Configuring Your Trade Show Floor for Optimal Results

© Copyright 2014 Freeman Expositions, Inc. Proprietary & Confidential.

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Creating a Compelling Expo Floor


The Expo Floor Is Where Your Industry Meets

Vendors, attendees, and partners all come together on the Expo

floor. It’s where the health of an industry flourishes, where

innovations are unveiled, and where leading-edge practitioners

and buyers determine the next hottest trends.

It’s where you help your industry move the needle.


Contents

Section 1: Creative Expo Floor Plans

Section 2: Floor Areas, Elements, and Destinations


The Ideal Expo Floor Design

Increases traffic to the Expo

Encourages attendees to spend more time on the Expo floor

Enhances flow so every booth becomes a high-traffic area

Simplifies finding exhibitors

Allows emerging companies to get noticed


Zoned Floor

What it’s Good for:

“Automotive mall” psychology. Vendors know these attendees are buyers, and attendees can effectively comparison shop.

Enables attendees to better organize their Expo floor visits and find products faster.

Vendors can effectively compete within specific product categories, for additional booth revenue.

Levels the playing field so that giant multiproduct vendors do not dominate the floor.

Lets small, boutique vendors be seen.

When to Use it:

When all vendors fit within one of the designated zones.

When you have a lot of smaller, product-centric vendors that typically get lost on the floor.

When different attendees are responsible for buying different productshelps guide the right buyers to the right vendors.


AOA Optometry’s Meeting Using content as an anchor and a lure:

Every zone had a discovery/product

theatre located in the corner to help

attract attendees/provide a reason to

walk through the zone.


Discovery

Theatre


United Fresh Zoned Floor

United Fresh creates zones on its Expo floor to

help make buying easier for attendees.

Fresh Marketplacefor produce companies

Fresh Technologyfor equipment and services

Floral Pavilionwithin the Fresh Marketplace

Midwest Product Pavilionshowcasing local vendors

for this uniquely challenged region

Business Suiteswhere vendors and operators

purchase “offices” to facilitate business


United Fresh Zoned Floor


Partially Zoned Floor


Helps guide attendees to see the products they are looking for.

Helps a category stand out by drawing attention to it.

Showcasing innovative products and emerging companies.

Helping the smaller companies get noticed.

Introduces a new category to your show.

When to Use it:

You have a lot of booths and need to help attendees find what they are looking for.

You have specific booths that could get lost on the show floor if not grouped together.

You have a lot of start-up/emerging companies that couldn’t otherwise afford to be at your show and could benefit from the extra emphasis of grouping


World of Concrete To help attendees navigate three

convention center halls plus the outdoor

Expo area, World of Concrete uses a

partially zoned floor plan.

Zones include:

Concrete Surfaces & Decorative

Concrete Repair & Demolition

World of Masonry

Technology for Construction Pavilion

Vehicles/Cement Trucks


World of

Concrete

World of Masonry World of Concrete General

North Hall:

Concrete Surfaces &

Decorative

South Hall:

Concrete Repair &

Demolition


American Heart Association To help attendees better

navigate the floor, the American

Heart Association uses a

partially zoned floor plan and

uses floor decals to help

attendees identify the zones.

Zones include:

Meet the Trialist

Research & Discovery

Office Technology

Publisher’s Showcase

Hands-On Learning Labs

Healthy Lifestyles Showcase


American Heart Association

Office

Technology

Zone

Publisher’s

Showcase

Healthy

Lifestyles

Showcase

Hands-On

Learning

Labs

Research

Discovery

Zone

Meet The

Trialist


NCA’s Sweets & Snacks created a zone for gourmet

food vendors and a zone for retail solutions vendors

NCA’s Sweets & Snacks


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The Avenue


Reverse-engineering the Expo floor so smaller companies can have

exposure at the entrance of the Expo hall.

Create better attendee flow, knowing attendees will walk to see

industry leaders.

Increase revenue from mid-tier vendors that want to be near the

entrance.

When to Use it:

Large exhibitors overshadow smaller ones.

Traffic doesn’t easily flow throughout the floor.


The Avenue: American Institute of Architects

Goal: Facilitate traffic

throughout the floor.

Entrance doors open up to

smaller booths. The big

anchor booths are located

2/3 of the way back on the

Avenue.

The aisle is larger than other

aisles and leads attendees

into and out of the General

Sessions.

All main attractions are

located on the Avenue: food,

retail store, etc.


