Trade shows offer unique value from face-to-face consumer interactions to finding audience members to target with future digital marketing campaigns. One survey found that 99% of businesses found B2B trade shows to be a unique opportunity to meet new clients that were not provided by other marketing channels.
Between free merchandise and live exhibits, trade shows are a great opportunity to increase word-of-mouth marketing campaigns. One study found that, on average, trade show attendees will tell 6 or more people about their experience and the businesses they interacted with.
Of course, not all trade shows are created equally and it’s key to find the right one. Once you find contractor trade shows to attend, you’ll need to decide on the right exhibit and presentation that will make the largest impact. Here, we’re going to outline each different trade show display to help you better understand what might be best for your company.
Crafting the Perfect Trade Show Display
Trade show displays or trade show booths come in all different shapes and sizes. The key is to determine the right trade show display based on your business’s intended goals and also your environment.
A good trade show display features these four qualities:
- Branding: Displays should feature logos, colors, and images consistent with your brand.
- Informative: Displays should seek to alert attendees of an unaddressed problem and outline solutions.
- Impactful: Displays should leave customers in awe, helping them to recall your band at later dates.
- Consistent: Displays should seek to conform to and augment existing marketing campaigns for future value.
There’s two presentation styles to choose from at your display. The first is axis style, which places your product or main presentation at the center of your layout. This is also surrounded by strategic structural elements that sit on the perimeter of the exhibit, allowing people to move through freely. The second is a linear format, which attempts to convey your business’s value statement through storytelling. This could be a via video, live exhibitions, or even theatre.
Now that we have the different styles of presentation understood, we need to come up with the right booth that will fit our message and environment. There are five different displays to choose from that we’ll describe further.
- Portable Display
- Custom Display
- Custom Modular Display
- Prefabricated Modular Display
- Rental Display
Types of Trade Show Displays
Portable Displays
Portable displays are obviously the easiest to set up and take down. This could include everything from pop-up banners to retractable banner stands and branded table covers. If you are running the circuit between multiple trade shows then investing in portable trade show material will be ideal. This is also good for presenters who like to keep a minimalist appearance that focuses solely on the product. There are loads of customization options that can A/B tested at each trade show for impact.
Custom Displays
A custom trade show exhibit is a great way to create an eye-catching display tailored to your brand and message. This essentially entails a top-down design that’s built from scratch to the specific height, length, and width of the booth you’re using. Custom displays are ideal for first time exhibitors or companies announcing a new product or service. Create custom displays based on your audience’s interests, budget, etc. so that you can get the biggest impact at the lowest cost.
Custom Modular Display
Custom modular displays combine the best of both worlds for many exhibitors. They use lightweight, interchangeable materials, such as aluminum and different fabrics, to create custom designs at half of the cost of a custom display. Essentially, they use prefabricated structures, such as counters, walls, and pedestals, with lightweight portable materials that can be customized for each trade show.
This helps save money and has a pretty simple assembly. It combines high quality design with tailor made components that can be used for different booth sizes and trade show settings.
Prefabricated Modular Displays
These pre-assembled displays allow you maintain consistency across trade shows and save money on having to buy new materials for each show. They often feature aluminum building materials for compact design and lightweight storage. These are ideal for first-time exhibitors who can simply construct a display from a base-building kit. They’re also ideal for exhibitors without the need for flashy displays.
Rental Displays
If you don’t intend to attend trade shows often or don’t have the money to purchase a display, you can always rent one. Granted, this will offer little customization options. But this is also ideal for businesses attending multiple trade shows at the same time, businesses with the need for two displays, or businesses with prefabricated displays too big or large for booth specifications.
