Planning A High-Performance Trade Show Exhibit

By Julie Duvall and William E. Fillmore, P.E.

Atlas Equipment Company of North Kansas City, Missouri is a solutions provider for material handling requirements. At last year's Plant Engineering and Operations Show in Kansas City, Atlas Equipment Company walked off with the “Best of Show” Award for its exhibit.

The Show was an ideal opportunity to showcase Atlas Equipment Company's capabilities to the Kansas City regional marketplace. It was important for us to stress that we are not merely equipment vendors, but that we also serve as advisors to clients in finding the most effective methods to solve their material handling challenges. We targeted on results—attracting prospects while building respect for our company and its capabilities. It is a real challenge to convey this impression in a small booth within a large convention center. The booth had to be excellent to achieve our goals.

To get top results we needed a top-notch plan. After a brief investigation, we found that the Institute for High Performance Planners (IHPP) was headquartered in Kansas City. We also discovered that the chairman of IHPP had authored the most popular book on layout planning ever written, and that members of the Institute had developed a pre-engineered master guide for planning. With our experience in marketing and IHPP's Short-Form High-Performance Project Planning methodology, aka Short-Form Hi3P, we tackled the design of our booth. The following shows how we did it.

Planning Process
Developing the exhibit started with a planning process that involved several Atlas Equipment Company employees. Sales Engineers Lee Tresner and John Caldwell helped determine the products to display and the overall theme. Clyde Spainhour, operations manager, was instrumental in “how” we would install under less-than-normal conditions. Dave Poe, senior CAD engineer, provided all the technical lay-outs and dimensioning needed to place every item in the booth. Dave also provided the 3-D renderings that we have used for follow-up and advertising. Several support staff, including Ester Dennis and Dan Powell, were instrumental in planning and executing all of the literature and support items needed for the booth. They also addressed the numerous details required to support the entire effort: food, extra people to work in the booth, transportation and parking.

We wanted Atlas' booth to convey one of two impressions:

1. “Atlas has solutions to any material handling need.” A breadth of product would be shown.
2. “We need the same solutions in our pick and pack areas.” Showing a working pick area with a fully automated and controlled conveyor system, ergonomic workbenches in four acceptable configurations and peripheral storage such as flow rack and shelving would draw attention.

Step 1 - Orient & Organize the Project
For this task, a Project Orientation Worksheet (Figure 1) was used. Project essentials were listed:

• Objectives
• External Conditions
• Characteristics of our Situation
• Scope/Extent
• Planned Form of our Planning Project's Output.

We identified the issues facing the planning team, rated their relative importance, and decided who would take the leadership role in resolving each issue.

Next, we determined the planning fundamentals pertinent to our subject area. The “fundamentals” are those rudimentary elements of a subject area that are important to, singular if not unique for, and always involved in the particular subject area. For Atlas, these fundamentals turned out to be: Equipment to be included in the booth, desired Presentation for each piece of equipment, and the Arrangement that would best achieve the desired presentation of the equipment.

A planning schedule for the project was established. Since we wanted the installation crew to have enough time to be ready to physically install the equipment, we decided that the planning should be completed two weeks prior to the Show.

Completing this Worksheet also gave us the opportunity to share this important information with the entire project team, so they could make additional inputs and know what to expect.

Step 2 - Investigate & Clarify the Equipment
To decide which pieces of equipment to include, Atlas' sales force was surveyed. They determined which items would best display the variety of equipment marketed by Atlas and show our ability to join several pieces of equipment together into a working, integrated system. The final listing (Figure 2) also indicated whether each item of equipment was fixed or mobile, the equipment supplier, and its space requirements.

Figure 2. Equipment Area and Features Sheet (Click the image for a full screen display of this Worksheet)

Early in the year, letters were sent to Atlas vendors concerning our plans for the show with a request that they assist us in displaying their newest products. We had a great response with many offering demo units. Some even offered to work along with us in the booth.

One vendor told us they no longer send out demo units to shows. When this vendor's local sales representative and the company vice president visited Atlas' booth at the show, they were very complimentary of the booth and our staff and left the impression that they wished their company had participated with Atlas.

Figure 3a.

Step 3 - Clarify Presentation & Relate to Equipment
Atlas had two booth spaces, each 20' x 40' with a 10 foot aisle down the middle. A drawing of the booth was divided into a grid of 2-foot by 2-foot squares, and a desirability rating was established for each square. Those closest to the path of show visitors were given an “A” rating (“AA” rating, if visible from two aisles at once). The next most desirable locations were given “E”, “I”, or “O” ratings, in order of decreasing desirability of the vowel-letter rating process (Figure 3a).

Each piece of equipment was then rated for its desired presentation, using the same vowel-letter rating scale (Figure 3b). Criteria for these ratings were based on technological diversity showcased, along with how well the piece could be combined with other equipment to demonstrate our solution integration capabilities.