The Avenue: American Institute of Architects

The Avenue AIA Town Hall Internet

Lounge

Innovation

Gallery

Bookstore &

Sazerac Bar Café Theatre


Content-Centric Floor


Create reasons for attendees to visit the Expo floor more often and

stay longer.

Enhance traffic flow throughout the floor via distributed content area

layout.

Create more education of different formats for attendees.

Create additional exhibiting/sponsor opportunities with related

content.

When to Use it:

Content on the Expo floor is always a good lure for attendees, as long

as the content is of high value and relevant.


HIMSS

HIMSS features several content areas throughout the floor

to:

• Help with traffic flow

• Increase time spent on the floor

• Encourage attendee engagement

• Create additional exhibiting opportunities with content-

related kiosks

Intelligent Hospital–for technologies that are helping patient

care from the doctor’s office to the hospital to the home.

Interoperability Showcase–for technologies related to

capturing, accessing, and sharing patient medical records.

Connected Patient Learning Gallery–new content program for

2014.

Knowledge Centers (2)–Clinical & Business Analytics and

Mobile Health. Theatres with exhibitor kiosks.

Federal Health IT Pavilion–theater with exhibitor

Kiosks.


HIMSS

Federal

Health IT

Pavilion

Connected

Patient

Learning

Gallery

Clinical &

Business

Analytics

Knowledge

Center

Intelligent

Hospital

Interoperability

Showcase

Mobile

Health

Knowledge

Center


Expo Floor as Event Hub


Increase traffic on the Expo floor.

Increase time spent on the Expo floor.

Attendee networking.

Attendee engagement with association/organization.

When to Use it:

Whenever you have the space on the Expo floor.


American Academy of Ophthalmology

Technology

Pavilion

Goal: Create a hub for the event to increase traffic and

time spent on the Expo floor, and enhance flow using areas

for networking, engagement, and education.

Areas on Expo floor included:

Pre-event education workshops with related exhibits around

refractive and retina education

Breakfast with experts

Scientific posters sessions

AAO Booth/Resource Center promoting products they sell

AAO Museum of Vision with archived products on display

Rest Stops (wireless lounges with massage stations)

Learning Center where various presenters speak

Technology Pavilion highlighting how doctors can use

technology to make their office and practice more efficient

Electronic Office for products that help ophthalmologists

have a paperless office

Bistro where exhibitors can reserve tables for lunch

meetings with attendees without leaving the facility


American Academy of Ophthalmology


The Ideal Expo Floor Elements, Areas, and Destinations

Increase engagement so attendees spend more time on the Expo

floor.

Provide educational opportunities.

Provide a way for your organization to really connect with

attendees, and even sell products and services.

Allow more emerging companies to participate cost-effectively.

Emphasize that your event is the place where your community and

industry need to be.


Pavilions

What They’re Good for:

Showcasing innovative products and emerging companies.

Providing emerging and international companies with affordable options to be at your show.

Helping the smaller companies get noticed.

Helping guide attendees to see different products.

Helping a category stand out.

Introducing a new category to your show.

When to Use Them:

When you have specific booths that could get lost on the show floor if not grouped together.

When you have a lot of start-up/emerging companies that couldn’t otherwise afford to be at your show.


Product Category Pavilions


Fish Farm Pavilion at Global Pet Expo

Created area for fish farms to

exhibit

Created lounge nearby to

leverage view and attract

attendees


Emerging Technologies

Designated area for self-selecting

companies with new technologies

emerging in the field.

Participants complete a

questionnaire that’s reviewed by

a physician committee for

approval.

No additional cost to participate

in the Emerging Technologies

Area.

Qualifications: Early stages of the

product development or product

approval process

Exhibit presence: no larger than

400 square feet


International Pavilion If you have a lot of exhibitors from specific

countries, then create specific country pavilions

(German Pavilion, Italian Pavilion, etc.) and have

them located near each other.


Ancillary Product Pavilions

Practice Solutions Pavilions are perfect for office-

related products (accounting software, office tools,

etc.)


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Partner/Industry Pavilions

Create a zone to help encourage

ancillary products/partners

(publishers, alliances, etc.) to

participate.


