For vendors and suppliers in the maritime industry, the International WorkBoat Show in New Orleans is an incredible annual opportunity to showcase your business and network with other industry leaders. Whether you’re going to exhibit at this year’s show or in the future, you’ll want to plan how you can make a lasting impression on the commercial vessel owners, operators, builders, and other attendees in your target audience.

Keep reading for our exhibition experts’ advice to make the most of your trade show booth at the International WorkBoat Show.

Exhibiting at the International WorkBoat Show

If you want your booth to perform its best at the International WorkBoat Show, you’ll want to keep in mind the specifics of this trade show, its audience, and its venue. Our experts are here to help with a few of our key insights.

Showcase Sought-After Products

According to survey data collected by the International WorkBoat Show itself, these are the top 10 products that visitors reported wanting to see at the trade show:

1. Boatbuilding/Repair
2. Boatbuilding Materials
3. Electrical Systems & Components
4. Electronics — Navigation
5. Services
6. Above Deck — Equipment/Hardware/Systems
7. Below Deck — Equipment/Hardware/Systems
8. Electronics — Communications
9. Propulsion/Steering Systems
10.  Safety/Survival

First and foremost, your trade show booth should be straightforward, clean, and easy to understand. A well-organized, branded booth can help prospective customers see your products, learn about your services, and build recognition with your company.

When arranging your display table, it is still important to follow the usual best practices. Use varying levels to increase product visibility, placing the shortest products in front, medium-sized in the middle, and larger items in the back.

The data above can help you customize your trade show booth for the International WorkBoat Show’s audience. Highlight the types of products that these attendees most want to see, emphasize any services that support those types of products, and prepare staff that are going to be working the floor on relevant talking points for this audience.

Consider the Venue’s Key Areas

The International WorkBoat Show is hosted annually at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. You can download the 2021 show floor plan directly from the International WorkBoat Show’s Exhibiting Info Kit.

With this information in hand, you can strategize your ideal location around key areas:

• Showroom entrances receive the most foot traffic. Highly visible to attendees when they are first entering the showroom, spots near the entrances allow you to grab people’s attention before they are fatigued from looking at too many displays. They also help you make a final impression on people as they leave.
• Bathrooms and food spots also draw attendees throughout the day. Especially in New Orleans, food is a major attraction and sure to get attention.
• Major intersections and busy corners require a little more time to identify. This can mean they may not get booked up as quickly as spots near entrances, bathrooms, or food, making them a good alternative. If there is any prominent signage with maps, directions, or schedules, you’ll be sure to find attendees stopping by those areas as well.
• Complementary displays of your own can help expose your offerings to a relevant audience. If you are not in direct competition for business but have offerings that would complement one another, consider networking and potentially coordinating with other exhibitors. Or if there is a major company or flashy display drawing in attendees, setting up next door can give you access to their traffic.

To find out which spaces are available, be sure to contact a sales representative at the International WorkBoat Show.

If spots near the entrances, bathrooms, and food are all taken, you can ask for their input on where any major intersections, busy corners, maps, directions, or schedules are located. Ask if a list of other vendors and suppliers is available so you can look for complementary displays to your own (and avoid direct competitors).

It also never hurts to ask if there is a backup list for those valuable spots. If another exhibitor drops out of the show, you could get lucky with a premium location for your booth.

Engage Potential Customers with Video

Video is an increasingly effective way to educate users about your products and services, making it a key component to consider for your trade show booth at the International WorkBoat Show and elsewhere.

In a recent report, 94% of people indicated that they watch explainer videos to get more information about a product. 84% said that an explainer video influenced their purchasing decision. Video is also a valuable avenue for explaining services, which can’t be physically displayed in the same way as products.

Video can also assist the workers staffing your booth. It gives people more engaging material to keep them interested and actively learning about your offerings while workers finish talking to other attendees.

It also allows attendees to gain more familiarity with your products or services in a low-stakes situation. If they do talk to your staff, the questions they ask will be more specific to their needs and concerns, since much of the basic information will be provided by the video.

To learn more, check out our blog post about the benefits of using video in a trade show booth design.

Need Help Before the International WorkBoat Show? Contact Cardinal Expo

With decades of experience across the US, Cardinal Expo can confidently handle your trade show needs. We take pride in our high-level, end-to-end services and customer satisfaction, giving you the flexibility and results you need to succeed.

From planning to execution, our talented team is equipped with industry knowledge and innovative problem-solving skills to assist you every step of the way. With display design, branding, fabrication, logistics, and production management, we can handle every aspect of your planning prior to the event. We also provide installation, dismantling, inventory, and onsite supervision to ensure that everything runs smoothly the day of the show.

Contact us today to talk about how we can help with your next trade show.