3 Trade Show Booth Design Trends You Don’t Want to Miss in 2019
In this blog, we’ll be highlighting three major trends for trade show booth design in 2019. These trends are connected to larger shifts in society and where the events and meetings industry is heading, if not already there. These trends will most likely influence our industry for years, and even decades, to come.
1. Festivalization
There’s an overall tendency to turn trade shows into big, sometimes outrageous, events that hit attendees with that ‘wow’ factor. The consequence of this is that it has led to a continually greater expectation from attendees in what they want out of an event.
Attendees are looking for unique experiences and get excited about having something to share on their social media pages to create that sense of exclusivity. To keep up with your attendees’ expectations, bring an element of fun to your booth that will encourage shares on social media. For example, a branded backdrop with the event hashtag, or interesting branded swag.
2. Engagement
The engagement element goes hand in hand with festivalization, but it can also be executed effectively without a lot of noise and action. Being engaged means being part of something and actively involved. Attendees want to be more than just passive bystanders. They want to be active and try things out themselves. Really get hands-on. With this in mind, an element of fun will drive more engagement and interest from attendees.
For example, the above is an animated image of a few EventMobi folks at IMEX 2018. It was taken in a 3D photo booth provided by a company called 360ties. Innovative technologies like these are not only fun to try, but they also create unique content that’s great for sharing on social media. Just by looking at how much fun these Mobiers are having makes us wish we could all give the 3D photo booth a try!
3. Sustainability
Sustainability is becoming more and more of a focus as a result of the general public becoming more environmentally conscious. In response to this shift in values, attendees expect a certain degree of environmental responsibility from the events they visit. Unfortunately, events produce a huge amount of waste, so it’s up to all of us to change the old way of doing things.
That’s where the advancements in event technology can really be taken advantage of. Technology has the massive ability to help you make your event more sustainable, especially by reducing the amount of paper required for things like programs. Technologies like event apps can drastically cut down on paper waste because your content can be digitized.
Design your 2019 trade show booth experience according to your goals
When it comes to trade show booth trends, it’s easy to get sucked into adding something to your trade show booth experience because your competitors will be doing it. But not everything that’s trendy will necessarily work for your specific needs (and budget limitations). It depends on what your goals are for your booth presence and how the design of your booth will help impact the success of those goals.
In the end, design according to what makes sense to accomplishing your goals and getting the greatest ROI. As long as your audience is having fun, those impressions and interactions will form the basis of meaningful connections.
Related Resources:
[Case Study] GetWellNetwork Scores At Cost Savings and Attendee Engagement
[Blog] 5 Popular Event Game Ideas to Increase Attendee Engagement and Learning