Stand
Technical Information and the Booth
The Booth is like the business card of the exhibitor. Its size and design reflects the product identity and the exhibitor’s importance. Therefore, it must be as flawless as possible and it should conisder all senses of the visitors.
A Booth :
Can be impressive without being extravagant.
Can be modest without appearing cheap.
Can be attractive without being spectacular.
Can emphasize the product without being excessive.
Can be the center of activity without looking like a carnival.
Good concept design is important for efficiently using the booth and procuring the maximum benefit from the exhibition. In this respect, the main headings that needs to be planned and implemented can be summarized as follows:
Booth size, type and location
Design and equipment
Product range
Technical equipment
Assembly and disassembly of the booth
Booth Operation and Organization
Booth Type
Other than booth size, the harmony and integration of the entire booth with the corporate identity is also very important. In this respect, the dimensions and structure of the booth are also factors. Booth types can be listed under four headings:
Inline Booth (S): These have two neighboring booths on both sides and only have the front side open.
Corner Booth (K): These have two neighboring booths on two sides; yet they also have two sides open.
Peninsula Booth (F): These are located at the edge of a block and have three sides open.
Island Booth (A): These are fully independent from any blocks and have all four sides open.
When selecting a booth, the available budget is as important as the type of products exhibited and purpose of the fair. The booth shall cost proportional to the number of open sides.
Booth Size
Notwithstanding its size, a booth is divided into three functional areas:
1-Presentation Area
The purpose for participating in the fair and the quantity and type of products exhibited determines this need. However, the booth area should have enough space to enable visitors to conveniently examine the products. Boards related to products and materials and activities like video presentations are included in the scope of this section.
2-Interview Area
Depending on the nature of the product and interviews, this area may be open or covered and should provide a comfortable environment within the flow of the exhibition. Also, such sections as an information desk for informing visitors and a bar for courtesies should also be considered as necessary.
3-Service Areas
Such units as a covered area for keeping personal belongings, a depot for storing promotion materials or products, a small office for private negotiations, a small refrigerator for beverages should be considered.
The sum of these areas provides the total booth area. These areas should be calculated based on the purpose of the fair and product features to determine the necessary booth area.
Booth Location
By Industry divisions should be considered when selecting the booth location. Moreover, it should be noted that favorable locations are sold first as soon as floor space are up for sale.
However, studies indicate that booth design is more significant than booth location, since visitors walk around every part of the fair yet they prioritize and stop by at booths that impress them as prestigious. In this respect, locating the booth at the section of same or similar industries is very important in attracting visitors that attend the fair.
Booth Design
There are three different concepts in booth design :
Open Booth : The booth is fully visible to visitors and any obstacles that may obstruct visibility are removed from the booth.
Semi Open Booth : Some of the booth’s sides are closed to obstruct full view of the booth interior, whereby the visitors are sorted based on their level of interest.
Closed Stand : The exterior of all sides of the booth are covered with panels or showcases. Only visitors that are truly interested are compelled to enter the booth.
Booth design can be realized using two different systems :
1. Standard
2. Custom made
Standard booths are practical and provide an economic solution to most needs.
Custom made booths; on the other hand, yield very prestigious and convenient booths at considerable prices. If the custom made booth shall be used in various other trade fairs and shall thereby amortize its costs, it may be reasonable to choose it. However, the back and forth trip times and the conditions of the host country should also be considered. In trade fairs abroad, clients usually prefer standard booths. It is possible to design prestigious stands with standard booths, too.
Türkel Fuarcılık provides this service via its trained experienced teams. Türkel Fuarcılık completes and submits fair projects to exhibition administrators at least two months before the opening date, whereby when the exhibitor arrives at the exhibition hall, they are met with fully constructed and ready to use booths, which leaves them ample time to busy with decoration materials and product placement during the preparation period. This great convenience also provides an advantage in terms of costs, since many exhibition administrators apply a surcharge for orders that are placed during the exhibition. Therefore, it is imperative to complete booth design as soon as practicable. Otherwise, such risks as the unavailability of ordered items or being subject to surcharge shall arise.
