horrific waste of time, energy, resources. Before you pick up the phone to schedule your next show, take this quiz to ensure that you’re really ready.

Do you have the budget?

Trade shows aren’t free. There are the fees for getting into the exhibit, the cost of employees to man the booth, money to purchase the items you’ll give out, bills for the promotional banners for your table, and more. Sure, you can try to do the show on the cheap, but this can leave a bad impression with potential customers. Remember, you need to look professional and compete with other booths around you; sadly, hand written signs on poster board just aren’t going to get the job done.

Do you know your target audience?

Let’s play a little situation out in your mind: you schedule the trade show, set up your table, attractively arrange your swag, and then no one comes to your booth. The entire trade show, you sit in total boredom wondering what went wrong. Odds are, you didn’t know your target audience. Maybe your booth didn’t appeal to them, your pre-show advertising wasn’t effective, or it’s possible you simply went to all that effort for a trade show that won’t have anyone who is interested in your services. This is why you need to know your target audience: what they like, what attracts them, and what events they will attend.

Do you have more than pens to give out?

Just about everyone who attends trade shows expects to receive ridiculous amounts of swag, so it’s a great idea to have something to send customers away with. However, it’s important that you don’t try to outspend companies who may have an endless budget. Rather, get creative with your swag. In fact, sometimes the best swag doesn’t cost you a dime: you could give out a free newsletter you produce with important advice, a coupon for a free consultation, or take photos of those who visit your booth with a funny cut-out. In fact, taking photos is a great way to get your customers email address; you’ll need it to send the photo to them later on. The point is, think beyond the pens. Odds are, your customers already have enough pens already.

Do you have the people skills?

Trade shows are about selling yourself. Sure, this is made a little easier since everyone there is interested in buying, but you’ll have to compete with potentially hundreds of other booths there. Some of those booths may be flashier than yours, their products may be cheaper, and they may have expensive give-a-ways. You’ll need to be able to cut through all of that and literally reach out to those passing by. Convince them to stop, even if it’s just to take a pamphlet or sign up for your email newsletter.

If you failed this quiz, then don’t give up. Sure, you may have a little more work than others, but you can get there. Identify the answers you failed, and try to figure out how you can strengthen those areas. If you’re really desperate for help, there are special consultants you can hire to help develop your trade show presence; I wonder if they have a trade show of their own?

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15 Undeniable Reasons to Love Trade Show Exhibits

I love trade shows! My job sends me packing off to different shows at least two times a month, so for me trade show exhibits are almost as much a part of me as my ever growing shoe collection.

1-First, let me just say this. I get to the trade show early for a set up, and after the event begins, most nights when the crowds leave, I am still sitting in my own little corner. I am usually sipping down the last of a beer that I have hidden in my little frig under the back alcove while reading through my e-mails. Trade show displays for me, are a home away from home. If the convention hall allows me, I even pull out a little camp cot that I bring along and snooze behind the back wall where no one can see me (most time this works, but there was this one time when I totally freaked out a security guard and he made me leave!)

2-Another thing that I love about trade show exhibits, is that it makes me think of my company as a turtle, and the exhibit is his shell. The exhibit is a huge display, covering up a living company underneath. Its like we can go out on the road, our company takes a journey, and the exhibit protects us and is our home, just like the tortoise.

3-Trade show exhibits always give you a chance to make some new contacts, no matter who they are. One time I had this table and some picnic chairs set up in the corner for my crew. A few photographers from one of the trade journals were walking around and needed a place to sit down and check their equipment. I offered them some of our space, and while we didn’t increase sales by that effort, we did make some new friends — who we see often.

4-We also notice and size up our competition by looking at what THEY have. A few times we did notice that we needed more back lighting, because that’s what our rival company had with them.

5-Schmoozing customers? Oh yea, trade show exhibits are great for that. We now have a small wine cabinet and frig with us. Some alcohol and an order book, and cha-ching!

6-Let’s face it, one of the main reason to love trade shows, is that you get that rare opportunity to be in the same room with people who actually are willing to be impressed by you. We totally engage in that ageless act of shameless self promotion. We splash our logo everywhere! Even on our new plastic roll out floor.

