So you’ve put together a great tradeshow booth. Congratulations! But don’t get too comfortable just yet: it’s not, “If you build it, they will come.” Integrated marketers must give convention-goers a reason to see the booth, help them find it, and then, get them to stay there and engage with you and your brand. Don’t wait until the last minute to consider these tradeshow signage essentials:
Wayfinding Signs and Graphics Wayfinding signs serve two purposes: to help people navigate to your booth, and give you a branding boost. There are so many options that give you creative marketing potential, including floor clings and hanging signs. By interacting with their environment, wayfinding signs can also give you a potential for powerful guerilla marketing. Get guidance from the exhibition hall or tradeshow group as to what is and isn’t allowed first.
And here’s a wayfinding idea that can be done on the cheap, and doesn’t require complicated setup or expensive storage: strategically placed employees wearing brightly colored (but on-brand) t-shirts.
Shelf-talkers If you’ve done your homework ahead of time and promoted your event via social channels, your booth visitors will outnumber your personnel by about 1,000,000 to 1. So your booth should speak and sell itself. Use shelf-talkers to showcase specific products. Keep ‘em short and sweet, like a billboard: the headline should be 10 words or less and highlight the most important product benefit.
Banners Banners are like an extension of your booth design, but with an important difference: banners can guide the conversation and the booth experience. Banners should follow the same rules for in-store signage: use crisp colors, few words, and design them so they can be easily read and understood from 30 feet away.
Lanyards The lanyard isn’t technically a sign, but it is a mini-mobile billboard. At some tradeshows, there may simply be a generic lanyard that promotes that actual show, rather than the vendor. In which case, integrated marketers can consider a customized strap that provides a marketing placement. And they make great swag.
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