The Internet provides advantages for both customer and proprietor in that one can search for exactly what is desired, without bother of endless phone calls, driving to malls, or poring over mail-order catalogs. A quick keyword or 3, and hundreds of results vie for attention on screen. Making sure your company is one of those results near top is a combination of factors: specificity in product offerings, Search Engine Optimization of web content and linking to and from related topics and sites.

Compelling is a relative term – keep in mind, graphics on trade show display are going to compel prospects, suspects and customers into your booth as opposed to allowing them to walk right on by. The goal of these graphics is not to be most informative or most colorful. You don’t have to have millions of photos, or so many product descriptions that your booth looks like alphabet soup. Good graphics consists of three ingredients: 1.Excellent (not good, excellent) photography of your product(s), or excellent photography of what I call men and women in motion; 2.Your logo or company name across top and/or large enough to be seen from across hall and 3.A features and benefits panel - a screened-back vertical rectangle containing at least three or four bullets with copy that translates most important features of your product(s) into benefits.

Let’s begin with photography. The standard approach to product photography at trade shows has always been as many photos as possible, typically several dozen images, all 8” x 10” mounted on foam board and Velcro® taped to display. It’s a time-honored tradition that couldn’t be more wrong. Instead, like so much other advertising, in trade show booth, less is more. Try using only four or five images that are at least 20” x 30”. Studies show you have about seven seconds to attract a customer walking past a trade show booth: making them squint at 20 photos in seven seconds will get you nowhere.

Larger photos are more compelling, more colorful and, when shot and displayed correctly, they will stop people in their tracks. I recommend working with a professional photographer for these images and taking advantage of a mural. While it will likely end up costing more than those product shots you took in warehouse with your new digital camera, you will see a noticeable difference in traffic to your booth. When finishing off your photos, mount them with pliable plastic coverings, not foam board, so they can be used over and over again without damage. Foam board ages quickly and there is nothing worse than a booth that looks like it’s seen one too many tradeshows.

Like good photography, displaying your company’s name and logo is simple and easy to do correctly, but often overlooked by first-time and seasoned exhibitors alike. The name/logo should be uppermost addition of display, running laterally and spanning length of your booth (at least 10 feet wide). It should be visible from far enough away that passers-by are not left wondering which booth they’re about to happen across.