Meeting News - March 24, 2008 - (Page 58)

Live from the Forum @ MeetingNews.com TOPIC: Picking the best location on the trade show ﬂoor W hen choosing a booth as an exhibitor, what are the best (and worst) spots to be for high trafﬁc? —Melissa Anunson, Marketing Specialist University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dept. of Executive Education, Madison, WI Do you have a burning question to ask your peers? Log on to the MeetingNews Forum to get answers fast. meetingnews.com/forum In my opinion, there is no universal answer to this question. The “best” location depends on goals set for the event, the general layout of the exhibit hall, if there are partners/afﬁliates you need to be near or competitors you want to avoid, etc. There is also the reality of what size exhibit booth you have, where your company stands in the priority booth assignment queue, membership or sponsorship status, and similar factors. That being said, being near the front door is not necessarily the advantage most folks believe it is. Sometimes a crowd right inside the door forces attendees to walk past the booths just inside the door. I prefer booths in proven high-trafﬁc areas, which may or may not be near the ﬁrst door. Consider being near a lounge, where complimentary beverages are served mid-morning and mid-afternoon—you are virtually guaranteed good exposure. Or near the lunch/food service area that often functions as an all-day meeting place because there are tables and seating available. Or near the bookstore (if applicable). More important is that wherever your booth is located, you do pre-show marketing. Send out promotional pieces (choose the media that works best for you and your audience) to let people know where you are and what new and exciting products you have to show. Don’t neglect advertising in the show program and show materials or related publications. I am always amazed that so many exhibitors fail to take advantage of free methods of getting their message to attendees. Too many exhibitors show up and hope for foot traffic to find their booths. Considering the major resources committed to participating in a show—booth space rental, travel, hotel and meals, shipping, time out of ofﬁce, time away from home and family—spending a few hundred dollars more to ensure good results seems like a good investment. Tony Maiorino, Senior Director, Expositions & Meetings Scherago International, Jersey City, NJ There are lots of factors; here is my take on some of them. If it’s a new show, there is no history, only speculation. If you are taking a large space, you want a prominent place, up front or on a cross aisle in the middle. Otherwise, you can sign on early and pick what you think is a good spot. Or sign up late and take the best of what’s left after you review the exhibitor list. Are there seminars, food and drink stations, or special areas on the ﬂoor? Is there a common demonstration area? A theater? All those can affect where you want to be. I’ve been to shows where folks thought being beside food stations or next to a bar was great—until their booths were overrun with empty beer bottles and leftover chicken wings. If there is a long line, yes, you get to chat with folks, but remember their focus is on sustenance and not chatter. Consider, too, the noise of other activities and if that will be distracting to your visitors. Pre-show promotion can make or break any exhibiting company at any show. Chances are most of those walking the aisles have not heard of your company, or the market segment you are in, or the particular product or service you are highlighting at the show. If you appear like a ghost out of a swamp, there has to be a really good reason for someone to stop and see you. If you let folks know in advance that you will be at the show—and your booth location—you can advance the sales process. Julia O’Connor, Speaker, Author, Consultant Trade Show Training Inc., Richmond, VA I’ve only been involved in smaller, local shows, but the best results were always on a corner in one of the main aisles/cross sections. Stay away from pillars, trash cans, and bathrooms if you can. No matter where you are located, [the more] inviting and interesting your booth is, the more people will come to it. It kills me to see salespeople sitting behind their six-foot table just waiting for someone to walk up to them. Stacy Weber, Event and Meeting Manager Moss Adams LLP, Seattle Here are our thoughts, based on a standard 10-by-10 booth; this may not apply to those with large booths. We prefer to not be right next to competition, but have no problem being a few booths away or in the same aisle. Aligning next to or near a complementing company has advantages; if your company cannot serve a need, you can escort the attendee to a nearby supplier who can help. It’s easy to do and builds a positive brand [image] about your company’s willingness to help. Being near food or the entrance hasn’t produced better results for us. We ﬁnd being a few aisles in and a few booths deep works best, as it allows trafﬁc to “settle.” Being on the end, near food, or at the entrance creates more distraction than attention. When the attendees are in a dedicated aisle, they have more focused time. Also, attend the educational sessions. Sit in the breakout sessions, eat lunch with anyone but your colleagues, and catch the general session. A) It’s good exposure. B) You learn what’s hot/not and stay in tune with why attendees are there. C) It can prove to be a great conversation piece while in your booth or having lunch with other attendees. Christopher Uschan, Product Marketing Leader Omnipress, Madison, WI MEETING NEWS (ISSN 0145-630X, USPS No.356-010, March 24 2008, Vol. 32, No. 6 is published semi-monthly except for August, which is monthly, by Nielsen Business Media, 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003-9595, tel. 646654-5000. Subscriptions are offered free of charge to individuals actively engaged in planning meetings or conventions in the U.S. and Canada. The cost of a subscription to non-qualiﬁed subscribers is $79 in the U.S. and $95 in Canada (Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40031729). The cost of a foreign subscription, payable in U.S. dollars, is $195. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and additional mailing ofﬁces. MeetingNews is a trademark owned exclusively by Nielsen Business Media. Copyright © 2008 by Nielsen Business Media Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this magazine, in whole or in part, is prohibited unless authorized by the publisher. 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Meeting News - March 24, 2008

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