Using space appropriately with your product

It is easy to get caught up in the size of your space and the properties you will use to fill it. However, one of the most effective ways to do space planning is to step back and look at your product (or offering or service).

How will your clients and prospects interact with the product? How do you want them to interact? What is the best use of space to display your product?

As they say, white (empty) space has weight. This can be used to your advantage. Why not base your display around your product rather than a display? One of the best recent examples of this is EBAA Iron's island booth at the AWWA show in San Diego.

EBAA has a distinct advantage when considering this approach: their product is large and dominates most any space.

Rick Rackow, the marketing manager in charge of trade shows, really populated the carpeted space with large pipe and arrayed graphics between them. Then hung a visible sign above it all. Straightforward, simple, but eye-catching and workable.

This also uses the space to their advantage in that conference and discussion space is easy to find. Since a large part of their business is relationship based (distributors, resellers and end customers who are government), having meeting spaces became a paramount consideration.

TTSG

Field Report from AWWA

Our colleague, Rick Rackow of EBAA Iron, just completed the American Water Works Association trade show. Here are some of his observations of this year's show:

"Show attendance, according to AWWA, was down only 3% to 6%," he said, "which was surprising."

"Our (EBAA's) traffic was light, considering past shows," Rick reported, "but the traffic we had was of high quality. Many other exhibitors reported the same, while very few said it was (bad)."

While attendance was low overall, some people here (at the show) try to find one cause, Rick said, "I feel it was more of a combination of all causes (economics, etc.)."

Thanks, Rick. Sounds like a theme from others reporting from other industries' shows: lower attendance, but higher quality leads (more buyers). Attendees are becoming increasingly selective.

TTSG