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Creating themed areas by educational content (trend, technology set, new regulations, and demonstrations) or by product category can open up many new opportunities for both current and new exhibitors, while creating a more cohesive and engaging show floor.  Just like the diamond or fashion districts inNew York, sometimes everyone in a category benefits by being together.  This is especially true when introducing a new product category to your event; every exhibitor involved is more comfortable that they are making the right decision when you prove your seriousness about supporting them with an area and promotion.

Typically exhibitors in themed pavilions are offered a specific booth package put together in conjunction with the general services contractor.  This ensures that the area looks consistent, but also makes it much easier and more cost-effective for smaller or new exhibitors who may not exhibit otherwise.  A typical package might include:

• Wall Structure – Traditional booths: Hard wall panels
• Wall Structure – Elite booths: Vinyl covered hard wall panels
• Graphic Header – Company name
• Carpet
• Power for Showcases – 1000 Watts per 100 square feet
• Drayage and labor for installation and removal of structure
• Overhead banner
• Lead retrieval devices

Creative show organizers think beyond the operational aspects listed above and include specific marketing benefits, such as:

• A shared theater space for scheduled presentations within the area
• Special promotional section of show guide
• Themed area promotion piece describing technology and including blurbs for each exhibitor
• Related content track in conference
• Call-out of area in attendee marketing materials
• Directional signage promoting the Pavilion throughout the show

Themed areas are generally in-line 10×10 booths, either pipe-and-drape or hardwall packages.  But many exhibitors, depending on the type of product, do very well in pre-fabricated “pod” structures.  More of them fit into the area provided, and it provides a new look to this section of the floor.

Themed Exhibitor Areas and Pavilions

Some examples of themed areas and pavilions:

New Exhibitors (Start-Up City, Innovation Alley):  Set your own rules for this space; such as in order to participate it must be the exhibitor’s first time at the event; exhibitors can only stay in the pavilion for two years; or must have a new product released in the past year.

Areas themed by product category:  While a small number of show producers organize their entire show floor by product category, others only select certain product categories for special attention.  This works for:

1. a product category you are introducing to the show floor
2. a new technology with multiple vendors, where the pavilion helps the show organizer explain the new technology which makes it easier for each exhibitor to discuss their version
3. a product category in which most exhibitors tend to be small, and get lost mixed in with larger exhibits
4. a set of products that tend to be purchased only by a certain subset of attendees

Display areas:  A featured area in a non-booth format to showcase a certain type of product.  The Sweets & Snacks Show is primarily food products, so the Merchandising options are showcased in their own space that encourages more participation.  These areas can be sold to existing exhibitors as a supplemental display area or to a new set of vendors.  Generally these would be sold by the product included rather than by company (some would include multiple products) or by square foot.  Greenbuild is primarily about sustainable building materials, but it makes great sense to allow some green furniture products to set up branded lounges, priced as a flat sponsorship fee.

Semi- or non-endemic product categories:  The homeopathic remedies at a primary care event or the luxury items at a high-end medical specialty event are non-endemic additions to a show.   While these unique products can be mixed in with the rest of the exhibitors,  they are often more successful in their own areas.  And a dedicated space demonstrates to these exhibitors that show management is focused on their success.

Looking for new ideas to drive revenue and offer exhibitors creative ways to promote their products and create awareness?  Here is a list to get you started.

1. Wayfinding Tool

Upgrade your attendee experience from meter board “You are here” signs to an interactive touchscreen wayfinder system, allowing full search of exhibitors and sessions, with mapping and directions.  Sponsorship opportunities include:

1. Main Sponsor: logo throughout
2. Quick Find Links: logos across the bottom of the home page
3. Category Sponsor: one per exhibitor product category
4. What’s New Sponsor: one per exhibitor product category, highlights new products
5. Animation/Video Spot: 15-second video plays from video area or from exhibitor listing
6. Enhanced listing: Highlighted booth on floor plan, with detailed information to product level

Going with one vendor for all three allows full integration, including packaging the sponsorship opportunities and measurement tools.

2.  Smart Phone Apps

Most events are now experimenting with smart phone apps, with usage between 30% and 75% depending on number of years of use (it does build over time), the amount of promotion, and how many features are being used. Typical sponsorships include:

1. One exclusive sponsor
2. Splash page
3. Banners across bottom of screen (typically one for entire app)
4. Enhanced exhibitor listings
5. Alerts (limit number per day, and let attendees opt in)

Since the amount of integration into the event is a key driver to usage, look for an app that includes social media, including “liking and sharing” exhibitors and sessions.

3. Digital Signage

Attendees tend not to read signs.  But they do look at bright, shiny objects!  The great benefit of digital signage is in its flexibility, to display multiple pieces of content simultaneously or on a schedule, and for live changes on the fly.  The great variety of signage includes agenda boards, session room signage, social media walls, and video display plasmas.  Since the application behind the sign allows for multiple windows running simultaneously, and for detailed scheduling of messages, one plasma can have multiple uses throughout the day, plus opportunities for sponsorship.

Pure message boards can include one or several logos across the bottom or side, or a banner ad from a sponsor.  Videos are a great draw and opportunity for exhibitors to demonstrate a new product.  Various plasma screens can be dedicated to sponsor ads, or they can be interspersed with event content on the same monitor.

