Wednesday, October 31, 2007

It's amazing what a difference your floor will make!

Quite the topic for my first post, eh?

There is nothing as under appreciated as the floor beneath us. Think about it- when was the last time you really gave ANY consideration to what's under you? You probably haven't thought about it at all unless there was something really wrong going on down below.

The poor floor! It supports us all day, and it asks us so little- maybe a little once-over with a broom, mop, or vac once in a while. Yet, day after day we pay so little attention to it when it's doing it's job.

What is that job? Well, besides the obvious, it also provides cushion and support, helps mark the boundaries between two (or more) rooms/areas, hides messes, and keeps us from tripping over cords.

I did a set up on a recent show that didn't do much with the floor. I won't mention where and when, but I will say that it will ALWAYS stick out in my mind.

Now, I personally am used to my clients using either soft and padded carpet, or -even better- interlocking carpet tiles (or squares as they are often called) in their booth spaces. Besides providing all the functions I listed below, most exhibitors who own their own flooring find that it gives them a suttle branding tool that really helps them stand out from the booths using "show carpet" around them. I know, this seems like such an after thought to the exhibit itself that most people never even realize the subtle difference underfoot, but they sure do notice it when it's not there!

Back to the show I previously mentioned- this particular show disallowed the use of any exhibitor owned carpet and required all exhibitors to use the carpet the show was offering. Needless to say, all the exhibitors complied- albeit somewhat reluctantly- seeing how there really was no other option.

The end result was very thin carpet, little-to-no padding, booths that flowed into each other with no descernable boundaries, and more than a couple of unhappy exhibitors.

Attendee's found themselves suffering from sore feet and sore backs, and any exhibitor will tell you that tired and sore attendees are not much different than NO attendee's.

All for the want of quality flooring.

So again, let me reiterate the importance of your exhibit's flooring. You don't have to go out and buy your own- you can, and many who do see the value- but you don't have to. Make sure though, that you take the spend the time and money to at least rent a thick carpet with a quality pad. Between how much better you as an exhibitor will look, and how much better they- as attendee's will feel (and buy)- your flooring will more than pay for itself, time and time again.