7-It’s all about the money, right? A few of us had the brilliant idea to set up a pop up shop inside of our exhibit. It was so cool, I don’t know why we didn’t think of it sooner. We actually sold cash and carry items, and took orders for drop shipments; we made over $20,000 in one day!

8-We like to save money for our company, so for us easy storage is a huge reason to love trade show exhibits. We chose a really nice set up that packs up nice and stores right in the back of one of our conference rooms, so we don’t even have to pay for a storage unit.

9-How do you get customers to you? Give them free stuff, doesn’t it matter what it is. Our exhibit has one entire area just for that.

10-Trade show exhibits definitely let you preview your company’s next/new line of products. This is really cool, because the eye-grabbing graphics pull potential customers over to your table — that’s we all want, right?

11-I also love the super easy set up and winding down/packing part of our exhibit. When it’s time to go home, I want to leave town. I hate spending a lot of time packing everything up.

12-My new assistant tells me that he just loves the uniformity of our exhibit; -you always know what your displays are going to be, so you don’t have to fuss with some plan-o-gram while on the road and time is in short supply. No surprises and no problems.

13-Easily adaptable, if we need it. Sometimes we do need to tweak our set up. I love the idea that we can easily add some accessories, a few more bridges or shelves, extend counter space, add some alcoves, whatever we need. I just love that we now have components of and interchangeable display.

14-We recently added some interactive computer stations, tablets, etc, which has been a real upgrade to our exhibit. Not only does this attract visitors (we added free WiFi), but it lets us spend some computer time when the crowds are thin.

15-Recently, our company added some “live activity” to our exhibit. We now have demonstrations like the old time county fairs, spinning wheels, all kinds of goofy fun. Our trade show exhibit rocks with our standees and cut outs — its just like a carnival.

I really do love trade show exhibits. They help take the labor out of work, making the job of being at a show ever so much more fun!

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15 Secretly Funny People Working in Trade Show Exhibits

You planned for this event last year. You spent money on advertising for this trade show. You ordered the huge marquee with the flashing lights surrounding your product. You traveled to this event only to find that booth A32 is in a dank, dark corner. At the end of the day, you realize that you didn’t make a profit. In fact, you lost money.

Making contacts and sales is crucial to business. But how do you get the would-be clients over to your booth to buy your wares? Have you ever considered hiring a comic?

Here are fifteen hilarious comedians that may fit the bill.

1. Michael Pasternak as Colombo. Remember the detective on television who would wear this huge overcoat and stupid expression on his face? Mr. Pasternak will help people relive those moments with advertising of your trade show event through Webisodes. Then he will come to the show unannounced and have fun with potential customers while driving them steadily to your booth!

2. Jeff Dunham Comic Ventriloquist– This amazing talent will bring traffic to a dentist! Jeff Dunham along with his puppets is able to inject fun into any situation.

3. Frank King– This clean comedian specializes in corporate humor. He will help drive traffic to those sometimes boring trade shows that deal with high and mighty business people.

4. Kier-Hmm…a comic with looks as yummy as his name implies! Kier is a handsome gent with a winning smile who does comedy impressions with music. He can sing to me anytime!

5. If magic is your thing, then hire Becky Blaney. She mixes southern hospitality along with some magic to tickle your funny bone!

6. You like comedians? You like cowboys? How do you feel about cowboy comedians? Dennis Gaines will bring all the western hokum to your next trade show event with wisecracking poetry.

7. Bo Gerard will dazzle your future clients by being a master of disguises, comedy and magic! Book him and traffic will magically appear at your booth.

8. A man who can move his face around like a cartoon character would be a blast at a comic book convention. Jack Towle is a comic impressionist of talent who will send people your way.

9. Everyone dreams of having a sure thing to drive traffic to their booth. What if you hired a comic hypnotist? Brian Powers will be your man to hypnotize your clients to buy, buy and buy!

10. Randy Cabral will be sure to brighten up your day with his comedic juggling act. He has energy to burn while telling jokes to the crowd.

11. Hey it’s David Copperfield! Well, maybe not Dave Copperfield but would Al the Only Amusionist do? He’s a real crowd-pleaser with his amusing illusions and jests.

12. Doug Anderson is a comedic trade show magician. He will wow the crowd with his magical powers of suggestion about your products and services.

