How You Can Make an Exhibition Successful in 7 Easy Steps

Exhibitions are key to gaining exposure and connections with potential customers. They need to be dynamic, practical, visually compelling and memorable. Because of this, they take a lot of preparation.

exhibition

We’ve created seven key steps when it comes to how to make an exhibition successful.

Set Your Goals
Pick a Desirable Venue or Space
Research Your Competitors
Get the Word Out
Create Helpful Promotional Material
Design a Great Display
Utilise Innovative Technology

1. Set Your Goals

To pull off a successful exhibition, you first need to identify your goals and expectations.

What are you exhibiting? What are you trying to say or do through your exhibition? These are the first questions you need to answer. By doing this, you can determine some goals you’d like to aim for. For example, you could choose to focus on these things as variables to measure:

Attendance count.
Social media mentions/connections.
Return on investment.
Number of contacts created.
Conversions (the number of prospects turned into customers).
Promotional material distributed.

An exhibition can chase one variable or a number of them combined, but remember to keep them realistic. You could look to sell a specific product, gain new clients or simply network. By creating goals, you’re providing yourself with a building block that the rest of the exhibition can be built around.

2. Pick a Desirable Venue or Space

When creating or participating in an exhibition, location is key. When choosing a venue, pick a place that’s appropriate for the event. If you get the chance to hire an architecturally-impressive building, even better. Here are some essential things to consider:

Space size and square footage.
Fire exits.
Disabled access.
Free WiFi to improve the guest experience.
Decoration.
Location.
Local parking options.

If you’re a company setting up a space within a predetermined event, there are separate issues you need to consider. The first is how much space you’re allocated for your display. This directly determines the size of your floorplans and any stands, podiums, tensionpix, flooring, lightboxes or any other exhibition-relevant display items.

Directly contact the venue owners and the organisation putting on the event. Ask about the space you’ve been allocated or whether you can request a specific spot. It’s also worth asking if they can send you any pictures of the event space which you can use as reference points to design your floor plan and display.

Exhibiting at an event usually requires you to register around six months before it takes place. The best way to secure a place with the right amount of traffic is to register as soon as possible. This is the point where you can determine a relevant exhibition budget for printed items and other material.

3. Research Your Competitors

Are there any organisations that offer similar products and services? Doing this research will give you a good chance to plan and anticipate, making sure it’s your display that grabs the attention of attendees. Consider these questions when doing your research:

What products and services are competitors displaying?
How have they exhibited their work in the past?
Have they used any specific marketing techniques to draw crowds?
Have they ever used any interactive technology such as tablets or projection mapping?

This step is all about refining your strategy so that you can truly make an impact. It’s also a good chance to start networking with other businesses. Communication before and during an event is a great way of drawing crowds from one display to the next.

4. Get the Word Out

The next step is to start creating some buzz within your industry.

If you have a dedicated social media following, use it. Advertise that you’ll be attending this event and invite the people who like your page on Facebook. Talk about it on Twitter, Instagram and retweet posts about the event and communicate with relevant accounts. The more impressions your social media gains, the better.

You should also utilise your company website and email to promote the event. Create a dedicated page on your site about the exhibition, what an attendee can expect and how they can benefit by coming.

Joining in the conversation in these various ways helps to increase the interest of anyone likely to attend.

5. Create Helpful Promotional Material

Promotional material covers everything from flyers, leaflets, signage, photo wallpapers and Point of Sale (POS) displays.

exhibition Image Credit: Eventbrite

Promotional material helps an attendee to remember details about your products, services and content information after the event has ended. Larger promotional material will help draw people’s eyes to your exhibition display and are a key addition when trying to make a successful exhibition.

Promotional material can also offer practical use for attendees. Why not create pens, USBs or tote bags with your branding on? They’re useful and act as long-lasting advertising, so they’re very cost-effective.

As most exhibitors will be handing out promotional material, the more creative yours is – the better.

6. Design a Great Display

Without a visually captivating display, you won’t achieve the results you were expecting.

Creating an amazing exhibition display is the perfect way of promoting your business, service or products – but it can take a lot of effort. The best way to get the most out of your ideas is to work with a dedicated event specialist so unique designs, striking visuals and engaging displays can be produced.

Aim for individuality within your display. Develop a theme that fits with your branding and identify what you can gain from that. Will you use innovative lighting? How about large promotional banners? Your logo, taglines and slogans need to be large to create a lot of impact.

Also, think of the practicality of your display. What will the floor plan look like? Where will you position your stands and other display items to create an easy flow within your display? Don’t clutter your space with lots of items. The best spaces are achieved by creating display stands that have a lot of practical uses. They could include shelves for promotional material, images and text and even tablets for interactive use or video.

Also, you might want to include these features so that your exhibition is an enjoyable and helpful space for anyone participating:

Wireless charging station.
Printed floor graphics with directions.
Places to sit.
Picture booth.
Offer freebies.
Hold competitions.

Each of these creates an environment that people actively want to spend time in.

7. Utilise Innovative Technology

Finally, consider incorporating innovative technology to really set your exhibition apart. Video, music or even virtual reality can be used to create a distinct and memorable impression.

One technology that will really create some interest is projection mapping. This is where video and imagery is projected onto various 3D surfaces. Projection mapping creates unique, ever-changing branded surfaces to entice attendees into your space. There are several things to consider when deciding on projection mapping:

What are you going to project?
How many projectors will you need?
How much will it cost?
Can I do it myself?

Here’s a great example of how projection mapping can be the main attraction of a successful event.

To make the most of projection mapping for an event, you’re going to need a detailed guide. Luckily, we’ve got just the information for you.

Explore Projection Mapping For Your Events

Projection mapping is a unique technology and can take your exhibitions to the next level. Download our helpful guide to discover what types of projection mapping there are, how it can be utilised and what to consider when setting it up.

Click the link below to get started.