Creating the Right Atmosphere for your Exhibition
In the same way that we “eat with our eyes first,” we shop with our senses before our wallets. So it’s important that retail and tradeshow environments are designed to entice consumers, foster communication about brand messages and product offerings, and form brand relationships.
Colour, lighting, and layout all impact the consumer environment and in turn, their behaviour. Psychology and marketing share a fascination with the relationship between colour and behaviour. Aside from the usual connotations of blue’s calming affect and red’s ability to induce hunger, the appropriateness of a colour choice with a brand is key. An aptly titled study called the Impact of Colour in Marketing, stated that up to 90% of product related snap judgments can be based on colour alone. So in the clutter of a busy exhibition space, colour choice that suits your corporate image and brand message is integral.
Likewise, layout affects the way we understand, move about, and interact with a space. In the 1950’s Victor Gruen reinvented the way consumers experience the retail environment. He is the pioneer of the “shopping mall,” making shopping easy, accessible, and comfortable. He crafted an environment that directed consumers around a store. IKEA operates as an elaborate maze from entry to the cash register. Of course, an exhibition stand is a much smaller piece of real estate but making the space effective and appropriate for your brand and its consumers is important, whether that’s a digital display or couches and coffee tables.
Major brands like Google feature some of the most unique and unusual office spaces around the world: with sleep pods, pools, and even a built-in slide between office levels. By allowing their employees to deviate from the traditional office space, they’ve produced some of the world’s most advanced and creative innovations. In a similar way, exhibitor stands don’t have to adopt the typical four walls model. You can custom make and hire exhibition solutions that suit your specific needs. Consider the concept of ‘husband couches’ in shopping centres or food courts. If appropriate, make your stand a place where the consumer can enter or engage with your exhibit, ask questions or try products and communicate with you and your brand. Also try to situate yourself away from competitors and if possible, beside stands with products that complement yours.
Ultimately, create an atmosphere that appeals to your target market and allows them to communicate with your brand in whatever means are appropriate.
