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Custom-Trade-Show-Exhibits-SilencerCo

Create the Best Trade Show Booth Design

Creating the best trade show booth design is no small task — there’s a lot to keep in mind. What do you want people to feel when they first walk into your booth? Should they feel cozy and enclosed, or open and free? Do you want to have an on-site meeting space, or will you have a conference room reserved elsewhere? In this article, we’ll take a look at these and other considerations to take into account when creating the best trade show booth design.

Enclosed vs. Open

There are two main types of booth designs: enclosed and open. This is one of the first design element decisions you’ll need to make, and it’s a big one! This will determine the overall feeling of your booth and what the client experiences when they first step into your floor space. We’ll take a look at two trade show booth examples to show you the potential benefits of each style.

Custom-Trade-Show-Exhibits-SilencerCo

SilencerCo Trade Show Booth by mackenzie EXHIBIT

Here we see an enclosed trade show booth by mackenzie EXHIBIT. This particular design won the Best Booth Award at SHOT Show, and it’s easy to see why. This was considered the best trade show booth design because it completely altered the attendee’s experience from the moment they entered the space. All experiential elements were controlled, from the lighting to the flow to the flooring underfoot. An enclosed booth design allows you to create a completely custom experience regardless of the exhibit hall your booth space is located in. This design also ensured that all focus was solely on the products that were displayed — no focus was lost on neighboring booths, loud passersby, or any other distractions.


Trade Show Booth Ideas Zagg 2

ZAGG Trade Show Booth by mackenzie EXHIBIT

On the opposite end of the spectrum is this ZAGG booth design. The objective here was to create a free-flowing space that allowed the attendee to explore at their own pace and leisure. It welcomed flow-through from various angles and had several “pods” of product display spaces, which in turn allowed potential customers to take their time and feel like they had the space to interact with the booth as they liked. The separate counter spaces and open design also enabled ZAGG sales team members to have focused product showcase areas where they could give undivided attention to potential customers.


Enclosed and open booth designs yield very different attendee experiences. Think through the vibe of your company and the experience you want your customers to have before deciding which one of these great design styles to go with.


Meeting Spaces

The trade show floor can be a busy, noisy, and bustling place. Trying to have an important meeting while standing in the aisles is nearly impossible, not to mention unprofessional. It’s crucial to have space for your sales team and product managers to meet with clients and end users, which is why the best trade show booth design should include a dedicated meeting space.

Salewa Trade Show Booth Ideas 3

Salewa Trade Show Booth by mackenzie EXHIBIT

Salewa opted for a meeting space that pulled double duty as both a product display area and an out-of-the-way spot to have focused discussions. Thanks to some clever brainstorming, they also managed to include a backlit wall in their product display which gave the space a warm ambient glow. A meeting space that is adjacent to a product display allows you to easily grab specific products and replace them once the meeting is over, keeping things efficient and effective. A space like this one also clearly says “this is a spot for business” and doesn’t really invite people to loiter around, which helps to keep your day moving along smoothly.


Arcteryx Trade Show Exhibit Ideas 4

Arc’teryx Trade Show Booth by mackenzie EXHIBIT

If your booth space has the room for it, adding a second-story meeting area is a great way to preserve the first floor for product displays while still having plenty of room to meet with clients. A second-story meeting space has a very grand presence about it, which also helps to elevate the perception of your brand as a major player. This type of meeting area feels more like a lounge space and invites people to take a break from the show floor, which is perfect if you want to create a relaxing place to have sit-down discussions. Just be sure to double check the fire codes and exhibit hall guidelines to make sure you’re allowed to build a booth of this height in your particular space.


Product Displays

Product displays can be as unique and varied as the products they contain. Do you want to replicate an in-store shopping experience? Are your products small and expensive and need to be secured? Versatile trade show booth design companies like mackenzie EXHIBIT can craft a product display to suit your exact needs.