Both Design Considerations:
Front Sign : It should be as brief as practicable, and should be relatively meaningful in the country where the fair is organized. It is important to ensure that meaningful words are in English and commercial title tags should be used. Moreover, so as to avoid any problems with obtaining government aid, the company name or the registered trade mark should be indicated on the front sign. For example:
Instead of Güneş Makine Imalat, Inşaat, Turizm ve Tekstil San. Tic. Ltd. Şti.
You should prefer
Güneş Machinery
since it is important that the booth name is distinct and easy to remember.
General Booth Construction:
The booth type is significant in this respect; booths with many open sides should have a well thought general concept and some sections of the booth should be covered properly. Thereby, the use of booth area as a pathway and distraction to visitors shall be prevented. The selection of booth concept should be in due consideration of conformance with the purpose.
Functionality should always be considered; the locations of closed cabins should be selected prudently, product display and interview areas should not overlap too much and glass panels or colorful materials should be utilized to emphasize the general atmosphere of the booth.
An information desk and/or a TV/video presentation stand pursuant to the general concept shall greatly enhance the general atmosphere of the booth.
Display Units:
For a prestigious presentation, choice and placement of materials is very important; shelves, showcases or platforms are used for this purpose. When locating these materials the depth of the booth should prudently utilized and a favorable harmony should be attained. There is a tendency to utilize shelves for displaying products, since these are very economical. However, a booth with too many shelves shall like a supermarket. Moreover, the position and height of shelves should also be determined carefully. In this respect, using eye level visual area for directing items is also important.
Illumination:
Since spotlights are usually installed on higher part of panels, the spotlight locations should be considered during the planning of booth construction. The method by which the products are illuminated and the general luminosity of the booth are factors that affect the visitors. Therefore, the spotlight locations should be selected carefully and they should aid the procuring of contrast between the products and booth.
Decoration:
The panels that comprise the walls of the booth are convenient mediums for decoration. Applying such decoration materials as logos, graphic works, posters, flags, banners etc, which are in compliance with the general attributes of the designed booth, shall enhance and add dynamism to the booth. However, extravagancy should be avoided and modest applications should be preferred.
When working on panels, cutting or drilling materials should not be used and any affixing necessity should be remedied using double sided adhesive bands. Exhibition hall administrators collect the costs of any damaged panels from exhibitors.
To attain harmony, the following points should be considered:
Booth zoning (area allocation)
Vertical distribution is as important as horizontal distribution:
* Table and platform levels
* Graphics levels (pictures, posters, etc.)
* Level of recognition (company name, main slogan, etc.)
Panel placement
Equipment
Illumination
Color cohesion
Text cohesion (typography)
The aforementioned considerations, from “Front Sign” to “Decoration” are provided as considerations for procuring a convenient booth and emphasizing corporate identity. The booths should consider all human senses. We can remedy the gap between looking and seeing by “showing.” Therefore, if you wish to distinguish your brand and your booth, the appearance should be right.
Product Range
The more the product is emphasized, the more it attracts visitors. Products that are presented under direct spotlight are more emphasized. Facilitating association between product groups and placing them accordingly shall diminish perception duration for visitors. Yet the principle concern in presentation should be quality rather than quantity; product benefits and advantages should be clearly demonstrated.
The product should be rendered spectacular by itself (color, design, packaging, etc.) and if necessary, the object emphasis should be reinforced with lighting and color utilization. Explanations regarding the products should be attractive and notable; small prints and hard to comprehend texts should be avoided.
