How to Plan Your Trade Show Booth - Display Ideas for a Convention

You're running a booth at a trade show or convention. Maybe it's a fantasy football convention or a sports show. Maybe your booth is aimed for a career fair or a national convention for lawyers or librarians. Maybe you're registering to display at an auto show or a convention of stamp collectors or music hobbyists, or displaying state-of-the-art electronics at a portable media convention. Whatever type of trade show your booth is to be displayed, your goal will be the same: to attract visitors. The problem is figuring out how to make sure your exhibit or display booth stands out and gets noticed. Learn how to organize your exhibit with these trade show booth display ideas to make sure your organization doesn't get lost in the crowds, but instead attracts the visitors you want.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Contact information for the trade show coordinator to register the booth
• Hardware, signs, and display booth
• freebies and giveaways
• other trade show booth display ideas

1. Register your display booth as early as possible. Registering early at the trade show assures that your exhibit gets a good spot in a prime location with lots of traffic.

2. Design your display booth to 1) be well-lit, 2) have a theme consistent with your product (no florals and curlicues at a football-themed booth), and 3) have bright, noticeable colors.
   
   To determine what colors are noticeable, attend other trade shows of the sort you're going to display at and see what colors are used the most...and what are used the least. Figure out which colors stand out best at the convention--including black and white.

3. Figure out what your target market and visitor will want at the trade show. Aim your convention freebies and giveaways at that market. If you're exhibiting at a sports show and you aim to attract visitors who are sports hobbyists, then don't bother with the free pens...get them something sports-related.
   
   And think small. Most convention attendees don't want to lug around a basketball hoop all day.

4. Crowds milling through your trade show booth are gratifying to see, but they can also discourage traffic. So unless your display booth involves many interactive exhibits and you want to encourage many attendees to linger in a bunch, plan your trade show booth to be linear, allowing attendees to go along the display booth and then on their merry way, your business card, product, or giveaway in hand.

5. For more advice on trade show booth displays, see the Tips and Warnings sections.

Tips & Warnings

• Be friendly to every attendee that passes by your display booth at the trade show or convention. Even someone who doesn't look like a customer at this trade show may end up as one, years down the line. And the happier everyone is, the better the mood of the convention is.
• Have fun at the trade show and learn at the same time! Browse and explore other trade show booth displays for ideas and giveaways.
• You get tired very fast when you exhibit at a trade show. Team up with at least one partner so you can watch your display booths in shifts.

Resources

• Trade Show in a Day: Get It Done Right, Get It Done Fast!
• Guerrilla Trade Show Selling: New Unconventional Weapons and Tactics to Meet More People, Get More Leads, and Close More Sales
• Powerful Exhibit Marketing: The Complete Guide to Successful Trade Shows, Conferences, and Consumer Shows
• Exhibit Design: High Impact Solutions
• Trade Show Booth Pop-up Display with Case & Lights

[MotherDove]

on 11/26/2008 I love to rent a booth at a flea market and this is great advice for folks like me, too. Table display is crucial when trying to get someone to spend money with you rather than the other guy! Thanks for some great ideas, I'll be sure to use.

[bookmom]

on 11/17/2008 This is great practical advice. Everyone who shows at a trade show or convention should read this article!