It's GOOD to be an attention hog!

This week, your humble, traveling blog-host found himself in Atlanta, GA for the NACS Show. NACS is the Association for Convenience and Petroleum Retailing (Don't try to turn the letters of NACS into that...you won't get too far) for those of you keeping track. I have to say, it was definitely an eye opening experience that really drove home the need for out of the box thinking with exhibit design. If you were shopping for a new Gas Pump provider, which booth are you going to stop into first: the tablecloth adorned rental-table with a stack of pamphlets, or the exhibit that recreates an almost-too-perfect-for-reality gas station, complete with touch screen pumps, and exhibitors dressed like old time pump-jockeys?

If you're the average American, chances are you probably didn't even notice the small table and their offerings. If you are like most Americans, it doesn't even matter that the simple table display is selling the same product...and that they are selling it for less cost. If you are like most American's, when you're at a trade show, you put more emphasis on the "show" than the "trade", and this is where so many exhibitors fail to realize their full potential.

At Ohio Displays Inc, we have a tag line...it's a simple tag line, but oh so true: "If it's not setting you apart, it's blending you in". It's rare that I see so many good examples of this in one place as I did at the NACS show.

Think about it though- this show brings together fuel companies, candy companies, technology companies and more. People selling anything from the newest caffiene laced gum, to the inerworkings of a gas pump-designed to stop gas from evaporating out of the nozel in between fill ups. These are companies that distribute their products across the entire globe, all brought together, toe to toe with their competitors, for a week of jockeying for possition in the hearts, minds, and budgets of thousands of convenience stores and gas stations across the world.

For all the catagories of products and services being offered at this show, there were really only two kinds of exhibitors- those who "get it" and those who had better "get it" before it's too late. Those who "got it" didn't have to spend amazing amounts of money to stand out (though, admitedly, many of them did)- they just had to understand the importance of putting on a show for the attendees. The "majors" of the show (the Hershey's, the Pepsi's, the Genreal Mill's, the BP's...), all seasoned veterans of the circuit , came out big. Their booths were more than a simple pop-up and a posters. Their Marketing Directors and Sales teams all understood that at the end of the day, people would only remember so many names and products.

That's an important lesson for the small-to-midsize exhibitors to learn...even more important when they aren't household names already. Your exhibit has to be more than functional and informative- it has to be fun, and it has to be welcoming.

Now, I'm not suggestion that a serious company have balloon animals and waterslides going in their exhibits. I've seen all too many exhibits that rely solely on the fun factor and go down in flames miserably. I'm suggestion that your display has to combine fun and function. The fact that both words start of with the same three letters is no mere coincidence in this industry.

I erge everyone, before you go to your next tradeshow, invest some time and energy into researching what your top competitor is doing for their trade show efforts. Whatever they are doing, you HAVE TO make sure that your exhibit is more noticeable. In the end, your product can be better...your product can be cheaper...but if your potential client doesn't notice you because he/she is too busy checking out your competitors booth, the sale is lost either way.