13. Russ Stolnack is what is known as an executive imposter who will amuse your clients to your booth.

14. Want a celebrity impressionist to draw people to your table? Then hire Paul Boland to your next event. With more than 200 voices under his belt, he’ll be sure to send traffic your way.

15. Calling all housewares traders! Ask for Brendene for your next event. She will mingle with the crowd in her cleaning lady costume A.K.A. Carol Burnett mixed with Rosanne Barr. Laughter will follow!

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How to Get Hired in the Trade Show Industry

Trade shows, exhibitions and conferences are held in smaller and larger cities and towns around the globe, and there are literally thousands of these events held each year. Some may be highly professional events that are designed to attract a smaller number of movers and shakers in a specific industry or sector, and others may have broader appeal that may entice thousands from across the region and beyond to attend. This is a robust, vibrant industry that has ample opportunity for those who thrive on hard work and who have a creative mindset to prosper in. However, you may be wondering how you can get started working in this industry. By following a few pointers, you may be able to easily slide into a great position that is ideal for you.

Choose a Niche

There are various niches that you can choose to work in within the trade show industry. For example, there are some providers that coordinate these events. The events themselves may be hosted by professional organizations or companies, but there are typically event coordinators and planners that handle tasks like venue reservation, marketing and promotions, booth reservations and other tasks. There are also booth design firms that specialize in helping companies to get noticed when hosting a booth. Some will also provide assistance with setting up and tearing down booths and even with hosting booths by providing live support.

Showcase Your Talents

Once you have decided which niche you want to work within, you will then need to find a creative way to showcase your talent. While some aspects of the trade show industry may be more routine, such as reservation administration, many aspects require hard work and creativity. If you have any experience in this area or if you have experience in other areas that could be transferred to this industry, you need to find a way to creatively showcase what you can bring to the table. You can do a write-up in your resume, but you may also need to have pictures, references or other items available to provide upon request. Make sure that potential employers know that you have these items to provide to them because they can be a key selling point for you.

Establish Relationships

Of course, before you can get to the point of showcasing your talents, you must get the attention of hiring managers and business owners. You can mingle with these professionals at their own networking events, and you can even request an unpaid internship in some industry niches. You want to use these opportunities to meet the top professionals in the industry and to ensure that they know your name and think highly of you. When the time comes for you to apply for an important position in their firm, you want them to know who you are by name. Even if an opening does not come available in their company, you may still feel comfortable asking them for a professional reference letter.

The trade show industry is like many other industries in that it can be highly beneficial to know higher-ups in different companies. However, it is also unique in that creativity is a highly valued asset, and you may not get far in this industry if you do not have the ability to show others that you are personable as well as creative. While there are numerous common steps that you can follow to get a job in any industry, you may find that following these specific tips can help you to get more attention when you are applying for a position in the trade show industry.

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Why Nobody Cares About Trade Show Booths

If you have hosted a booth at a trade show in recent months, you may get the general impression that the attendees simply do not care about the booths. They may walk around the venue with an acquaintance, a co-worker or someone else, casually chatting while they pass by dozens of booths without stopping at them. In fact, if you watch closely, many will walk by numerous booths without casting a glance in their direction, Clearly, this is not the desired result you want when you put in the time, effort and money to host a trade show booth. With a closer look at why people simply do not care about booths, you may be able to make a few changes to generate some interest in your own booth.

All Booths Appear to Be the Same

There may be dozens or even hundreds of booths at a trade show, and the unfortunate truth is that many appear to be very similar in terms of their overall look and what they offer to attendees. They may all pass out the same rather unusable free promotional gifts, and it can be difficult to get excited about getting a free pen or koozie when you have a bag filled with five already. Some may provide you with flyers and special offers, but these can get lost in the shuffle amidst all of the other flyers that are handed out. The booths may have similar banners and greeters who appear to be the same as those at other booths except for the color of their shirt and their name tag. With this in mind, it is no surprise that it is easy for attendees to have glazed over eyes and to be less than thrilled about stopping at your booth.

Booths Are Rather Boring

While many booths appear to be rather similar in what they offer and what they look like, they all can be rather boring. Some may take over-the-top measures to attract attention and to draw the eye, such as playing loud music or having an elaborate design that is truly customized. Unless you have an incredible budget for booth design, this may simply not be an option for you. However, if your booth design features a fold out table or two with a few handouts and freebies place on the tabletops, your booth may appear to be boring and not worth the time for attendees to stop at.