By looking at how valuable each area of the booth was as far as traffic at the show and which products we felt were most important to display, the plan was a natural evolution.

It was very important that everything MOVED. We did not want to display any equipment that is used to complete a task and just have it sitting there. In a huge hall filled with products, getting attendees' attention is critical. So it was essential that the equipment in the booth was moving and being utilized.

The importance of the need for movement was clarified during the show when a crowd of 40 people was standing in front of the conveyor side of the booth watching the entire process work. Our operators were pulling products, packing them in boxes, sealing the boxes, weighing and moving them with the aid of the conveyor system. On the far left end, an operator lifted the full boxes with an Anver vacuum hoist, unpacked the product and returned it to stock. We had numerous inquiries about all of these products. There was great interest in the ergonomic workstations and how they were configured for use with the conveyor. There were also many questions about the Dr. Spitzer gloves all the operators were wearing, the matting they were standing on and the Biofit Chair at the front workstation.

Step 4 - Integrate Arrangement & Develop Alternatives
Two logical alternatives were developed (Figure 4). One alternative placed the conveyor with ergonomic workstations on Side A of the booth. Lifting and mobile equipment were placed on Side B.

The second alternative placed the conveyor and ergonomic workstations on Side B of the Booth, with lifting and mobile equipment on Side A.

In both cases, pallet racks spanned the aisle separating the two sides.

Figure 4.                                 Alternative A                                     Side A                                                      Side B

Figure 5. Evaluating Alternatives (Click the image for a full screen display of this Worksheet.)

Step 5 - Select & Accept
Selection of the preferred alternative (arrangement) was based on intangible factors, because the costs for both alternatives were the same. We examined the flow of traffic, what products would be visible first, and what would make people “stop” to look at our booth and our capabilities. These factors were given a point value to determine the better of the two scenarios.

Of the two, Alternative A was chosen. The project team felt it would be more attractive, would better suggest the breadth of Atlas Equipment Company's product offerings, and would better highlight new products (Figure 5).

Step 6 - Detail & Prepare to Do
At professional trade shows, crews are not allowed to use forklifts without getting an authorized convention employee to operate them. So we look for ways to “pre-assemble” products. Also, a number of issues must be addressed since nothing can be anchored into the floor.

Five truckloads of materials were moved to the site. Because of the time allowed by the Exhibition Hall, the exhibit had to be completely installed within two days. With no time to spare, scheduling the sequence for installation of the items was crucial. A precedence analysis was made, along with estimates of staff time required. This pointed out the need to divide the work between two crews working simultaneously. The planned sequence was carefully followed, and installation was completed on time (Figure 6).

Figure 6. Allocation & Schedule Worksheet (Click the image for a full screen display of this Worksheet.)

Results
The planning of the show has become almost year round. The IHPP method made the physical part of the job much easier and focused our attention on “thinking” through the entire process well before we were in the Exhibit Hall. The actual planning effort took place over a period of nine days.

It is not likely that the booth will be used again, since each new show presents an opportunity and a challenge to show something new and different. Atlas has used a different display each year with the “breadth of product line” connotation. For 2001, Atlas is planning a departure from that theme and will focus on specific “solutions” to common material handling problems.

At the end of two days, Atlas had lead cards from approximately 10 percent of the total show attendance. Many companies visited our booth in groups of two or more, and a lead card is not usually done on each person. We also don't write up lead cards from customers with whom we work on a regular basis. Looking at the actual opportunities generated from the show, it was a huge success.

(It is important to note that the time Julie Duvall spent on planning the booth decreased significantly from other years—about 20 percent. She focused on establishing the overall theme, acquiring new products for the booth, how to attract customers to the booth, and how to do follow-up on leads from the show. In previous years, she had to be on the site constantly to assist with “placement” of the product. For this show, she didn't even go over to the hall until late on the first set-up day and the crew only had a question about a piece of equipment that was received at the last minute and was not on the plan.)

The Atlas Equipment Company booth was awarded “Best of Show.” It also received the “Best Marketing Effort” award for bringing more people to the material handling show than any other participant. Using the planning method allowed us to focus more attention on the marketing. You can create the most incredible booth ever, but if participation is low, the return on investment will be small.

The drawing of Atlas Equipment Company's booth was mailed to show visitors right after the show. These photo-quality drawings were mailed as slicks in white cardboard tubes with gold seals on the ends. Some customers have them hanging in their offices, an almost constant reminder of Atlas Equipment Company.

While it is natural to think of exhibit space as physical products to show and sensitive features to attract people, we found that the largely mental process of planning was indeed the missing link that tied it all together. If a company is going to invest in participation at a trade show, it must be viewed as a complete process. With the proper planning, marketing and follow-up, excellent benefits can be attained.

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The MHEDA Journal • Second Quarter 2001 • Volume 30, No. 2 • Contents are Copyright © Data Key Communications, Inc.
All rights reserved. • Nothing may be reproduced in whole or part without written permission of the publisher.