1. Common Custom Trade Show Mistakes
A great deal of effort, time, and money goes into designing and planning a custom trade show
exhibit. As a company showcasing your talents to prospective clients and partners, you want
everything at the event to be perfect.
Unfortunately, errors do happen. But your trade show experience need not be ruined by
common mistakes; mishaps are easily avoidable when you are prepared and attentive. Below
are several points to consider for your next custom trade show.
Going Overboard with Your Exhibit Space Design
Some companies may believe that empty space is bad in an exhibit. They then proceed to fill up
the area with unnecessary equipment, custom structures, or media they do not really need in
order to make the exhibit seem very full.
This presents several problems: you could actually discourage traffic to your exhibit booth, or
you might overwhelm visitors with too much information. Your custom exhibit should give
visitors a taste of what your company has to offer, but it shouldn't throw a lot of irrelevant
information at them.
The appropriate amount of open space can be helpful in an exhibit. The space allows visitors to
easily walk around and observe products or presentations, and your employees have room to
engage in one-on-one discussions with an interested party. Excessive displays or objects that
are not helpful to your presentation could be perceived as distracting clutter.
Being Unprepared for the Trade Show
If a company is completely unprepared for a custom trade show, it will likely be obvious to
attendees and greatly impact leads. Considering how much effort and money companies invest
in shows, an unprepared team can lead to many missed opportunities.
Arrange for the exhibit to arrive early at the venue, perhaps even a few days in advance or
according to the guidelines of that event. Sometimes unforeseen setbacks occur that cause
delays, like poor weather or shipping delays. You need to allow plenty of time for your exhibit to
be set up, and there is less stress involved if your contractors are not pushing installation to the
final minute. To avoid these potential problems, ship your custom exhibit early and work with a
team of experienced trade show booth designers who offer installation.
2. Your staff manning the booth should be ready and knowledgeable about your products and
understand the flow of the exhibit. A rookie employee who is unable to converse with customers
easily is not an ideal choice for the booth team.
Simple reminders are important to make sure all necessary materials are not forgotten,
including printed brochures or flyers, give-away promotional items, and even something as
simple as business cards.
An Inconsistent Trade Show Exhibit
A custom trade show exhibit should creatively and effectively display your brand and what your
company has to offer. It should feature designs and accessories that match your company’s
goals and interests in order to provide a unique and consistent feel to anyone that walks by.
Adding things that don’t necessarily belong might not be a good idea. Media and music is a
good way to provide immersion, but if the content does not match your message, it might be
confusing and off-putting. To avoid this, plan in advance what you want to do and consult with a
custom exhibit design company to see what works best.
Businesses should also avoid last-minute changes. Custom exhibits that are thoughtfully
designed and constructed with your company’s brand in mind will look sloppy if someone tries to
make a haphazard last-minute adjustment. If other companies have features at their booth that
yours does not, such as interactive displays or media content, don’t panic. Make a note of what
you like and consider it for next time, but focus on your current exhibit. Work with what you
have, and never forget that there is always another chance with the next trade show.
Mistakes do not always result in an unsuccessful trade show. However, avoiding these
problems will put you more at ease so you can focus on spreading your brand and building
relationships with trade show attendees.
About Imagecraft Exhibits
Imagecraft is a full-service manager and designer/fabricator of both custom and rental trade
show exhibits. We also design and execute Real Estate Sales & Marketing Centers, provide
custom commercial millwork, retail fixtures, and unique permanent installations for showrooms
and museum-quality exhibits. Headquartered in Austin, Texas with a sales team and second
warehouse in Dallas, and a commercial millwork operation in Tolar, Imagecraft serves a wideranging clientele that includes Fortune 500 companies, builders, developers, and municipalities.
Learn more at www.imagecraftexhibits.com.
