Business Booth

A minor but not so minor topic: Our office is reviewing the exhibit booths that we have at professional conferences.

We used to have a very complicated booth. It was very creative and drew a lot of attention, but it involved duplicating an office and the set-up was very time-consuming.

This time, the goals are effectiveness and simplicity.

We've always followed ground rules given by a marketing consultant:

• The exhibit booth should be arranged so people can walk into it.


• Company representatives should never sit at the booth.


• They should never eat at the booth.
  

That said, there is the desire to stand out from the other vendors and yet maintain a professional image. Walk aound the exhibit hall at most professional conferences and you'll see a blur. The great firms, large or small, are hard to distinguish from the mediocre ones. Some have gimmicks that gain attention - one firm I know always raffled off a puppy - but our view is that any attention-getter should be linked to the business's products or services.

We're following that approach. I'll keep you posted.