Although for many of us, print or television ads are the first thing we think of when it comes to marketing, trade shows also provide a large portion of the marketing business. According to B2B Magazine?s 2014 Marketing Outlook study. events are second only to digital marketing in spending growth in the advertising sector. Recent figures indicate that the average company allocates about 31 percent of its marketing budget to trade events and exhibits, yet 70 percent of respondents admitted that they had not set specific objectives for their trade show efforts.

While there are clear aspects of tradeshows that exhibitors value, such as the ability to see lots of customers at the same time, as well as face-to-face meetings with a variety of players, there is a need for more refined objectives and deliberate strategies. The most successful exhibitors have three primary goals: brand awareness, lead generation, and relationship building. Each of these has specific strategies and measurable objectives that can be aligned to create a solid trade show booth design. This is what professional exhibit design firms specialize in, along with assisting in the design and implementation of the strategic plan.

Practical tradeshow booth design objectives often depend on context. Asking questions like ?who is my targeted audience at this particular event?? and ?What product or service would I most like to emphasize during this event?? will help you and your exhibit design firm?s creative team collaborate to develop an effective combination of communication, logistical, and quantifiable goals. Consider the following potential ideal objectives:

?To promote overall perceptions of your brand
?To introduce new products, services or capabilities
?To gather information about your competition
?To demonstrate equipment, products or specific solutions
?To generate buzz and activity near your tradeshow exhibit display
?To recruit new employees
?To do market research and get feedback
?To establish new leads and generate sales

Those are a lot of objectives to accomplish in a short time and small space, so be strategic and focused with any trade show display design . Keep in mind that hundreds of businesses are competing for attention at trade shows. Its crucial to offer something memorable, something buzzworthy. Here?s what you?re up against: visitors decide within 5 seconds whether or not they will stop at a booth or move on, according to the Center for Exhibition Industry Research. In addition, with an average of 3 trade show visitors per 100 square feet of exhibit space, it?s important for a tradeshow exhibit design to catch people?s attention quickly.

So, how to achieve an effective and attractive tradeshow exhibit design? There are a few principles to keep in mind.

Be sure you answer the big three: who you are, what you do, why your product or service matters. You can rely on bullet-points to display this message, but be prepared to talk more in depth about these things with those who stop to visit your booth.

Smart branding is an essential component of tradeshow exhibit design. Your company?s logo and name should be featured, and repeated on any flyers, cards, brochures, or freebies.

Images are important, but, particularly for photos, be sure the resolution is good and you have a range of sizes. Depending on how far away attendees can stand from your booth, you may want a variety of long-range, medium-range, and short-range graphics. Also, think about the subject of the images and how they relate to your product or service, as well as your marketing goals.

When it comes to the text displayed in your tradeshow booth design, the slogan ?less is more? applies. You want high impact, easily readable text. A good general guideline for font size is to add an inch of height to the font for every foot away that viewers will stand.

There?s no point in perfect images and text in a tradeshow exhibit design if the lighting isn?t right. Lighting sets the mood for your booth, and should be planned thoughtfully. Backlighting, spotlighting, and tinted lighting can all be strategically implemented to highlight products and give a cheerful atmosphere to your trade show exhibit display space.

Successful and exciting tradeshow booth design is a complex work of art. A talented firm will help you set goals and create an integrated project that uses smart marketing strategies suited to your needs.