There is No Reason to Visit One Booth Over Another

With most trade shows, many of the vendors generally sell similar products and services. There may be a dozen or more other vendors who sell the same products as your company each hosting booths. This means that attendees may have already stopped at several other booths that offer the same thing yours does. There simply seems to be no reason for them to pick up more promotional materials about the same widgets and gadgets.

Creating a Booth People Will Care About

The bottom line is that your booth looks the same and offers the same things as other booths, attendees simply will not care about it. If you want to create a booth that people will care about, you need to find a design element that will immediately catch their eye. This does not need to be an expensive design, but it needs to be different. For example, creating a raised platform that entices people to step up and into your booth can create some excitement about what may be in store for them at the top of the stairs. Music and lighting are also cost-effective ideas. More than that, you need to make it clear from a moment’s glance that your booth and your products or services are different. What is the main selling point for your company’s marketing material? This needs to be clearly highlighted and highly visible to passersby. They should not need to walk up and talk to your staff to learn why your company is so amazing, although your team can certainly talk up the high points once they do stop by.

There are many reasons why attendees do not care about trade show booths. However, you need to find a way to make them care about yours if you want your booth to be a success. Consider these points to identify ways to make your booth worth their time and attention.

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24 Hours to Improve Your Trade Show Booth

It is easy to let the design of your trade show booth fall to the wayside as you go about your daily routine at the office. You may notice the date of the trade show approaching on the calendar, and you may tentatively plan out the design of the booth, complete with a table, a banner or special signs and freebies to hand out to the attendees. However, if you are like many who follow this plan for trade show booth design, you inevitably will feel a sense of last-minute stress and anxiety right before your trade show starts. Whether you are heading to your event tomorrow or you have already set up your booth and have realized how dismal it is compared to others, you may be looking for some fast, affordable ways to dress up your booth.

Think About Music and Lighting

It is imperative that you find a way to get your booth noticed, and you can incorporate different sensory elements to its design with minimal time and effort required. You can easily invest in portable lighting solutions and sound systems to appeal to the senses, and this can make your booth instantly different than others. For example, you may simply need to visit a lawn and garden or a party store to find great lighting options. Consider shining a spotlight on your sign or even placing a colored light under a tabletop to make your tablecloth glow with character and appeal. When it comes to music, think about a type of music that may appeal to your target audience and that may be suitable for your company’s marketing needs. While you want the music to be loud enough to be heard at this type of event, you do not want it so loud that your team cannot communicate with attendees who stop by. An alternative to music is to pick up a sound effects CD to play, such as an ocean waves sound track for a marine company.

Make Your Tables or Displays Pop Out

You can use lighting to draw attention to your tables and displays, but you can also use three-dimensional elements. For example, if you have a floral company at a wedding and bridal trade show, showcase your talents by bringing a large floral arrangement onto the table. Even if you cannot bring your product or service into the trade show as a tabletop display, you may be able to bring other themed elements into your space. For example, you can bring a decoration from your office or store into your booth design.

Think About Your Apparel

Most booth hosts at a trade show will be dressed to impress, and there is something to be said for looking professional. If you are representing a mortgage company, a law firm or another serious type of company, you may want to stick with your professional attire. However, if you are hosting a booth for a boat company, you may want to dress the part by wearing water shows, a swimsuit and other beach-themed attire. If you are hosting a booth for a wedding dress company, you may consider wearing a bridesmaid dress. These steps will help you to differentiate yourself from other booths to get noticed and may help you to better capture the spirit of the goods or services you offer.

Offer Better Freebies

You may have already planned to hand out some rather boring freebies, like promotional flyers or brochures. These may contain great information that you want to pass along to your target audience, so you do not want to discard these items altogether. However, you may want to accent them with other freebies that people can get excited about. It may be too late to order customized promotional items, but you may still be able to hand out candies, coupons that you can print out at the last minute or other similar items.

While you may not have put much thought into the design of your trade show booth until now, the fact is that you do still have time to make a big difference on your booth design. You can consider incorporating some or all of these elements, and you can easily transform a rather banal booth into one that will garner the type of attention you desire.

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