Interactive Exhibition Stand Ideas to Sky Rocket Engagement at Events and Trade Shows

Standing out at a trade show or business event is no easy task. It involves using quality exhibition stands and putting a lot of thought into the design and functionality of it all.

Having interactive designs that engage attendees is a fantastic way to ensure you get the most out of an event.

We’ve outlined just a handful of ideas below that can help you create effective interactive exhibition stands.

• Immersion

Having stand elements that fully immerse event attendees in something is a fantastic way to really engage potential leads. This will also mean visitors won’t leave your stall after a few minutes if they’ve seen something else they like.

If you can make your stand feel like a whole world in itself, you’ll avoid attendees getting distracted by other stands or activities at the event.

To achieve this means carefully thinking about how you use and position different parts of your stand – perhaps to shelter their attention inwards or completely isolating them from noise/vision from competing nearby stands.

For the ultimate immersive experience, why not create a mini escape room whereby attendees need to solve a riddle in 5 minutes? The riddle could not only be fun and memorable but also expand a bit about the “why” behind your business. Or perhaps create a mini theatre (with popcorn and drinks of course!) to showcase your product video. These types of immersive experiences will ensure people remember your stand once they’ve left the event.

• Materials

The materials you choose within your stand are going to influence how people interact with it. Choosing materials that are unusual or intriguing may help you stand out.

Trade shows and events can be a great chance for visitors to touch products and quite literally get a feel for it. With much of business being digital these days, utilising and celebrating the inherent human sense of touch is certainly worth considering.

• Think Outside the (Exhibition) Box

Exhibition stands often come in standardised shapes and structures. By creating a bespoke exhibition stand, the sky is the limit in how you can present yourself. Bespoke designs are perfect for those wanting to create an interactive stand as they can really shape the visitor experience.

Maybe bring in lots of plants and create a jungle wonderland. Or maybe re-create a living room to offer tired attendees a familiar place to rest.

When thinking outside the box, it’s always worth remembering the purpose of your stand (and your business in general). This will ensure that no matter how abstract you go, people still remember what your business was about.

• Games & Competitions

Games are a great way to interact with visitors and potential leads from an event or trade show. The best games for your exhibition stand should be relevant to what you offer. Simply having a PlayStation with some random games isn’t likely to work as effectively as a well thought out customer journey that uses games and competitions strategically.

Perhaps the game could be a metaphor for how your service/product works.

Games that get people active and are a bit of fun will likely be memorable for them.

You could even host relevant prizes for winners. For example, if you’re selling enterprise level software, it may be hard to think of creative ideas, but simply having a game and competition whereby winners get a free month of the software could be highly effective at generating leads from an event.

• Lighting & Colours

Lighting can be a quick and easy way to add another dimension to your stand. Lighting can impact mood and feeling, so creating lighting that triggers certain emotions can be really powerful. If you want to really utilise consumer psychology, don’t forget about the power of emotion.

Perhaps you want to evoke happiness, or intrigue, or wonder. Lighting can help with this.

Similarly, the colours you pick will influence this too, so choose wisely and think about how you want visitors to interpret your offering at the event.

• Gifts

Having gifts, freebies, food, drink, snacks, etc, will always work well at events. You could potentially capitalise on your knowledge of a particular trade show. For example, if you know they don’t sell great coffee you could install an espresso machine at your stall and hand out free lattes, cappuccinos and espressos. That’s a sure way to get the coffee lovers’ attention!

• Trends and Relevancy

The popularity of certain interactive stand ideas may vary over time. A once genius idea may lose its impact if anyone does it over and over.

Piggy backing off current trends and news stories could ensure you stay relevant and have interactive elements that are on people’s minds.

For example, during the World Cup or Olympics, leveraging sport related activities/games at your stall could work really well.

Learn More with Smart Display and Exhibitions

If you are looking to make the most of trade shows and event, make sure you get in touch with us here at Smart Display. Our experienced team can guide and inspire you through the whole process, from initial scribbles on some scrap paper, through to full colour 3D visuals and tech drawings, manufacture, print, installation and removal.

Whether it’s a one-off event or a multi-show schedule, UK or overseas, we have a wide range of solutions perfect for those looking to maximise their presence at trade shows and events.

Contact Us Today