Horsing Around
At EXHIBITORLIVE 2023, the conference for trade show and corporate event marketing, the colocated brand experience companies Creative Visual Solutions and Wondermakr Ltd. hit the trifecta in their booth in Louisville with a traffic builder that promoted their own unique capabilities, provided a hands-on activation, and built off the excitement of a local attraction. Visitors first scanned a QR code to access a mobile-responsive site to answer qualifying questions and generate a unique derby horse name. They then moved to a white model of Churchill Downs horseracing track that occupied the center of its 20-by-20-foot island, selected their horse's name at one of four player stations around the track, and prepared to race up to three other contestants. Following a countdown, contestants drummed a pair of arcade-style button controllers to gallop their "thoroughbred" icon around the track. Besides providing attendees with a bit of horseplay, Interactive Solutions and Wondermakr showed how to combine data collection and gamification. Spin to Win
On increasingly tech-driven show floors, attendees seem to savor the opportunity to interact with analog activations. At least that's what Design4Retail banked on at EuroShop 2023 in Düsseldorf, Germany. Atop a pedestal in the center of its 30-square-foot booth, the firm affixed a zoetrope – a cylinder with vertical slits on the sides and a row of images on the inside. A handle on the side of the pedestal with the word "spin" below it was all the encouragement attendees needed to step inside the booth, whirl the 19th-century device, and watch the company's logo spring into action through the spinning slits. Sometimes simple engagements yield large results. Nothing Obtuse Here
At the National Automotive Dealership Association (NADA) Show, Solera Inc. needed a bevy of private rooms to keep up with its meeting schedule. However, developing such a functional booth often can result in a utilitarian design, so Solera tapped The Trade Group to add a dash of elegance. The central meeting structure was positioned at an angle inside the 50-by-90-foot space and framed with a custom rigged ceiling structure that featured triangular dip-down awnings and an angular side wall whose edges converged to a single point at the floor. The unconventional shape, which disguised the boxy central element, certainly pointed to success. Taking a Q
QR codes are as common as tchotchkes at trade shows – and often even easier to ignore. But the Café brand from GE Appliances, a Haier company, at the 2023 Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS) found a way to make its QR codes stand out. With vignettes themed around the visual vocabulary of fashion shows in its 3,000-square-foot stand, GE Appliances posted several QR codes to provide additional info about its products. But instead of slapping the pattern of parallel lines in the usual ways that would make them look like a Gap sweatshirt in the middle of a Gucci runway show, the company put them in simple but sophisticated frames that made them a can't-ignore part of the company's glam exhibit. Road Work
While trailers and pods make for spacious, beautiful mobile showrooms, they come with some drawbacks: They require a lot of logistical support to secure the requisite space and permits for execution at each location. For its Toughbook-branded electronics road show, Panasonic System Solutions of North America needed to create an agile mobile showroom that didn't cause a lot of logistical headaches. So Panasonic asked Pro Motion Inc., a provider of mobile solutions, to outfit a pair of Ford F-250 pickup trucks with a custom shell that opened on both sides and the rear to reveal the company's bevy of offerings. The nimble vehicles simply pulled up to fire and police stations, city halls, etc. and after a quick setup, were ready to market to first responders and maintenance crews. Following the event, they could be back on the road and on to the next location in less than 30 minutes. Out of Sight
Exhibitors typically opt for open-concept booths that make it easy for visitors passing by to identify at a glance what a company is offering. But Luhkee B.V. eschewed this bit of conventional wisdom at Integrated Systems Europe 2023 in Barcelona with a bold and unorthodox gambit. The exhibit's approximately 20-by-20-foot perimeter featured 10 matte black columns that disrupted sight lines into the space and effectively blocked any view of the company's offerings. But that gamble seems to have paid off by rousing the curiosity of show-goers and enticing them inside. Seemingly around each turn, the company artfully mounted its assortment of outlet covers and keypads to the interior sides of the columns or laid them out in white horizonal display boxes. The space felt much more like a small-scale museum than a traditional trade show exhibit, showing that luck – or in this case, Luhkee – often favors the bold. No More Trucks to Give
We're all used to social-media trolls, but Rollo took the concept directly to the trade show floor at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The shipping-solutions company secured a booth directly across from its USPS competitor and rolled in a large purple delivery van. A bold graphic along the side of the van read, "Stop Going to the Post Office," which was clearly visible from just about anywhere inside of the USPS exhibit. The opposite side of the vehicle had copy that said, "Not Owned by Jeff Bezos," a not-so-subtle swipe at Amazon. Although the snarky messaging may not have been everyone's cup of tea, it certainly prompted scores of attendees to snap photos and videos that ended up on social media.