IAEE s Annual Meeting Take-A-Way

Transcription

1 Topic: Innovative Floor Plans to Drive Engagement Presenter(s) Information: Melinda Kendall, Freeman Date: December 3, 2015 Time: 2:00 p.m. IAEE s Annual Meeting Take-A-Way Transforming the Attendee Experience with Creative Show-Floor Design Qualified, motivated, and empowered attendees play an integral role in any successful trade show. Part of an exhibition organizer s unwritten contract with them is to deliver an organized, engaging, and stimulating environment in which to do business. There are a number of tactics that organizers can use to deliver on that promise. Innovative floor design is one of the most effective ways to impact the attendee experience. A 2013 study from the Center for Exhibition Industry Research i (CEIR) reveals what attendees want from trade shows. 69% say they attend to meet shopping needs, including see new technology, talk to experts, discover and interact with new products, compare brands, and gather competitive intelligence. 66% of attendees attend to meet learning needs, such as find out about industry trends, network with other professionals, improve job performance, and develop skills. With precise knowledge of what attendees want and a wide variety of show-floor configurations to choose from, exhibition organizers are in a perfect position to transform the attendee experience. By simplifying navigation, facilitating discovery, and personalizing the attendee journey with creative designs, organizers can help customers cut through the cacophony of brand voices and experience their events in more productive and memorable ways. Why Rethink Your Floor Plan? While some shows, technology events specifically, have to develop innovative show-floor designs regularly because it s part of the culture of the industry, don t change for the sake of change. There are, however, many good reasons for exhibition organizers to consider changing things up especially when attendees are a central focus: Surprise and delight. Attendees want memorable experiences. They need a reason to come back every year. To get that kind of customer retention, organizers have to think about how to impact attendees at an emotional level, as well as an intellectual one. Organization. Trade shows can be daunting for attendees. Without help from organizers, it can be difficult for them to find exactly what they want amid all the competing messages, brands, and products. Show

2 producers can make it easier for attendees to cut through the noise by filtering the exhibitors and products in specific and relevant ways. Personalization. Show floors have to be informative and educational for each customer segment attending the event. They must also clearly answer the question that attendees ask of them: What s In It For Me (WIIFM)? Show organizers should offer attendees choices and opportunities to opt in or opt out so they can take charge of their own experiences. Tell a story. Rather than have a random event layout, why not organize the attendee s journey using navigational devices clear lines of sight, wide aisles, and signage and zones (pavilions, special spaces, neighborhoods, and product zones), for example. Enhancing peer-to-peer networking and education. CENTRAL HUB Attendees want to meet other attendees to share ideas, learn from each other, compare notes, and gather information. One way to make it easy for sharing and learning to occur is to build a central hub a neutral, easy-to-find, centrally located space away from exhibit booths where attendees can network, be part of a community, engage in more casual activities, meet other first-time attendees, or learn in a low-pressure setting. Some elements of a central hub often include: Town square Broadcast booth Social media center/recharge area Game zone Lounge /meeting area Concierge desk Central hubs can be outfitted with any number of amenities, including comfortable lounge chairs and sofas, presentation stages, wireless Internet connections, computer work stations, video screens and game consoles, food and beverage, information desks, concierge staff, and social media walls. The central location naturally attracts visitors from every direction and, when designed to promote interaction, can serve as the most comfortable space for attendees to network. Autodesk, a 3D design, engineering, and entertainment software company derived inspiration from urban planning for its annual event. The floor plan included a central hub called Central Park placed in the center of the floor. It contained a gallery, creative studio, subscription desk, research area and an Autodesk Help space to facilitate learning and collaboration. The hub was also used for product demonstrations and attendees were encouraged to come inside to learn, connect, and explore.

