It is often assumed that the aesthetic design of an exhibition stand is the most important factor in attracting attendees at an event. However, research suggests that another element that should be considered is the way in which attendees move around an exhibition hall which may impact your decisions regarding your plot at the event.
An indoor event can provide a platform for many organisations to showcase what they have to offer, resulting in exhibition halls often buzzing with excitement and anticipation. In most cases, an event is centred around a specific industry leading to a general theme throughout the list of exhibitors. This simple element of similarity can be of great assistance to attendees as it creates a thematic path in their minds to navigate the event*.
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In 1983, two researchers known as Veron and Levasseur** discovered that there are various methods used by attendees in how they navigate an exhibition. They assigned different animal names to correspond with attendee movement patterns and formulated the following descriptive system:
Ant:
Follows a specific path and spends time viewing all of the exhibits in detail.
Fish:
Focuses their attention on the centre of the room and avoids looking at the exhibits in detail.
Butterfly:
Does not follow a specific path and uses the physical orientation of the exhibits as a guide, along with frequently stopping to view further information in detail.
Grasshopper:
Has preselected various exhibits they are interested in and spends the majority of their time viewing those whilst ignoring others.
This information can be of great use when planning an exhibition as it demonstrates the importance of the layout of an event in order for attendees to have an enjoyable experience whilst making their way around the exhibition hall.
Showplace has been creating and building stunning designs for indoor exhibitions, events and conferences for over 30 years. We work with an array of clients across all sectors within the UK and Europe, using our expertise to ensure that clients can effectively communicate their brand, products and services in order to stand out from the crowd.
For more information about Showplace, please call 01789 333950 or email聽sales@showplace.co.uk.
*Path, theme and narrative in open plan exhibition settings 鈥� Peponis et al 2003
**Analysing museum visitors鈥� behaviour patterns 鈥� Zancanaro et al 2007
