Tecna UK’s Top Picks for Powerful Points of Interest

When designing your display, think about what is really going to entice visitors to your display whilst also effectively marketing your brand. In fact, just over 80% of exhibitors agreed that building brand awareness is a main priority for trade shows(1). And one of the ways to make your brand and product memorable, is by incorporating interesting use of colour, light and movement to strengthen points of interest on your display.

A point of interest, being specific to the exhibition environment, is an element of interest to visitors or passers-by. They are features on your display that will draw people in and are a great conversation starter. Points of interest are integral to drive footfall onto your display, create better first impressions, and drive clear brand messaging and marketing of your product. As a result, you’ll increase your leads and consequently, secure sufficient return of investment.

We select some of our top choices for fundamental strengthening points of interest, ensuring your display creates a memorable dramatic impact with a purpose.

Using Colour to Enhance Products or Brand Messaging

In an exhibition environment, you want to create a good first impression, especially to drive visitors onto your stand. Colour is influential in making that decision – even if subconsciously! And it is important to choose the right colours to match your brand, but also, evoke emotion and prompt visitors to take action, to positively engage and begin their customer journey. Use colour to highlight points of interest on your stand, whether that be your brand name, or to enhance a product or brand messaging; make your brand known from the outset.

Associate the Best Colour for Your Brand

Even before making contact, visitors are making a judgement on your display. Research shows that people make a subconscious judgement about an environment, or product within 90 seconds of initial viewing. And, well over 60% of that judgement, is based on colour alone (2). So, its worth establishing what colour you want to represent your brand and what colours you want consumers to associate with your brand.

Adapting Colour Choices to Match Brand Decisions

Colour is vital in enhancing different points of interest, as it increases brand recognition by up to 80% (1). Which is why it is interesting when brands choose to change their colour, especially when consistency is key in marketing. For example, Coca Cola, released a huge marketing campaign back in 2014, when releasing their new Coca Cola Life drink. A dramatic change from their usual red branding, to a green, aimed to market a new lower calorie option. The option to choose green was to promote the sugar and sweetener both being naturally sourced from stevia leaf extract. Although this was a simple colour change, it effectively marketed a new product, whilst also being of memorable interest.

Evoke Emotion and Trigger Action using Colour

When designing your display, and pinpointing your points of interest on your stand, identify what colours are going to enhance these features, both functionally and aesthetically to strengthen brand recognition. For instance, red triggers action and urgency, whereas if you opt for a blue, it shouts stability and security. Recognise the best colour to use in what situation and what design, whilst also keeping consistent with your brand colours to really emphasise key points of interest and encourage visitors to take action.

Light Up Your Display to Focus Visitor’s Attention on Key Features

Pendant lighting points of interest

Whilst using colour can completely transform your display, lighting is a prominent feature that can really highlight your stand – quite literally! Lighting is a great way to focus your visitor’s attention to specific features on your display. Use it to illuminate focus onto products, or simply to create an atmosphere. Think about the functionality of lighting and how to use it to direct visitors to key features of your display. Consider your venue space to determine how much lighting you will need.

Using Lighting to Fulfil a Purpose

There are 3 main concepts behind the use of lighting.

1. Ambient lighting

Ambient lighting will simply illuminate your display and create an atmosphere. Although a fundamental, it fulfils a purpose to enhance your branding and draw attention to your display in general.

2. Accent Lighting

Accent lighting is used on particular parts of your display to create focal points. This is a great form of lighting to really get noticed and entice visitors to specific points on your stand, such as your logo or onto a product to draw interest.

3. Task lighting

Task lighting is for a specific intention. It should be considered to draw people not only to certain aspects of your display, but to trigger an action. Such as, shining direct light onto brochures to encourage visitors to pick them up etc.

And with a wide range of different lighting, you can’t miss out on using it effectively on your display. Integrate different types of lighting for different purposes. Overhead lamps are great for ambient light, just to light up your display, whereas spotlights are great for identifying the points of interest on your display, where there may be a product, or you simply just want to focus attention on your logo.

Movement to Draw Attention and Drive Footfall Onto your Display

It’s self-explanatory that any movement on a display is going to draw attention and reinforce key points of interest. But movement comes in all shapes and forms, whether it is movement from people, or through media, it is all accounted for in engagement. When you’re exhibiting recognise where your display space is located and the likely direction of approaching visitors. Consider how you can use your allocated area to your benefit. Design your display to incorporate key points of interest, in the direct eyeline of visitors when they first see your stand. Or you might want to incorporate movement directly within your display design by integrating points of interactivity, either through a screen or hands-on engagement with a game, for example. These will drive interest, and direct foot traffic onto your stand.

Integrating Screens to Encourage Engagement

It’s probably not a shock to know integrating screens onto your display is going to engage people, even from afar. The tricky bit is assessing the positioning of your screens and what you’re going to broadcast on your screen, to ultimately become its own point of interest. In fact, having moving image on a screen is an absolute must, as nearly 60% of senior executives say that if they’re confronted with both text and video versions, they’re more likely and to watch the video(3)3. So, really think about what messaging you want to put across. What do you want to say visually, that will represent your brand and product? By including these ideas into your visuals, you create an impactful feature for your visitors to focus on.

Likewise, assess how you can position your screens, or points of interest in general, to attract visitors as soon as they see your display. As you distinguish the direction of footfall around your display, you’re onto a winner to designing your display uniquely, to attract and engage visitors as soon as they set eyes onto your stand.

So, there we have it, some of Tecna UK’s top picks for powerful points of interest. Think wisely about how you can have features on your stand that stand out and entice visitors, and how colour, light and movement can positively influence these elements. For more information, check out our second blog post of the series on using height, form and function.