4. Countdown Newsletter

Many event organizers are having success supporting their attendee marketing efforts with a weekly newsletter starting 4 to 6 weeks before the event.  Going out to the main prospect database and those already registered, it builds excitement with the latest content announcements and don’t-miss activities planned for the event.  Since “seeing new products” is always in the top three reasons people attend events, be sure to include sponsored ads in these newsletters.  To keep the newsletters fully news-oriented, require that the sponsor ads refer to new products being highlighted at the show.  These newsletters can be sold and produced internally, or use a third-party like Industry Connect or MultiView.  Of course, these aren’t limited to email distribution.  Use hyperlinks and Share functionality for viral outreach.

5. Games

With the rise in importance of social media to marketing campaigns, “gamification” is the buzz-word of 2012.  Of course, face-to-face events have always had the opportunity to draw people together with games and competitions.  Create a great interactive quiz game that is fully relevant to your industry for attendees to play at your association booth or at terminals throughout the show.  These can be tailored to one sponsor, or be more general with multiple sponsors.  Or put a similar game on the smart phone application, and on your Facebook page and website.  Run a leaderboard to show best scores to build excitement.  Let users Share their score on their social media and get extra awareness for both the sponsor and your event.

6. Interactive content area  

What new technology, regulation, or trend is important to your industry this year?  In addition to teaching it in your conference sessions, why not create an interactive demonstration area on the show floor to let attendees experience this information in a more dynamic way?   While the event should maintain control of unbiased content in this area, sell appropriate sponsorships to those exhibitors most connected with this technology or trend.  Build awareness of an important subject, serve your attendees, create more excitement on the show floor, and increase revenue at the same time.

7. Passport Program 

While the basic Passport Program—having attendees get a passport stamped by a list of paying exhibitors to win a prize—is not a new idea, there are a lot of new twists keeping it fresh.  Many organizers have started using QR codes or near-field RFID to take the passport program electronic, and adding games, like having a QR code scan call up a clue to lead to the next booth on the program.  Passport programs are a great way to offer a lower-priced sponsorship, and are very effective in helping drive traffic to smaller and first-time exhibitors.

Or take the scavenger hunt to the entire host city by using Foursquare!

8. eDocuments

There are several methods for replacing exhibitor brochures with pdf distribution, most of which require the exhibitor to pay a fee to upload their materials to your event’s exhibitor portal.  Attendees can download the documents from the smart phone event app, from the wayfinding tool online, from their own portal created by the registration company with the list of companies they visited (and scanned their badge at) and materials from those booths, or using a QR code reader built into the event smart phone app.  Another advantage is the ability for both the organizer and exhibitor to measure and track what is downloaded, by whom.

9. New Product Showcase

Attendees love to see what the new products are, and exhibitors need to showcase them.  It doesn’t lend itself to an overall sponsor, but each exhibitor can buy into the showcase for a nominal fee (go for volume rather than high fees).  Attendees can scan the products they are interested in learning more about (AllianceTech has such a system), or they can use a scanner next to each product to scan themselves, and be included in the regular lead-retrieval system.  QR codes, scanned by the phone app can also give the attendee more information and the exhibitor the lead.  Extra bonus points for adding a New Product Theater, where exhibitors can pay for the opportunity to talk about their new products.  Keep them short and focused, though.  5 to 10 minutes will keep the crowd interested.  You have complete control with the rules you set on what products are eligible and how they are presented, to keep the area sophisticated and focused.

10. Entertainment

Here’s a sponsorship idea that livens-up the lobby area.  We’re starting to see sponsored music groups and DJs.  Just keep the sonic experience in line with your event brand—some may go with techno while others are better for jazz.  The sponsorship provides awareness and branding, with a small banner and the opportunity to hand out literature if desired.  Take it up a notch with a flash mob dance routine!  We recommend sticking to the lobby area to let the music be a welcome uplift rather than a disruption to exhibitors.

11. Virtual Extensions

Virtual Extensions encapsulates every form of capturing content from your physical event and putting it online, making the conference information available beyond the event to a larger audience or for a longer time.  At the basic level, have your AV company capture your session content either via video or audio synch-to-slide, and put it on your website in a media player.  An ecommerce page can limit viewers to members, to those willing to register, to those who pay or physical event attendees, even including pay-by-session.  Including video on your website greatly improves your search engine ranking, and improves your ability to reach out to new potential attendees.  30% to 60% of visitors to virtual extensions go on to attend the physical event the following year.  Sponsorships are typically a banner ad next to or preceding the content, but can also include a prestitial ad (a short video from the sponsor before the session begins).

12. Semi-Endemic Sponsorships

We’re all familiar with non-endemic exhibitors and sponsors.  The cashmere scarves and jewelry booths or car sponsorships.  These have their place, especially if well suited to the attendees’ consumer demographics. Subaru for speech pathologists and Mercedes for cardiologists.  Particularly if they are just a bit off the show floor, rather than mixed in with the industry-specific booths.

Lately we have worked with several clients to get more creative with semi-endemic sponsorships.  Sponsors who are not in the mainstream of the subject matter, but still apply to the attendees as industry professionals rather than as consumers.  These have to be very tailored to each industry, but some examples in the medical field might include:  a mattress sponsorship linked to education about sleeping disorders or back-pain treatment programs or financial services companies that provide programs for small business (recognizing that a doctor is also an independent businessman).