This Trade Show Stinks

So I’m in New York, haunting the Javits at the National Retail Federation’s BIG Show. My firm gave two different presentations and, amongst other duties, I helped create some retail porn for one of them. The idea is to use some a/v to attract attendees into your presentation and create the kind of excitement the usual “podium/power point deck of doom” can crush as soon as the atypical title slide advances to the overview page.

The NRF Show had become almost completely technology-focused, but this year they created a space for retail design—The NRF Studio. My firm even has a booth.

Safe from the circus of the main expo floor, the Studio’s Five Senses Pavilion shows various technologies and their ability to immerse customers in a retail space by engaging all of their senses.

The Smell and Taste booths are the most interesting in my opinion. How many non-food brands consider how these senses might be engaged? How many food brands consider how audio might be engaged to establish their brand? Starbucks did to its benefit. I'm thinking Starbuck’s music cds and NOT its Hear Music concept.

FIELD TRIP! New York readers should check out the melee at NRF. From The Studio and the Five Senses Pavilion to the Store of the Future and the tchotchke-packed expo floor—you can get in for FREE. Just head down to the Javits and register for a free Studio Pass. Use the promotion code 1240.

tags | public relations | PR | trade show | NRF | retail design

Comments

[Evan D. Owen]

I guess you can't miss the fact the owner of the display above is Google. Actually it's a great design seeing that the only thing Google can show is their website as the really don't sell a tangible asset. Their logo is so regognizable why not use it in such a manner. The shopping carts are kind of goofy, but I guess they are supposed to look like their "Google Checkout" cart image. You mentioned smell when it comes to retail experiences. We actually reccomend to our clients, exhibitors at trade shows, to create unique environments by playing on nose. Anything to make yourself memorable.

[Xtreme Xhibits]

Cool post. Engaging all of the senses can really make an impact on retail visitors and their habits. I like your application of scents to a trade show. I wonder how it affects peoples behaviors.