The benefits of the products for the customer should be prudently considered, processed and placed in correct locations.Brochures and catalogues regarding the product should be prepared with due regard to corporate identity displayed at the booth and also the country in which the exhibition takes place; sufficient quantities of these materials should be available. Naturally, the accessibility of the product by the customer is a different matter. If theft is a concern, the style and method of presentation should be in accordance with it. However, remember that examination through physical contact is an effective way of promotion. Product promotion should be supported with events, when practicable. Video presentations, distribution of promotional materials and demonstrating product operation shall increase the number of visitors attracted to the booth.
Technical Equipment of Booths
Equipment like TV-video sets, refrigerators, illuminated panels etc. require mains connection. Moreover, some exhibitors may require three-phase electricity and compressed air to operate their products. The rate and type of power should be determined and ordered in advance. Such technical utilities as electricity, compressed air and water can only be procured if ordered in advance. Therefore, timing is imperative in this respect.
Booth Preparation and Disassembly
Türkel Fuarcılık delivers booths in ready to use condition with product crates stacked in the booth area, whereby all the exhibitor needs to do would be to decorate as planned and place the products. Emptied crates and boxes are then collected by associated personnel to be stored and brought back at the end of exhibition. Any problems encountered during booth preparation shall be resolved by associated personnel, as much as practicable. However, the availability and price of equipment requested at the hall may be give rise to problems. Therefore, planning should be done before the exhibition in a proper and timely manner. Prudent and accurate planning is key for a successful and stress-free exhibition.
After completing booth decoration and placing the products, some fairs require that the protective nylon spread over the carpet should be removed and the booth cleaned.Preparing the crates at the end of exhibition in the same manner as when you brought them shall minimize problems in the customs and procure sound and timely delivery of your products.
Stand Construction'in Işletilmesi ve Organizasyonu
The most important factor that affects success in an exhibition is the many by which the booth organized and operated. Transforming a visitor into a customer is task that needs to be successfully performed at this point.
Booth Personnel
The ideal attributes of booth personnel:
Trained and experienced on sales techniques.
Fully acquainted with all features and benefits of exhibited products.
Strong interpersonal skills and an outgoing personality.
Have full confidence in won skills, the company and the products.
Strong communication skills.
Good adaptability.
Fluency in foreign languages (English, and if possible an additional language).
Experience in exhibitions.
Endurance and good health.
Enjoy traveling.
Utilizing local workforce can be more practical and economical for certain tasks like booth preparation and disassembly, tea-coffee service, delivery tasks outside the booth, booth modeling and interpretation. As a general rule, such personnel must be asked from the fair administration. Türkel Fuarcılık collects these inquiries in advance and organizes the personnel that shall be assigned during the exhibition. However, the conditions of the host country may sometimes be a restricting factor in this respect.
Depending on the size of the booth and company, the following personnel are assigned to booths:
A senior company executive (Chairman or a member of the board, CEO, Business Manager, etc.)
A booth manager (responsible for booth organization and operation)
Technical personnel (responsible for technical counsel, information and product demonstration)
Commercial personnel (for sales and delivery conditions)
Country representative or other associate (responsible for exportation and statute regarding the country)
An interpreter
A public relations person (responsible for promotion)
Booth clerks (responsible for informing visitors)
Service personnel (responsible for office duties, tea-coffee service, security and cleaning)
Considering that these fairs take place abroad, taking along such a team may be very costly. Therefore, many companies shall have to assign multiple tasks to a single personnel depending on the company size, booth structure and country conditions. However, someone must perform all of these tasks.
Each personnel assigned to booth duty should be well aware that this is an assignment that is not a time off, and rather one which requires great effort and burdens them with much responsibility and stress.
Therefore, personnel should be well motivated and prepared prior to exhibition. The more the number of personnel, the more success shall be attained in completing these tasks.
The booth personnel should be well informed about the following:
Product range and services
Prices and conditions of delivery
Rival products and competitive situation
Target market
The profile of exhibition visitors
Important customers and prospective customers
Written reporting of visitors
Booth arrangement and task allocation
Exhibition area and the exhibition hall
The significance of the exhibition for the company