The trade show technology you use is an essential part of any trade show booth. It directly impacts how your brand presents itself and serves as an important part of capturing attention and bringing guests into your booth.
The different types of trade show technology out there can be confusing, especially if you have no frame of reference for how it can be utilized. We’re going to define what trade show technology is, and then give you some insight into how trade show technology can increase your presence at a trade show.
Interactive Projection Wall at WDMS Convention
360 Projection Mapping at WDMS Convention
What Is Trade Show Technology?
Trade show technology is a fairly general term that refers to any digital or interactive tools that can be used to enhance your booth at a trade show. The primary use of trade show technology is to attract attendees and improve engagement. And, given that you’re in a crowded environment competing with other brands, the goal is to create a visually striking and immersive experience that makes you stand out from the rest.
LED and LCD screens, for example, are a very common and basic form of trade show technology because they’re an approachable way of showcasing branding, videos, and presentations easily. Much more obscure forms of trade show technology include digital backpacks, which are essentially a wearable screen that acts as a form of portable trade show advertising. But trade show technology goes far beyond that, as we’ll soon discuss.
360 Projection at the Toyota National Dealer Convention
5 Ways Trade Show Technology Increases Brand Engagement and ROI
Let’s look at how technology for trade shows can be utilized to help your brand, from modern trade show displays to projection-mapped portable domes.
Interactive Displays Make Exhibits More Engaging
A flat, LCD display gets your brand message across, but it’s not exactly considered innovative trade show display technology. Not to discount the usefulness of it, but in some cases, it’s better used as a supplementary feature rather than the main attention-grabber. Instead, something like an interactive touchscreen or projection-based experience goes a lot further.
An interactive projection displayed on a wall that gives visitors options to explore your products or services through the use of buttons and hand gestures naturally piques the interest of passersby. It’s also good for collecting data, like which of your products or services visitors interacted with the most, or where their attention was kept while in your booth.
Projection Mapped Display for Caterpillar at Con Expo
Gamification and Contests Drive Engagement
Gamifying your booth encourages people to participate. For example, you can set up a projection-mapped game where guests earn points based on how they interact with it. Or, use augmented reality where visitors can solve digital puzzles using their own devices.
You can take this a step further by incentivizing with a prize for the person who gets to the top of the leaderboard. Or, use it as a means to facilitate a giveaway, increasing your brand awareness.
Custom Animations Improve Brand Messaging
Immersive tech for trade shows can turn a regular experience into a memorable one. You can integrate immersive technology, like 360-degree projections, interactive displays, and custom animations, to go beyond a traditional booth setup and create a hands-on experience that engages the senses, making visitors much more likely to remember your brand long after the event. This is what we consider experiential marketing.
For instance, you can use projection mapping to surround guests and transport them from a regular trade show booth to a digital environment like a serene rainforest or bustling city.
Experiential Marketing Makes Brands More Memorable
Pop-up Domes Bring an Immersive Experience to Any Event Space
Pop-up domes, in addition to their larger counterparts, have been making waves in recent years for their incredible adaptability. For trade shows, pop-up domes are very accessible and act as a means of separating your booth from neighboring ones. Dome projection at trade shows takes it even further and involves setting up a 360-degree projection that’s displayed on every wall. On the outside, the dome is wrapped with personalized branding to attract those who pass by. Once guests enter, they’re captivated by 360-degree visuals of your choosing.
Convention Dome at SxSW Festival
Inflatable Pop-Up Dome at AUG Trade Show
Inflatable Pop-Up Dome Interior
Innovative Trade Show Technology by Lumen and Forge
Trade shows are a specialty of Lumen and Forge. Having facilitated countless events for brands spanning numerous industries, Lumen and Forge knows what’s required to make your booth shine. Take a look at some of our previous work.
Trade Show Technology at WDMS Crypto Mining Convention
Toyota National Dealer Meeting - Projection Showcase
Lumen & Forge provided projection mapping for Toyota’s Dealer Meeting at Mandalay Bay, transforming the venue into an immersive visual experience. The 360° projections showcased Toyota’s innovations, new vehicle features, and future vision. Using six Panasonic PT-RQ22KU 4K projectors for the front wall and twelve Barco UDX-4K32 projectors for the surrounding walls, we ensured true 4K resolution with precise edge-blending and color calibration. Through this display, Lumen and Forge reinforced Toyota’s leadership in automotive innovation through expert large-scale projection.
Projection Wall at the Toyota National Dealer Meeting
BITMAIN at Fontainebleau for WDMS Cryptocurrency Trade Show
At the World Digital Mining Summit 2024, we elevated BITMAIN’s presence at Fontainebleau Las Vegas by incorporating immersive trade show technology to showcase their cutting-edge mining solutions. This setup included 5 interactive environments: a projection-mapped ANTMINER display, an interactive motion wall, a 10-foot geodesic projection dome, holographic fans, and a 360-degree photo booth. These environments offered visitors an engaging, memorable experience. Each installation was carefully designed to highlight BITMAIN’s technological innovations, creating shareable moments that captivated attendees and illustrated the future of cryptocurrency mining.
Object Projection Mapping for BITMAIN
Small Pop-Up Projection Dome
Let’s Discuss Trade Show Technology
FAQ
What are the most innovative trade show technologies?
Some of the most innovative technologies being used in trade shows today include the following:
- 360-degree projections
- Projection mapping
- Interactive displays
- Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR)
- Gesture-controlled displays
What are the benefits of using immersive technology at trade shows?
The biggest benefit of using immersive technology at a trade show is leaving a long-lasting impression on a visitor. Leaving a good impression is much more likely to have that visitor turn into a customer, who will then pass on the positive experience to their friends and family.