 With a company name like Ricky’s Candy, Cones & Chaos, ordinary exhibit seating simply won’t do. That’s why the company opted for ice-cream-cone-shaped seats at the 2006 International Franchise Expo. Combined with the booth’s sherbet-toned hues, the seats instantly conveyed the candy-coated flavor of the company, allowing attendees to almost taste the delicious franchise possibilities.
How do you communicate that your new shipping service is “fast as hell”? If you’re Dynamic Parcel Distribution, you hijack attendees in the airport and whisk them off to their hotels in Porsche 911s. DPD targeted attendees at the 2007 German Logistics Convention in Berlin, most of which were departing from five major German airports. Positioned at the gates of Berlin-bound flights the night before and the morning of the show’s opening day, DPD reps asked travelers whether they were attending the convention. If so, the rep explained DPD’s new “fast as hell” delivery service and the similarly fast shuttle service they could win if they provided their business cards and took a brochure. As attendees boarded their planes, reps drew a business card or two, and relayed the winners’ names  to DPD reps at the Berlin airport, who then met the winners’ flights and offered them a ride in the Porsche to their hotel. DPD provided “fast as hell” service to 71 people, while reps talked to roughly
1,500 executives —
500 more than
DPD’s goal.
 Bell Canada Enterprises Inc. was tired of hiring temporary workers who knew little about its products to staff its booths. So rather than continue to outsource staffing, the Canadian communications company created The Bell Ambassador Volunteer Program, which allows employees who have been with Bell for at least a year to apply to staff the company’s booth. Those interested in volunteering must be endorsed by their immediate supervisor, are subjected to a panel interview by Bell’s top execs, and must take part in training sessions throughout the year. Only the crème de la crème are invited to staff Bell’s booths, and the training ensures booth staffers are prepared to make the most of the company’s presence at shows. As a result of the rigorous application and selection process, staffing the booth is viewed less as a chore and more as an honor. Instead of outsourcing booth staffing — or dragging unmotivated salespeople to shows — motivated employees who appreciate the opportunity to travel and represent Bell are applying in record numbers to become Ambassadors.
 Demonstrating a glow-in-the-dark product isn’t easy on a well-lit trade show floor. But Clearneon Inc. successfully dimmed the lights in its 10-by-20-foot booth at the 2007 International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions Expo in Orlando, FL. To demo its transparent neon paint, which can be applied to walls, faces, and other surfaces and only becomes visible when exposed to black light, Clearneon built a small dark room inside its booth that featured black lighting and a plastic window facing the aisle. Each morning of the four-day show, staffers painted their faces with the product, creating colorful circles and stars and playful designs that were invisible in normal light. Inside the booth, staffers stepped into and out of the black-light equipped room, repeatedly revealing and concealing the artwork on their faces. In an “ah”-inducing glance, the light bulb went on over attendees’ heads as they immediately understood the product and its oh-so-cool effects.
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 Anybody can create a product display, but creating one that makes attendees stop and muse takes an artist’s flair. In its exhibit at Coverings 2007, Orchid Ceramics Inc. showed off its fine-arts finesse — not to mention its latest line of etched tile — by treating each tile like an individual work of art. Orchid created four small living-space showrooms in its booth and displayed framed tiles like mini masterpieces. Exhibited much like a priceless Van Gogh — complete with picture lights — the tile art not only made attendees pause and ponder, it challenged them to re-sculpt their image of tile as nothing more than baked clay.
 When the Public Library Association chose Minneapolis as the location for its 2008 show, 3M Co. knew exactly how to draw attendees to its booth — and to the Spoonbridge and Cherry fountain that often serves as the city’s unofficial symbol. Prior to the show, 3M sent attendees a fold-over postcard with the recipient’s address on one side and big black letters practically screaming: “How do you fit a 7,000 lb. spoon-and-cherry fountain into a carry-on?” The inside of the card invited pre-registered attendees to stop by 3M’s booth to pick up a portable image of the fountain — found in a complimentary book about the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, which is home to the iconic giant sculpture. With roughly 50 percent of postcard recipients visiting 3M’s booth at the show, its spoon-and-cherry tactic was anything but the pits.
 With more than 250 staff members working the Astec Industries Inc. exhibit at the 2008 ConExpo-Con/Agg show in Las Vegas, just keeping track of employees’ stuff is a daunting task. So Astec management took a lesson from their high school days and brought in lockers that employees could secure with their own padlocks. The scholastic strategy meant Astec’s exhibit remained uncluttered by employees’ bags and swag, and gave staff peace of mind about the safety of their belongings.
What's The Big Idea?
Do you have a clever exhibit-related tip? Did your last exhibit have an über-cool traffic builder?
Contact Janet Van Vleet [email protected].
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