Live Event: One Stop Shop

Today's post is all about the one-stop shop.  We had a lot of sponsors for the Coupa INSPIRE Conference.  26 to be exact.  With that many, we wanted to create a uniform sponsor showcase area.  Every sponsoring company had a different look and feel - no one was like the next and we didn't want the room to be a mish mash of color and logos.  All the sponsors had to do was show up with their laptops, everything else was provided for them.

We were tasked with designing 3 similar turn-key tradeshow booths for the Silver, Gold and Platinum sponsors.  We also had to design a booth for Coupa that was different than all the others, but still keeping similar design elements of the other properties.  We brought Group Delphi in to help us create the experience.

The space that we used for INSPIRE Hall was very ornate.  It was the Colonial Room of the Historic Westin St. Francis.  This room all by itself is stunning.  You would never be able to design something to match it.  Instead, we took the opposite approach.  We created booths that were very minimalistic and modern, that complimented the space vs making it disappear.

The ceiling in the room was extremely high with balconies on three sides.  To pull everything together, we used blue fabric to line the balconies.  To extend the branding, we printed the logo on two of the fabric panels.  It was the perfect and final touch that the room needed.

Take a look?  I would say success.  What do you think?

photography by Orange Photography, Turn-key booths by Group Delphi

Tradeshows: Food Done Right

I'm at a tradeshow in Washington DC right now and I've been seeing a trend.  The trend - food bars.  Quite a few companies are offering tasty treats.  A small few have knocked it out of the park while other's haven't.  If you're going to offer something like this in your booth, my belief is that you need to do it right or don't do it at all. 

The one that did a great job was a trail mix bar.  The decor was well done, it blended in nicely with their booth and it was healthy.

Another that was an interesting concept - was decorate your own mini cupcake.  They offered different frostings and toppings.  I didn't take a picture of it, but it was in a smaller booth (10x20).  I get that you want to drive traffic to your booth, but you need to know how much space you will need for the activity as well as people being able to engage with the product.  Though the concept was unique, it needed a bit more space to be effective.

Food for thought: If done correctly, it enhances.  If not, it can cheapen your brand or not be effective.

{images by me}

Events:: An Airstream & A Picnic Table

I love out of the box designs when it comes to tradeshow booths and both of these will have people talking.  I was recently at a college bookstore tradeshow and I found myself drawn to all of the non-traditional booths.  They're inviting, interesting and make you want to pull up a seat and stay awhile.

{image credit: airstream, picnic table}