3 SPECIAL SPACES A central hub isn t possible in every show due to space limitations or venue design. In some cases, special spaces such as lounges, seating areas, demonstration stages, and information booths especially association and membership areas can also promote networking and learning even when they aren t centrally located. Special spaces are also more flexible because they can serve attendees in multiple locations, which is especially useful in exhibitions in multiple buildings or on multiple floors. The American College of Cardiology (ACC) is bound by strict government regulations for medical shows. Promotional activities (exhibit booths) have to be separated from continuing medical education delivered on the show floor. For the association s annual event, the group used a variety of special spaces, including an innovation stage and two new product theatres, to deliver education on very specific topics and remain in compliance. Special spaces can serve attendees in more commercial ways as well. In 2015, at the Microsoft Ignite event, the company created a dedicated special space to display and sell Microsoft products. Within the Store, it placed a device bar that allowed attendees to interact with the products and receive information and instruction from Microsoft experts. Besides familiarizing attendees with Microsoft s retail experience, the company used the special space to provide them with product training as well. Improving navigation. CUSTOMER JOURNEY Events with special requirements sometimes need creative layout solutions. Corporate events with a brand story to tell or association shows wanting to direct attendee traffic to special areas, highlight a path through the event, or drive traffic to the back corners often rely on non-traditional floor plans to achieve their objectives. A customer journey design one that uses specific tactics such as wide aisles, a clear path to follow and unobstructed sight lines to specific points of interest can help attendees navigate a show that could otherwise be confusing. Wyndham Hotel Group s event for franchisees (held every 18 months) is a manifestation of the CEO s message. In 2013, the overarching theme of the event was the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The objective was to convey the value of a franchise as demonstrated by the various support elements from in-house services to select vendors and manufacturers as well as the brands themselves. The very non-traditional floor plan required spoke-like thoroughfares to guide attendees to each section of the floor and clear lines of sight to the brands (in the center) and theatres (at opposite ends of the center aisle).

4 In 2015, the INTX Internet and TV Expo had declined in size, but organizers wanted to occupy the same sized space as in past years, present great content, and move traffic to every area of the show floor. The show deviated from a traditional grid with interactive learning hubs for topics such as Internet of Things, TV Everywhere, Navigation, Streaming, and Games interspersed throughout the floor and connected by diagonal wide aisles. Attendees could easily see the learning pavilions ahead as they traversed walkways with names like Interactive Alley and Connected Causeway through the exhibits. Some venues can pose layout challenges that can be viewed as opportunities. The long and thin design of the New Orleans Convention Center is a perfect example. When the American Institute of Architects held their 2011 National Convention there, they wanted to develop a floor plan that would compel attendees to move from one end of the convention center to the other. To accomplish that goal, they created a wide center aisle called The Avenue and located two general session areas at both ends. Main areas of interest, including demonstrations, food, product showcases, show store, town hall, and all the large booths were located along The Avenue and attendees coming from the lobby had to walk through the smaller booths to get to it. In contrast, Paris expo Porte de Versailles has a very square shape. When JEC Composites, the world s largest composite industry organization, held its JEC Europe conference and exhibition there in 2015, planners had to make some accommodations on the floor plan to ensure that attendees were directed to the four corners of the event. In addition to the aisles laid out in a traditional grid, organizers also placed diagonal, wide aisles leading from the entrance to popular show features in the far corners of the show, including an innovation showcase and a VIP Club. Facilitating shopping. PRODUCT ZONES In retail settings from grocery stores to home improvement centers products are carefully arranged in groups. For example, all of the cereal brands are placed together on one aisle at the supermarket, while plumbing implements are grouped separately from home and garden items at the DIY store. Such is the idea behind product zones in trade shows. Companies with like products are placed together in specific areas on the show floor. And like shopping for cereal, product zones allow attendees with distinct buying interests to make comparisons more easily and quickly than when exhibits are placed throughout the show floor. At InfoComm, the annual event for audio-visual professionals, all exhibitors are grouped according to product categories: security, audio, unified communication and collaboration, digital signage, lighting and staging, and drones. Color-coded carpeting and maps, carpet clings, and aisle signage help attendees locate the product zones, and specific topic theaters and demonstrations are included in each area. The product zone groupings enhance the attendees abilities to comparison shop, but there are other benefits as well: the ability to connect with like-minded exhibitors and peers, easier navigation of the show floor, and a higherquality attendee experience.