Custom Trade Show Display Suunto

Suunto Trade Show Booth by mackenzie EXHIBIT

Suunto watches are in-demand, have a higher price point, and are very portable — all of this combines to make them something that can easily “walk away” during a busy trade show. To cut down on the risk of product loss during the show, Suunto opted for a product display case that fully enclosed the products while still clearly showcasing them at every angle. A standalone case such as this one can be easily incorporated into any trade show booth design and allows attendees to get a great look at your products without sticky fingers becoming an issue.


Trade Show Booth Ideas Neve

Neve Trade Show Booth by mackenzie EXHIBIT

Neve clothing wanted a product display that pulled double duty — they needed to show their products on mannequins while also creating an in-store vibe with their booth space. For all wearables, it’s crucial to show various ways in which a customer can use the products while also allowing potential clients to browse through a large volume of items. Displaying everything on mannequins isn’t an efficient use of space, so here we combined the mannequin method with an on-the-rack display to simulate a shopping experience. This product display allowed for the greatest use of space while still effectively showcasing a wide range of designs.


Creating the Best Trade Show Booth Design

There isn’t a single cookie cutter answer for how to create the best trade show booth design — it all comes down to your company’s booth space, product requirements, and, most importantly, how you want attendees to feel when they enter your booth. Luckily, by teaming up with an experienced trade show booth design company such as mackenzie EXHIBIT, you’ll have access to decades of experience in best practices for how to create a stunning booth display.

To make sure you’ve crossed the t’s and dotted the i’s on your trade show booth design, head over to our article about the Top 5 Most Overlooked (But Crucial) Booth Elements.


Ready to get started or have some more detailed questions on the booth design process? Give us a call at 801-621-7500 or email us here.

Preparing for a Trade Show: 4 Crucial Steps

The weeks leading up to a trade show can be exhilarating, stressful, easy, sleep-deprived, or completely relaxed. Every business experiences the preparation stage a little differently. But pretty much anyone who’s exhibited will tell you there is one running constant for every brand at every show: blink once, and the week of the event sneaks right up on you. And if your massive laundry list of to-do items is still massive when the show must go on tomorrow, this means trouble.

We know from experience that there are a few steps you can never skip when preparing for a trade show. These steps will give you the best chance of success and the clearest line of sight to help you see show day from a mile away.

Start Early

When it comes to getting your people ready for a trade show, it’s almost impossible to start too early. Your first steps should include analyzing whether this trade show is the best for your business, and then quickly booking the booth space, starting on the budget, and booking travel if necessary. These steps should be taken care of at a minimum of six months in advance. From there, the show should be kept on the forefront of everyone’s minds – all employees should be part of the process somehow from the very beginning.

Get Organized

Your accountant isn’t the only person that has to have an eye for organization. Keep yourself tidy and task however you can, whether that be mapping out your own task spreadsheet spanning from now until the show, or something small like reorganizing your desk to be able to withstand the influx of trade show product and print materials without becoming overwhelming. At the very least you should create a company-wide comprehensive schedule tracking all timelines and clearly marking every deadline to communicate clearly how you expect to be ready by showtime. Also pay special attention to make sure all exhibit materials are scheduled for a timely delivery — you really don’t want to deal with extra delivery fees once the show has started, so prior planning is key.

Clarify Goals

Company-wide organization is also important for making sure everyone is on the same page when it comes to motive and intention. You have your own reason for choosing to attend this show, but your team might not be aware of it and steer things in a different direction. Start a conversation that addresses the really important questions: Why this show and not another? Who are you targeting and what kind of action do you want them to take? What will have made the show a “success” in your mind? The answers will guide both your team and your exhibit design heavily.

Advertise

Right around the time you’re booking your spot at the show, make sure your customers (and potential customers) know you’ll be attending the show and what they can expect. A couple of months in advance is a great time to announce giveaways, contests, and tease any major launches you have planned for showtime. As long as you stay on top of your advertising efforts and give your target audience time to plan, you’ll be in a good spot and see better attendance because of it.

 

There are lots of things you can do right off the bat to prepare your company and yourself for a great trade show run. Starting with these will help you (and help us help you) design a killer booth and sow the seeds for a strong presence and flawless execution. If you’d like to get started today, contact us by phone at 1-877-381-9133 (EXT 3), or email us at carmin@nullmackenzie-exhibit.com.