20×30 feet at a trade show sounds like a lot of room…at least that’s what we thought when we first started, but that space disappears almost immediately.
See, the hard part about renting a larger booth is that you’ll feel like you have more options than you do. For instance, with a larger booth, you can set up a wrap-around display wall or open up a pop-up store. You can even set up a miniature obstacle course where interested people have to compete for swag prizes.
However, the large and complicated display possibilities you have to work with will be hard to transport, and they’ll take forever to set up unless you plan correctly.
What are the key elements you need to keep in mind when putting together your 20×30 trade show booth? Keep reading to learn more!
How to Make Sure Your Bold Presentation is Hitting Its Marks
As we like to say, booths are all about branding and not just about presence. After all, you could have the best, most exotic booth design ever and no one would leave knowing your name because you didn’t brand yourself properly.
That’s why we came up with a few general guidelines you should follow to maximize space inside your booth.
- Make sure your idea aligns with your brand. For example, a Space X booth would be space-themed, you would set up a booth for Staples like an office, etc…
- Your branding should feel obnoxious to you, the presenter. You’re at a trade show. Everyone expects you to have your logo, phone number, and business cards in every nook and cranny you can find. Even if you find your promotion exhausting, the people who visit your booth probably won’t.
- Set up your booth for easy access. In most tradeshows, attendees will only have access to one or (maybe) two sides of your booth. With that in mind, set up your booth to be as welcoming to potential clients as possible.
- Avoid crowding your booth. Remember, the most critical thing to have in your booth is people. You should have one, maybe two attractions to catch attention and to save space for clients, that’s it. Avoid overcrowding your space above all else.
- Set Your Booth Up to Funnel People to You. Even though you don’t want to overcrowd your booth, you also need to provide your potential prospects some structured flow so that they can talk to you easily. With that in mind, structure your booth to direct clients to you without making them feel constricted.
That’s a decent bit of information to keep in mind, but that’s okay! The more you commit these rules to memory and practice consciously setting up your space, the more successful your trade show will be. Now let’s look at several fun ideas to get your creativity flowing.
Ideas for Your Perfect Booth
Sometimes, all a great idea needs is a little inspiration. So, here are a few of our favorite trade show booth ideas that you can use for inspiration.
The Wall of Products/Pop Up Store
What’s one of the main reasons why potential clients approach your booth? SWAG!
Tradeshows are all about giving gifts and advertising material away to potential buyers. So, why not lean into it with your trade show booth design? Set up display walls filled with your products and encourage people to either try samples or go shopping!
Afterward, the participants pay for their newfound swag with an email or other kind of personal information.
Want to get crazy? Have your booth presenters dress up as retail workers who help the shoppers out and deliver pitches while explaining the products.
A great example of this booth idea is the store-like display we made for Volvik.
The Statement Piece
A statement piece is always less of a booth and more of a great, attention-grabbing gimmick.
A statement piece is usually a large, industry-specific sculpture or a very tall sign that peaks above every other booth around. The booth we made for Earthborn Holistics is an excellent example of this concept.
Earthborn commissioned a giant arch that extended far above the booths around it, maximizing their exposure to potential clients.
If you want to get crazy with this idea, consider a large representation of what you sell. For example, commission a 10-foot tall pair of glasses if you sell eyeglasses or a giant molar if you’re in dentistry.
The Environmental Reconstruction
Trade shows are all about demonstrating the experience of working with your brand. What better way to do that than with a trade show booth that physically transports your potential clients to the world they’ll be buying a piece from?
Consider the booth concept we created for Krispy Kreme. We set up the entire booth to mimic an authentic Krispy Kreme experience, from donuts in the ovens to high-legged chairs circling metal cocktail tables to the hardwood floors.
This way, when customers arrived at the Krispy Kreme booth, they knew what they would be buying into.
You can also see this concept in action with the booth we made for SafeFlight, a premium aviation company. Everything about this booth says “premium air travel,” from the receptionist’s desk to the wooden beam overhead to the private meeting room in the back.
So, How Will You Design Your Trade Show Booth?
Let’s sum up everything we’ve learned so far.
- 20×30 is a smaller space than it seems at first.
- You need to make branding prevalent and pervasive throughout your booth.
- You need to design your booth to encourage people to show up.
- You need to give your clients an experience that they’ll never forget.
So, what are you waiting for? You have the tools. Now it’s time to start creating!
Once you have your idea mapped out, or if you get stuck, give us a call. We’ll bring your trade show booth idea to life.