5 United Fresh, the association for fresh produce, also uses product zones. One zone is dedicated to fresh products and another to technology. In 2014 the United Fresh Exhibition co-located with the Food Marketing Institute s (FMI) Connect event. In 2015, it co-located with the International Floriculture Expo. The product zones help attendees shop as they would in a retail environment. They also integrate United Fresh with the other events more cohesively by maintaining the integrity, yet minimizing the physical distinctions, between the two shows. Discovering unique products and relationships. NEIGHBORHOODS Not every exhibitor fits neatly inside a product zone. So, organizers that still want to enhance the buying process, and help attendees discover unique, new, or emerging products, can use neighborhoods. In a neighborhood design, companies are grouped together as they might be in product zones, but the segmentation is aligned with a topic or a theme rather than product attributes. A neighborhood layout helps attendees think about products and companies differently as they discover new solutions and relationships and often provides a comfortable home for new ancillary exhibitor categories. The American Heart Association has used neighborhoods in its show for many years. In 2014, the annual show featured blocks of exhibits titled, Meet the Trialist, Office Technology Zone, Publisher s Showcase, Research Discovery Zone, Healthy Lifestyles Showcase, and Hands-on Learning Labs. The recurring and popular segmentation provides attendees with new insights on specific topics. Other organizations use neighborhoods too. In 2015, The National Confectioner s Association s Sweets and Snacks Expo featured the Innovation Alley and Retail Solutions Center neighborhoods to give attendees exposure to new products and ideas in the world of candy and confections. Similarly, World of Concrete, dedicated to the commercial concrete and masonry industries, uses neighborhoods as thematic pillars of the show. Besides the general exhibits area, companies are also aligned around the topics of concrete repair and demolition, concrete surfaces and decorative products, and masonry. PAVILIONS Another way to group companies in order to boost discoverability is by using pavilions. Like neighborhoods, pavilions can be organized around a topic or theme, but they also differ in some ways. Companies and booth designs can look different inside a pavilion than in the rest of the show. International pavilions might feature businesses from the same nation exhibiting in identical booths designed around the country s national colors. Groups other than the show owner non-competing trade organizations, for example can sometimes organize their own pavilions within shows. Pavilions can also include booth spaces smaller than the standard 10 x 10 foot size, which is a great way for an event that is space constrained to offer exposure to more exhibitors while increasing yield.

6 A pavilion design is ideal for helping attendees discover exhibitors and products that might otherwise be lost inside a larger show, including: Specific, perhaps new, product categories Affiliated products or services Startup companies Small companies New technologies Providing a greater variety of educational opportunities. SHOW-FLOOR CONTENT Content and programming are no longer reserved for conference rooms. Many trade show organizers are bringing content to the exhibit hall to put education in context with related exhibitors and give attendees more diverse educational opportunities. HIMSS, the association for healthcare information and management systems, places learning opportunities across the show floor on a number of topics, including: Medication management RFID Cybersecurity Interoperability Connected patient Mobile health Federal health Intelligent health By embedding content in the trade show, HIMSS provides attendees with learning experiences alongside shopping experiences, which according to CEIR are the two most popular reasons why business professionals attend trade shows. It is common practice for medical and scientific associations to include poster displays detailing research within the group s particular area of study. In 2013, the American Academy of Ophthalmology dedicated a large area of its show s floor to posters. It also placed other educational opportunities, including a Museum of Vision, Learning Center, and Technology Pavilion elsewhere on the show floor to put different types of learning within easy reach of attendees. The costs of creativity As with all floor plans and layout decisions, organizers have to strike a balance between the needs of attendees, requirements of exhibitors and sponsors, and the event budget. What is an ideal configuration for

7 show-floor diversity and an optimal attendee experience can reduce revenue (such as when sellable space is used for non-revenue purposes). Going off the grid can also increase expense by requiring additional labor, carpeting, structures, and equipment, or a tricky electrical layout. The challenges notwithstanding, to design an attendee-focused show floor, organizers should ask some specific questions: 1. What is globally affecting this organization? 2. What problems are we trying to solve for? 3. What are our attendees key goals? 4. What do we expect from our attendees? 5. Are we trying to get our attendees to adopt some new behavior? 6. What do we know about our attendees? 7. How do we want our attendees to feel about what we re trying to promote? 8. How do we want our attendees to see the change from last year to this year? Should you rethink your floor plan? Knowing there are design experts and a variety of creative layouts to enhance the attendee experience helps reduce the trepidation some organizers feel about deviating from the traditional grid. While improving the attendee experience should be high on any organizer s list of priorities, it isn t the only priority. Competition from other trade shows, corporate events, and digital marketing channels are driving many organizers to innovate. And when innovation helps them overcome challenges, create more opportunities, and grow the event, it can be the best move an organizer can make. Whatever you decide, work closely with your Official Services Contractor to collaborate on the best options for you. i What Attendees Want from Exhibitions, AC Center for Exhibition Industry Research