#tradeshowtrends

[panacheexhibitions]

7 Trade Show Trends You Need to Incorporate in 2019

If you are looking for some inspiration for your next trade show booth here are the top trends of this year.

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[8thdiamond]

A Look at Exhibit Trends from EXHIBITORLIVE 2019

Each year, trends shift in the exhibit world. Some times the changes are dramatic, other times they continue a previous established trajectory. Here’s a look at trade show trends I noted on the show floor at EXHIBITORLIVE 2019.

EXHIBITORLIVE 2019 Exhibit Hall. 

Exhibit Houses Advertising Trade Show Measurement

Exhibit measurement is nothing new. The legendary Skip Cox founded Exhibit Surveys in 1963 and created the field, setting standards for our industry. Others followed in his footsteps, and the rise of technology continues to put the ability to measure into more and more hands. I must say, though, I’ve never seen more exhibit houses advertising trade show measurement than on the show floor at EXHIBITORLIVE 2019. No doubt this is a response to Freeman’s acquisition of Exhibit Surveys three years ago.  Several exhibit houses emphasized and even illustrated that they can help clients measure results. GES in particular made measurement its focus this year, supported by a custom tailoring theme. Their theme reached beyond the show floor to the sessions -- Dave Frazer, Manager of Research and Analytics at GES was co-presenter of “Optimize Program Performance: How Illumina Prioritizes Shows and Drives Results.”  

GES made use of a tailoring theme, with tape measures and dressmaking forms, to call attention to trade show measurement.   Dave Frazer, Manager of Research and Analytics at GES, speaks to visitors. Dave was co-presenter of “Optimize Program Performance: How Illumina Prioritizes Shows and Drives Results.”   @GESGlobal

The GES booth headers called out  “The Bespoke Experience” “A Pattern for Success” and “On the Cutting Edge.” @GESGlobal 

GES did more than present a strong theme of measurement. They also won the Best of Show Best Booth Staff Award for EXHIBITORLIVE 2019!

The Exhibitus booth had a “Good Measure: Analytics Made Easy” message with a cooking theme. @exhibitusinc

Zone motion measurement. (A little branding would help here.)

Greater Emphasis on Lighting and Changing Colors, as  Dramatic Elements of Booth Design

For the past twenty years lighting has become increasingly important in both architecture and interior design. Exhibit design tends to follow architectural and interior design trends, so greater and more prominent use of lighting and changing color in trade show displays is not surprising. The appearance of a booth can be easily and inexpensively changed by lighting and flat screen displays.

Lights changed color at the TLL Top LED Lumination booth. @TExhibits

Makitso booth. @MakitsoDisplays

Colors and patterns changed on the beMatrix booth. @beMatrixUSA

Booths Framed by Large, Open Geometric Shapes

This open booth trend, often featuring a series of geometric shapes, remains strong.

The Trade Group booth featured an open booth with geometric shapes.

Attention-grabbing light and open, geometric shapes showcased trade show flooring!

Big, bold Highmark booth. @HighmarkTechSystems

Matrix Frame USA made use of light and open, geometric shapes, along with “hand written” look writing, as if the walls were whiteboards. I noticed lots of white booths this year, even for booths not utilizing color lighting. 

Aluvision used light, squares, and other shapes to define its exhibit space.

The Rounded Cube

The retro-inspired rounded cube has been around for the past few years, but it is getting even more popular.

The EXHIBITORLIVE Meeting Point Lounge made use of the rounded cube. @EXHIBITOR

The rounded cube trend was found throughout the Event Architecture booth. The black really made this elegant exhibit stand out! @eventarchus

ExhibitForce booth with interlocking rounded cube shapes. @EXHIBITFORCE

Lots of White and Soft Neutral Tones

For all of the changing color and light on the show floor, they were a lot of white booths, along with many soft neutral tones. White was popular even with booths that were not changing their colors with light. 

As I mentioned, interior design trends influence trade show displays, and the white and soft neutral look described my suite at The Delano. (The rooms were VERY white.)

Aisle-Spanning Booths

I also noticed booths that span aisles, causing people walking down an aisle to walk through a booth. This not a brand new technique but one that resurfaces, and I noticed at least two booths employing it at the show this year.

[8thdiamond]

EXHIBITORLIVE 2017 Highlights, Part I

EXHIBITORLIVE 2017 in Las Vegas was excellent! I thoroughly enjoyed the conference.

Highlights included: 

*   Celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Certified Trade Show Marketer program. Long-time instructors and staff (some original to the program) were honored at the CTSM dinner. (More details later!)

*   The debut of 45 minute sessions. The 90-minute session remains the conference staple, but now some topics are offered in the shorter format.

Exhibit Hall Trends:

*   Color – bright color – that stood out so strongly last year continues to figure prominently on the show floor. Even the new welcome signs incorporated many-hued photo collages. (Booth designs reflect trends in architecture and interior design, and even a long-time Mandalay Bay fixture has undergone a colorful transformation. See the photo below.)

*  Wood and wood-look booths were a very strong emerging trend. (I even saw lattice, which has not been featured for decades!)

·  Some fun, integrated marketing campaigns that tied booth theme and activities together. (I’ll showcase a few examples separately.)

On the way to the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, various restaurants have occupied this corner space, adorned with sculptures of sections of a woman’s body. Previously, the sculptures were white or neutral in tone, and set closer to the floor. (Many a tourist has posed for photos here.) The latest incarnation is an establishment called “Libertine Social.” The sculptures have been raised further up the wall, painted, and incorporated into a bird-shaped mural. This renewed emphasis on color continued into the Exhibit Hall area.

New signage, with colorful photo collages. (I like the color but darker outlining or increased background contrast would help readability.)

Conference signs, including the “Program at a Glance” display, featured color and photo images of EXHIBITOR/EXHIBITORLIVE over the years,.

The bright orange and white IMPACT booth featured a fun theme. More on that soon.

Highway 85. @Hwy8Creative. Excellent inline booth! They won the “Best New Exhibitor” award. (Details in the next post.)

Brumark.  @brumarkflooring

Brumark.  @brumarkflooring

DesignShop.  @TeamDesignShop

DesignShop’s light bulb theme included lighting, with a touch of beautiful color. @TeamDesignShop

Red Smith Graphic Solutions.   @RedSmithGS

Nimlok. @nimlok. This booth won the  “Best Island Exhibit” award in the 600-1,000 square foot category as part of the 2017 Portable/Modular Awards.

mg.  @MGDesignAssoc, Winner of the “Best Booth Staff” Award.

Apex Exhibit.

Group Delphi. @groupdelphi.

J & S Technologies

Eco Systems Sustainable Exhibits,  @Eco_Systems1

Derse.   @DerseInc

2020 Exhibits.@2020Exhibits.

Exhibit Concepts.  @exhibitconcepts

Freeman. @FreemanCo

Nomadic.  @NomadicDisplay

GES.   @GESGlobal

Skyline Exhibits. @SkylineExhibits. Winner of the “Best of Show - Large Booth” award.

[4imprintlearningcenter]

For all the details, please visit: http://info.4imprint.com/blue-paper/trending-trade-show-displays-part-2/

Phase two of this two-part Blue Paper discusses marketing ideas and methods to help effectively reach your intended audience. Ideas and tips include pre-show strategies that include building a targeted list, launching direct mail campaigns, supplying perks to key targets, post-show follow up, engagement activities, and more!

In this paper, you will learn how to drive your best clients and prospects to your trade show booth—and make the visit worthwhile to both the attendees and your company. Strategies to create personalized experiences before, during and after a trade show will also be explored.