How to design an exhibitor friendly booth layout: Do’s and Don’ts

Let’s talk about exhibit hall layouts. How to design a booth layout isn’t terribly difficult but there are a few things a meeting organizer should definitely keep in mind.

My other company, PodiatryMeetings.com will be exhibiting at a few conferences coming up and the planning for that has taken me back to my exhibiting days for my former employer. I’m spending time pouring over exhibit hall maps to choose the best location (or determining if the location they’ve given me is any good) and I came across a layout that has me scratching my head. I was explaining the drawback of it to my husband, and luckily I had a piece of paper to draw it out because it’s one of those “have to see it to understand it” type things.

We know that there are two basic types of exhibit halls: table top or pipe & drape. Pipe & drape has an advantage in this example because it creates privacy between exhibitors that are placed back to back as well as a back “wall” behind single row aisle displays (hint hint).

Typically, when you are arranging a table top exhibit hall, it looks something like this. Note how the traffic pattern takes the attendee through the exhibit hall and the attendee is viewing each booth from the best vantage point possible, either head on or from the side approaching. We’ll call this Layout Yes.

Now, take a look at this layout. Do you see the problem? Keep in mind, these are tabletop displays – not pipe & drape (which would help this situation tremendously). Let’s call this Layout No. I’ll wait a minute while you think about it, it’s not a trick question…

Most exhibitors have a booth set up that looks like this, right? Nice tablecloth with a logo on the front, with a tall display piece that sits on top of the table, facing out. You put your product or literature on the open space on the table and BAM! You’re done and it looks fantastic. (OK, so there are many many options for exhibit displays that are more creative than this but that’s another post for another day)

Are you seeing it now, the problem with Layout No, above? All the people that have booths in the aisles (ie not against a wall) are exposing their backside to the attendees. The back of a table top display is not attractive. Not only are you seeing the bones of the display but you’re likely also seeing all the crap exhibitors bring and stash behind their display – staplers, pens, phone chargers… In case you’re not sure what it might look like:

You can’t sell from this side of the table so it’s pretty much useless. This is where having pipe and drape would come in handy. Another option is to have another row of exhibitors in the aisle, like Layout Yes, so that attendees aren’t seeing so much of this.

As a former exhibitor, turned meeting organizer/consultant and now also part-time exhibitor, I can recognize these issues right away. As meeting planners, you know that exhibitors will always have something to say on site. Why give them another reason to complain? This is a simple problem to solve. Don’t let this happen to you.

If you would like to outsource some of the headache that comes with planning and organizing podiatric conferences and seminars, I’d love for you to contact me. Fill out this contact form or simply email me at ann@cloverconferences.com

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