How to Design a "Wow!" Trade Show Booth Without Spending a Fortune (Paperback)

~ (Author), Robert Sjoquist (Author) "According to the 2002 Tradeshow Week Data Book, there are 4,342 trade and consumer expositions with at least 5000 net square feet being held in..." (more)
Key Phrases: exhibit staffers, square foot booth, net square feet, Design Team, Exhibit Surveys, Visual Trainwreck (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

When you exhibit at a trade show, you’re in competition with everybody else. The average attendee who walks the show is exposed to a mind-boggling array of sights and sounds. You need YOUR booth to cut through the clutter. Get a head start by designing a "Wow!’ booth, using the tips in this powerful book.

This book starts by explaining the "why" of booth design, and how to avoid the traps that many exhibitors fall into. The authors explain why you have just one chance to get the prospect in your booth. They also tell you how use your booth to send the right message, one that will make the attendee want to stop. The book takes you through the "how" of booth design - from planning and budgeting, to choosing a designer, to making the maximum impact by creating a "visual speedbump." Whether or not you have a big budget, you can use the information in this book to design a booth that will stand out from the crowd.

About the Author

Steve Miller is a strategic marketing and innovation consultant specializing in the trade show industry. He works with show management to develop better shows and enhance their long-term relationships with exhibitors, as well as helping corporations more profitably exhibit at trade shows. Working his first trade show at age 16, Steve has since built a reputation for achieving exceptional results for his clients through innovative, results-driven techniques. His work with associations and show management companies includes speaking for and consulting directly with exposition staff, boards of directors, exhibitor advisory committees, strategic planning and adaptation, internet strategies, branding strategies, attendee focus meetings, industry research, analysis, show valuation, recommendations, and exhibitor education. In some cases he has served as project manager to guide the entire process of reinvention. His clients include eight of "Tradeshow Week's" current Top-Ten association-owned expositions and Fortune 100 corporations - the Food Marketing Institute, the International Housewares Association, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, the National Association of Home Builders, the National Association of Broadcasters, Coca-Cola, Dana Corporation, Volvo, and Philips Electronics, to name a few.

Since founding The Adventure LLC in 1984, Steve has worked directly with international, national, and state organizations, as well as speaking to over 145,000 corporate executives around the world. His first book, "How to Get the Most Out of Trade Shows," now in its third edition, has been published and distributed throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. His second book, "Over 88 Tips and Ideas to Supercharge Your Exhibit Sales," is the only book written specifically for exhibit staffers, and his third book, "Over 66 Tips and Tricks to Supercharge Your Trade Show Promotions," was published in early 2000. Steve has written for and has been featured in over 250 publications, including "Fast Company," "Business Week," "Fortune," the "Wall Street Journal," "Sales and Marketing Management," "Success," "Expo," "Business Marketing," "Washington CEO," ASAE's "Association Management," the Trade Show Exhibitors Association's "ideas," "Exhibitor Magazine," ASTD's "Training Development," and "USAIR Magazine." He is also a monthly columnist in PCMA's "Convene" magazine and has produced audio and video educational products for exhibitors and show management.

Robert Sjoquist has been involved in the sales and marketing of commercial and consumer products for his entire adult life. From his start, during his college years, as a door-to-door salesman of Fuller Brush Products and Kirby Vacuums (simultaneously and successfully) and on to selling the products for the Honda Motor Company where he won regional and national sales awards, Robert has always been able to figure out why people buy certain goods and what sort of pricing and packaging works to sell them. Along the way, Robert has started seven companies, managed dozens more and has held several patents and trademarks for products and intellectual property under his control.

For the past eleven years Robert lived in the Seattle, Washington area where he started a distributorship under the Skyline Displays, Inc. mantle. Robert grew his office from a one-man operation to a company of twenty employees and annual sales of over $3,000,000. In August of 2001 he sold his distributorship and headed back to his homeland of southern California. His is designing for the second time in his life his family's new home on a hillside lot in Ventura, CA. Between his home building project and the addition on September 5 of a bouncing baby boy to the Sjoquist household, Robert is staying pretty busy.

Trade Shows have always held a fascination for Robert, first as an attendee for Honda Motor Corp, Suzuki Motors of America, Robert’s own company Aerotow Industries and other

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Hikelly Productions (February 1, 2002)
• ISBN-10: 0965541231
• ISBN-13: 978-0965541237
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 1.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #800,307 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Told me absolutely nothing, June 25, 2005

By	S. Gifford (New York) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The gist of the book is: 1)don't be like everyone else and 2)find a company to design your booth for you. There. Now you don't have to waste hard earned money on this one. If you use a trade show booth company to design for you, then you WILL spend a fortune. I am a designer and was expecting tips and tricks such as suggestions for lighting that are cheap (Exhibitors at the Buyers Market of American Craft liked track lighting at the Home Depot). Perhaps tips on building tables and other displays that are toolless to keep from using union labor to screw together a shelf...stuff like that. Instead, this book actually suggests using Installation and Dismantle supervisors...come on, how much do THEY cost? This book talks about the cost of the show and to which department various expenses should be billed to. If you have a company with different departments, you don't need a book with "without spending a fortune" in the title. Where's the book for the little mom and pop outfits that are dragging out the router and the dovetailing jig and building the display in the garage? The title is misleading. Nothing in there about cutting costs. If you really want some valuable info, check out: http://www.americancraft.com/toolless/index.html

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Does not tell you how to avoid spending a fortune, June 13, 2005

By	Laura Lee (Rochester, MI USA) - See all my reviews

Before spending money on this book, if you have not seen it in a brick and mortar store, you should know that it is essentially an article typeset with a large enough font to be book length. This would not be a problem if it were full of useful information. In fact, about 1/4 of the book is excerpted from the author's other book Over 66 Tips and Tricks to Supercharge Your Tradeshow Promotions. That title is a better buy. It is also basically an article stretched out to book length, but it does offer some useful tips and is worth a read. (My only complaint about that book is one self-serving section suggesting that the CEO give copies of the book to everyone in the company).

The main problem with this book is it does not live up to its title. It is not written with the small business person on a shoe-string budget in mind. It devotes whole chapters to choosing the right person from your corporation to design your booth. If you have a small mom-and-pop operation you probably already know who will be designing your booth-- one of your three employees, and they will all be at the conference. There are some good suggestions for companies on tight budgets, but not as many as you might think based on the title. There are few specifics on how to be eye catching or on money saving ideas. Most of it is impressing upon the reader that you *should* be eye catching. That, you probably already knew. The other main piece of advice is that you should be targeting your display to those most likely to buy.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Wow! A basic book for absolute beginners..., December 23, 2007

By	Sherry L. Matthews "graphixgal" (vancouver bc canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The cover image is poor and a reflection of the mediocre contents. The title is a misnomer, as the author advises the reader to hire a designer. This is a very basic general overview of trade shows. Also, it is almost entirely focused on trade shows related to selling products.