Shake up your space and disrupt the norm

I’m sure most of you are seasoned exhibition goers – either as an attendee or exhibitor. You go to the same events year on year – and so do your competitors. And how many times do you see the same old stands, all doing the same things with nothing much to distinguish one from another? We see it all the time, but we know that with a bit of imagination and innovation, you could offer your visitors an outstanding experience, way beyond their expectations. If your exhibition stands are stuck in a rut, could it be time to shake up your exhibition space and create something much more memorable?

Create a buzz

Of course, you know your products are the best on the market but, whether you are B2B or B2C, you have to get people to your stand – and keep them there – before you can convince them. So, your stand has to offer a different and outstanding experience. It has to create a buzz and get people talking. We often talk about the Power of Moments and this is what a great exhibition stand offers; memorable moments, interactive moments, light bulb moments. It makes people want to get their phones out, snap a load of selfies and share them all over social.

In our latest webinar, Elevate your Exhibitions, we interviewed the team at SharkNinja, a client we have worked with for a few years now. During this time, we have worked hard to evolve their exhibition spaces from the ordinary to the extraordinary. These are the exhibition spaces everyone makes a beeline for.

Buyers are human

Traditional exhibition stands can be quite cold and clinical with whole stands devoted to an obstacle course of appliances. Is this what buyers want? Or do they want you to solve their pain points? What do you actually want to show off? What are the important bits and how can you demonstrate everything in a way that is interesting and engaging to your delegates? How can you get them to experience it in a way that it is relevant to their environment? This takes thought, planning and an understanding of your audience but get it right and you will reap the rewards.

No matter what industry you are in, every exhibition space needs to be fun and interesting, not a soulless corporate clone. Your buyers are human beings so give them an environment that is friendly and inviting. We are great believers in hands-on interaction wherever possible – and that’s what we created alongside SharkNinja.

SharkNinja – shaking up their exhibition space

At their biggest ever exhibition stand, we had to combine Shark, Shark Beauty and Ninja, linked seamlessly in a way that was simple and effortless for the visitor as they worked their way round the stand. The brief was to make the products the interactive heart of the show. Even though this was a B2B exhibition, we wanted the stand to feel like a home. So, we have three comfortable and inviting room sets – a stylish kitchen, a comfy living room and an elegant beauty salon – plus a new product development area. An ultrawide LED screen can be seen across the hall to attract people to the stand. The whole thing is then brought to life with live Ninja cooking demonstrations with influencer chefs, walk-in hair styling appointments in the Shark Beauty salon, and the hands-on chance to test out Shark’s products to your heart’s content.

Interaction is essential

Delegates may only have a few minutes to spend on your stand so you need to find ways to make sure they spend a bit more time, see everything you want them to and not wander off to the stand next door. Interaction is at the heart of creating memorable experiences and keeping a delegates engagement. Let them have a go and get hands on! If your product doesn’t lend itself to that, find other ways for visitors to interact. Event tech has come so far and is much more accessible and affordable than it was even a couple of years ago. Self-guided touchscreens, VR zones, live demonstrations – the list goes on. Think of ways to get your product up close and personal with your customers.

Gamify and give an incentive

The days of tote bag giveaways with pens in them is behind us. Give people an EXPERIENCE. We all love the idea of winning something so why not introduce an element of competition and offer an incentive so that people have to interact with your stand. To make sure delegates visited all areas of the SharkNinja stand, they had to interact and collect a token from each area. They exchanged these for a go on a grab machine to win a prize. People were walking away with flasks, air fryers and wood-fired ovens. They were showing off products all around the exhibition hall and we had a queue right round the stand. Even better, heat map data showed that people were spending an average of around 19 minutes on our stand as opposed to the average 3 minutes.

Offer something no one else does

Let’s work together, get creative and make people want to visit your stand over everyone else’s. Offer something no one else does. Speak to the simplybetter team about how we can make your space stand apart using our expertise in designing and delivering interactive, innovative and engaging exhibitions.

simplybetter  

experts in innovation

At simplybetter, we specialise in disrupting old, traditional approaches to events. We know what it takes to elevate your exhibitions and shake up your exhibition space, so we design and deliver spectacular exhibition stands, harnessing new, innovative ways to create better engagement, to stand out from the crowd and to increase the value of every exhibition you undertake.

Check out our knowledge hub for ideas, inspiration and expert advice on delivering ingenious events and unconventional conventions. If we’ve sparked your interest, get in touch for a chat about your next event – and check out our on-demand webinars for even more amazing inspiration.