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How To Zig When Everyone Is Zagging

You probably want to make your trade show exhibit more unique and interesting, and do something memorable that makes an impression on show visitors.

We all do. That’s the only way we’re going to get traffic off the aisles and into our trade show booths.

But if you’ve been doing the same thing for a long time, how can you make a case for doing something different?

The trade show exhibiting industry isn’t exactly known for innovative thinking. Many companies get stuck in a rut, having done the same thing the same way for years. Unfortunately, if you’ve heard any of these statements before, you may be in the rut next to them:

1) It worked last year.
2) This is how it’s always been done.
3) This is how the competition does it.

It may be true that, at some time in the past, the things you’re doing now did work well (or at least better). But these days, that ingrained thinking can get in the way of incorporating new ideas, new approaches or even a new design.

But how do you make your trade show exhibit more unique when others in your company are still stuck in that rut?

As the legendary baseball manager Yogi Berra said, “When you come to the fork in the road, take it.” A change of direction is absolutely necessary. It’s the key to making your next trade show exhibit more unique, distinctive, different and memorable. When everyone else is doing something one way (or “the old way” or “the tried and true way”), you’ve got to try something novel in order to stand out.

This can be difficult unless we train ourselves to look for another right answer. By that I don’t mean just going with the first idea that could work. This requires something called “sideways thinking”, or getting outside of that infamous “box”. Taking an uncommon look at your trade show booth and your goals can give your display new life, and maybe even a new look.

Here are five ways to make your trade show exhibit more unique and interesting:

1) Make it bigger
What part of your product can you enlarge in some way to show more detail, or simply make it more eye catching? I’ve seen a microchip manufacturer enlarge the size of their miniscule chip, printing it on the flooring of their exhibit. There was no way you could miss the product. All staffers had to do was walk you through their exhibit to point out what made their product great.

2) Make it smaller
Can you create a model of your plant or one of your processes? This could provide an overview visitors couldn’t have seen in your exhibit otherwise. Sure, it’s been done before, but maybe not in your industry. And certainly not with your product. Right? Focusing in on some aspect of your product can leave an indelible impression in visitors’ minds.

3) Put it in jeopardy
How can you put your product in a precarious or dangerous situation? Lexan did this memorably years ago with a sheet of their incredibly strong clear plastic material. The sheet was mounted in a frame, across from a very large slingshot, loaded with a bowling ball. During product demos, a booth staffer would release the slingshot, firing the bowling ball at the acrylic panel. Amazingly, there was no damage to the plastic.

4) Put it in an unusual location
Where can you display your product so people will see it in a completely different way? One year at the Auto Show, Volkswagen mounted one of their cars on a huge skewer, spearing the vehicle from bumper to bumper. The car could be raised and lowered, and rotated so a product demonstrator could easily point out all the car’s unique features.

5) Make it more visual
This one requires incorporating a metaphor of some kind. When a phone company was introducing the first fiber optic cables years ago, they used a towering stack of hardcover novels (teetering in the middle of their trade show exhibit) as a metaphor for delivering information over those cables. During the product demo, the staffer explained that a single fiber optic cable—just the width of a human hair—could transmit every word on every page of every one of those books from coast to coast in the blink of an eye!

Taking this zigzagging approach to exhibiting is more important the more mature your industry is. As time passes, companies get stuck doing the same thing over and over again, because that’s just the way it’s done. You’ve got to think in uncommon ways to make your trade show exhibit more unique and call attention to your exhibit in a sea of sameness.

Can you use “sideways thinking” to create a unique and memorable approach for exhibiting your product or your brand? Hopefully these ideas will help you find that fork in the road.

For more, check out whether or not to skip your next trade show or check out our guide to trade show service manuals.

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We love working with people who think about trade show exhibiting in unusual ways. That’s how we think about creating modular, pop up and portable trade show booths, as well as creative and compelling display graphics. Here at American Image Displays, we’ll “zig” right along with you. If that’s the kind of partner you’re looking for, give us a call at 800-676-EXPO or email [email protected].