By Ellen Collins, CMP
Colorado. What a gift. The land that inspired Katharine Lee Bates to pen “for purple mountain majesties” now part of our patriotic song “America the Beautiful.” So how do you bottle this beauty and storied playground into a trade show booth?
What if you thought like a shop owner and created a magical pop-up store to pull customers in? Your goal is for customers to turn their heads, pause, enter, experience and purchase something spectacular. It is imperative to strike the correct chord with each meeting planner in order to be considered and ultimately selected for his or her incentive trip, conference or convention.
5 Things to Consider
- Create a burst of ENERGY – Fireworks … what’s your spark?
- Bring it to LIFE – Remember Tom Hanks in the movie “Big” playing “Chopsticks” on the piano at the toy store?
- Appeal to people’s EMOTION and senses.
- Keep it simple and make it FUN.
- Provide warm, welcoming authentic CARE from your staff.
At the December 2014 Destination Colorado Front Range Trade Show, our Vail Resorts meetings and events team created a Candy Land-themed footprint on the floor of the University of Denver’s basketball court. We tried to capture the beauty and playfulness of our Colorado mountain playgrounds in a design that resonated with our customers.
With props, sweet treats and an aligned sales team, we transformed our six-foot tables representing our Colorado resorts into the Land of Peppermint Forest, Gingerbread Plum Tree, Gumdrop Mountains, Lollypop Woods and The Castle (home). Our winding color-block path took customers on an adventure.
Ellen Collins, CMP is Senior Manager, National Group Sales for Vail Resorts based in Broomfield, Colorado. She has been in the service industry for more than 25 years. She loves finding solutions for customers and being their personal shopper.
Photos: Courtesy of Vail Resorts.
Travel trade show booth decorating ideas from Destination Colorado