Turn-Key Exhibitor Pavilions


Helping exhibitors with preset, low-cost, low-risk packages

Helping sell more exhibitors in a category–typically 10x10, known

budget

Introducing a new category to your show

When to Use Them:

When you have exhibitors with limited resources

When you have new/start-up companies that need a way in to the

market

To support your partners, publishers, and affiliates

To attract international exhibitors with a cost-effective option


Turn-Key Pavilions

Uniform look and

feel

Company sign built

in

Easy for a

technology

exhibitor to “plug ‘n

play”


ad:tech Mobile Marketing

Zone: Turn-Key Pavilion

Uniform look and feel

Banner calls attention

Neustar gets sponsor

inclusion

Carpet color helps create

“section”

Turn-key offering


Innovation/New Product Pavilions Also called:

Innovation Alley

Start-Up Showcase

Start-Up City

What’s New Pavilion

Innovation Spotlight


Emerging Technologies Pavilions


Merchandise Display Areas


Showcasing innovation, best of breed, and new concepts

Enabling exhibitors to have an added presence at the show

Providing additional revenue opportunities

When to Use Them:

When products can be touched, sampled, demonstrated, and put on

display


Merchandise Display Areas–Multi-Vendor

Showcase product in addition to

regular booth.

Perfect for a competition.

Put submissions on display and have

attendees vote.


Merchandise Display Areas–Single-Vendor

GreenBuild’s vendors’

merchandise makes for great

lounges.


New Product Showcase


Added exposure for industry innovation

Creates traffic for off-the-beaten track or hidden areas

Provides a reason for attendees to spend more time on Expo floor

May provide additional lead generation for vendors if using scanning technology

Additional revenue opportunity from vendors

When to Use it:

When products are of a relatively small size (or photos/videos can be used) and there are ample new products to introduce


International Carwash Show

Designated area outside

Expo hall

Pre-fab display cases

One vendor per case

Scanner for self-provided

leads

Open to exhibitors with

new products for

additional fee


Global Pet Expo

Designated area in back

right corner of floor.

Huge traffic driver.

Attendees vote for best

new product for dogs, for

cats, for fish, overall, etc.

Open to exhibitors with

new products for

additional fee.


High-Touch Version: Sweets and Snacks Expo

Person manning area scans attendee’s badge and assigns a scanner. Attendee browses the new products and

scans the bar codes of those of interest. Attendee is handed a printout of the selected products with booth

numbers, location on Expo floor, and vendor contact information. Selected vendors also receive the attendee’s

information as a lead.


Gathering Places


Creates a destination on the Expo floor for attendees to network and

learn, and creates a sense of community

Drives traffic to Expo floor

Extends time spent on Expo floor

Gives first-timers a place to go

Can provide additional sponsorship opportunities

When to Use Them:

Always



ASTD Attendee Lounge: “One World United”


They took a section of hall not being used and

created a place to congregate.

Sponsor offset costs and got extra signage.

Standard convention center food and drinks

available for purchase.

Pet Expo:

Sponsored, No-Host

Coffee Shop Lounge


Event Central

In 2010, PCBC launched a bold new floor plan that brought exhibitors and attendees together like never

before.

A tree-lined boulevard drew attendees to a new Town Square that bustled with engagement activities designed

to enhance the experience of attendees and exhibitors.

The Town Hall served as a central hub for daily show schedules, for exhibit floor education and activities, as a

staging area to watch live media events, for participation in social media activities, and for simply meeting

colleagues—and prospects—for coffee.


Event Central

What to Call it:

Event Central

Town Square

Association HQ

Community Center

Event Hub/The Hub


Event Central

52

What to Include:

Wireless lounge/cyber café

Association information

Show concierge

Navigation

Information booth/center


What to Include:

Social media activities

Blogging zone

Twitter feeds

Live media events

Show TV

Plasmas with event

highlights

Games

Event Central


ATA Central at American Telemedicine Association

Offered professional-quality headshots to attendees

for use on social media websites.

Drew attendees to ATA Central, while helping the

industry have a more professional presence.


ASHP Lounge With Wii


American Academy of Ophthalmology Resource Center

Association booth set up to

promote products for sale.

Videos for sale playing in

Resource Center

Clinical education product display

Patient education products

Foundation information


GeoSpatial International

Association booth with an information desk, a

display case for an award, a literature rack,

plasma screens, and lounge areas.


ad:tech OpenX Open

Ping pong tournament

Gamification + networking

Set up in a café lounge

Sponsored


A Compelling Expo Floor

Develop new, unique selling propositions for interactive, theme-based Expo floors.

Launch a bold new Expo plan that connects exhibitors and attendees.

RESULT: More attendees spending more time in the Expo hall.


Creating a Compelling Expo Floor

Configuring Your Trade Show Floor for Optimal Results

Marketing

american heart

showcasing

concrete surfaces

increase traffic

expo hall

american institute

american academy

specific booths