We have seen a lot of trends developing late in 2013 that will impact Trade Shows in 2014. Here are the Top Three
1. Bigger Booth Space
Starting in Q3 2013 many customers started to plan for a "bigger" presence at their 2014 trade shows. Most common has been the upgrade from 10 x 20 displays to 20 x 20 island exhibits. An island exhibit is a very smart upgrade for large inline exhibitors. Other than the cost of the floor space most of the associated costs only increase marginally and some costs don't increase at all. An island space provide a lot more impact for the dollar. The biggest advantage is the height restriction. Inline displays have a strict height restriction of 8' in the back and only 4' toward the front of your space. Island spaces almost always allow exhibitors to exceed 16' in height and many venues can support 20' tall exhibits.
2. Space Draw Participation
Booth space location on the show floor plan has become the 2nd most important factor that our clients have been concerned with for 2014 and beyond. Many exhibitors are reluctant to book their space for next year during the "space draw" process that takes place at most trade shows because they are either waiting to see how the show performed or believe that they may get a lower cost for the space later. The majority of our customers are planning to participate in the space draw process at their 2014 events with the hopes of garnering better locations for the following year.
3. Social Media Integration
By now everyone is aware of the value of social media as a part of their marketing efforts and what better way to leverage the power of social media than at a live event. Our customers are adding tablets and ipads to their exhibits to allow real-time interaction and sign ups in the booth. Simple tools such as social media aggregators allow exhibitors to easily display tweets, posts and any social media interaction on a large screen in the booth. This causes an increase in the number of attendees who follow, like and post about the exhibitor simply to see their post or tweet show up on the big screen. Most of these show attendees will continue to be a fan or follower of the exhibitor long after the show. Considering these attendees are truly the exhibitors target audience there is no better method that we are aware of to improve your social media efforts than through trade show interactions and promotions.
For more information on this or any trade show marketing related subject you can contact the author (Joe Bottone) through his company website www.CDSdisplays.com
