Unforgettable Booth Designs to Drive Traffic at Trade Shows

Want to make an impact at your next trade show? Like every aspect of marketing and sales, an easy way to improve your trade show presence and attract more attention at your next event is to learn from the masters.

Below, we’ve listed six unique booth and trade show booth design ideas, inspired by eye-catching trade show exhibits of previous years, to help you attract attention and generate buzz at your next trade show, convention or industry event.

We’ve also included some simple tips, tricks, and thought-provoking questions to help you put each tactic into action for your next unique trade show booth.

Here are some unique trade show booth design ideas 

Combine LCD displays with social media

LCD displays can be a great tool for attracting attention to your booth, especially when they’re combined with some form of interactive content.

During the 2016 Comic-Con, gaming laptop brand Alienware attracted lots of attention with its LCD displays showcasing tagged Instagram photos from the event, giving attendees the ability to become a part of the company’s exhibit.

While any visual content is good, nothing beats interactive content. Give attendees the chance to feel as if they’re a part of your exhibit and you’ll notice more attention, more foot traffic and a greater level of interest from prospective customers.

Offer space for meeting and socializing

If you’ve got the budget for a large exhibit, offering attendees space to relax, chat and socialize is a great way to turn your booth into a meeting point.

GE’s booth at WindPower 2013 is a great example of this strategy in action. Instead of the usual informational booth, the company used a large, welcoming exhibit to bring in attendees and start conversations.

The great thing about this strategy is that it works on both a large and small scale. If you’ve got a limited amount of space to work with, a comfortable armchair or sofa could be all that’s really needed to bring attendees into your booth and get interesting conversations started.  

Make your booth feel like your product

Is there any better example of exhibit booth design than Splashtacular’s waterslide-themed booth from the World Waterpark Association Symposium?

The exhibit, which features curved displays arranged in a slide-like pattern, feels like the inside of one of the company’s waterslides. Within a second of seeing the display, attendees instantly know what’s on offer, making the booth a great attention grabber.

If you were in charge of ride design for a water park, wouldn’t you feel motivated to step into the booth and learn more about the company’s products?

Keep it simple, cozy and friendly

If you’re part of a small business with a low trade show budget, it rarely makes financial sense to compete with the “big” brands.

Instead, one way to stand out is to keep your trade show booth simple and friendly. An example of this strategy in action is the Duke’s Small Batch Smoked Meats booth from the Natural Foods Expo, which feels like an inviting family-owned restaurant.

When everyone else goes big, there can be advantages in staying small. If your brand aims to be friendly, approachable and down to earth, sometimes you’ll attract more attention (as well as higher quality attention) by spending less.

Showcase your product’s unique advantages

Another great way to stand out at a trade show is to make your product front and center, with a large custom trade show exhibit showcasing its benefits.

A fantastic example of this tactic is the Bright Agrotech display from the 2015 National Heirloom Expo, which turns the company’s living Farm Wall into part of the exhibit, helping it stand out in an environment dominated by retractable displays and conventional trade show booths.

If you were an agrotech prospect, would you be more motivated by product specifications in a brochure or a real live display or a unique, interesting and remarkable product that’s on display right in front of you?

Give attendees a unique experience

One of the best ways to stand out at a trade show is to offer a unique experience that the other exhibitors can’t match.

Michelin did this very successfully at the 2014 North American Auto Show in Detroit. Instead of simply displaying their range of tires, Michelin’s booth let attendees be the tire, feeling each and every bump in the road using a computer simulation.

As an attendee, are you more likely to remember a product catalog or a unique, fun simulation of a product in action? Sometimes, a unique experience is the best way to attract attention and create great memories for attendees.