The critical 3 Second Test and How to Make an Impact on your Exhibition Stand
Just when you thought you’ve mastered your brief or worked with your exhibition stand designers to craft a stunning and impactful space for tradeshow visitors – we drop the reality psychology bombshell.
The science tells us, as perfectly explained in Daniel Kahneman’s TED Talk, ‘The Riddle of Experience -v- Memory’, that memories of an experience have a significant effect on future behaviour and that the psychological presence of an experience lasts only three seconds.
So, the question is, what does this brain science mean for you as a brand or organisation wanting to make a big impact at the show you’re investing in? Effectively, it means that you need to focus attention on making a long-lasting impression that outlasts the memory of the experience itself.
To drill down to the practicalities of how you do this – generally, it means not only simply showing up with an exhibition stand that offers the wow factor – but actually, focusing on entire ‘visitor / customer’ experience to offer your visitors a whole other dimension – beyond the wow.
It’s not good enough for you to look great and have the latest bells and whistles, after all, to make a lasting impact you’ve really got to mentally capture your audience. Remember, it’s not about you – it’s all about your visitors and how you make them feel.
So here are some quick-fire questions for you to ponder to make sure your focus is on the right things when putting your exhibition brief together:
- What’s at the forefront of your planning – you and the latest product or brand innovation you want to share – or your visitor and immersing them in the experience and showing them how your innovation moves and shifts their world?
- Is your understanding of the values of the audience you’re looking to capture crystal clear?
- Does the visitor journey flow – is there a clear navigational path which allows visitors to explore and immerse themselves as they wish as well as with the support of friendly, expertly informed and approachable team members?
And last, but by no means least…
- Does your stand sales story flow – is there a natural start, middle and end – helping your visitor to progress and learn through a conversion funnel in a way that keeps them engaged and inspired so that their visit is a meaningful one for business.
These are just a few of the questions we explore with our clients when working together to design an exhibition stand experience that truly considers taking visitors to another dimension – beyond the norms. Our clients love that we prod, provoke and push the boundaries and that our deep psychological understanding of visitor flow and conversion journeys comes together to create the perfect blend of creativity and performance – all with organisational objectives and the all-important visitor in mind.
If you’d like to take your exhibition stand or tradeshow presence to another dimension – then our 4D team would love to hear from you.
Simply email Suzanne Malhotra on suzanne@4d-design.co.uk or call on + 44 (0)1494 680088. Visit: www.4d-design.co.uk to see our work, creds and to get in touch.
