Hanging signs are staples on trade show floors. Most exhibitors use them to maximize the display’s height and make the company name visible from a distance. Obviously this is all fundamentally vital, but truly successful exhibits incorporate hanging signs that do even more. Are you wasting their potential by just plopping them on top of your exhibit as simple identifiers? Make them a part of your visitors’ experience to ramp up their effectiveness.
Define Your Space
The wide open spaces of a trade show floor create distractions for visitors inside your booth. Your hanging sign can help narrow their focus by contributing to a sense of enclosure. Most people like structure, and your exhibit from top to bottom offers an opportunity to fill that need by defining your space on the floor. That doesn’t mean it can’t imply more than just a wall; designers are adept at incorporating psychological triggers that can help keep visitors’ attention on your offering.
Name—or Benefit?
Imagine having an eye-catching billboard facing a captive audience. Hanging signs (and the often neglected area just under them) can work just as hard as any marketing tool. With that opportunity, is it the best choice to put nothing but your name on your hanging sign? Or should you take advantage of the opportunity to put your best foot forward in the form of clearly stating the benefit of your offering on your hanging sign? Attendees are looking for solutions to their problems; use this space to tell them how you do that very thing.
Move Them Along
Consider the concept of a funnel for your booth design. The hanging sign represents the top of the funnel, where you grab visitors’ attention with a strong benefit. Now that you’ve caught their eye, the 12-16 foot level is a great place to move them further into the funnel. EDE believes in the sales value of the middle ground in exhibits – are you taking full advantage of it?
What are some other ways you can make your hanging sign an actual part of the booth experience?
Use Layers and Height to Create Impact
Coway’s exhibit structures were below 10’ in height but with the addition of a hanging sign and its four sections, the booth’s overall height became impactful. Large pillars in the front of the exhibit were also used for rear projection to create an enormous display. By thinking about the overall picture, the hanging signs helped evolve the space into one with more substance and statement.
Use Structure to Capture – and Keep – Attention
Two 30’ wide x 10’ tall structures with backlit lettering showed the entire show floor where Toyoda was within the hall, but the truly special aspect was the 8’ drape behind. The fringe-like look encompassed the space with a softer feeling and created an informal barrier to keep attendees’ attention within the space rather than outside of it, especially on the second level of its double deck structure.
Direct Leads Straight to Your Staff
While the basic outline of Rapid Display’s signs starts generic, the use of layers, size, and placement was thoughtfully planned. The innermost sign’s position over a principal meeting desk of mirroring size and shape subliminally directed visitors right to booth staff. To further develop this function, the signs’ centralized lighting was carefully planned to draw in visitors like moths to a flame.
The right design can make vertical space an integral part of your exhibit. Properly used, hanging signs can be a strong sales tool while influencing attendees’ behavior. But a circular or one-dimensional sign disjointedly hanging above an exhibit isn’t the way to do that. Talk to your exhibit designers and explore options that work for your brand.
EDE creates personalized trade show exhibits that drive leads and sales. Do you need a new perspective for your next trade show booth?
