On a global basis, the number one reason attendees and visitors go to trade shows is to see new products and services. This is borne out in UFI/Explori Visitor Surveys.

CES 2020, the largest annual trade-only exhibition in the United States, was held earlier this month in Las Vegas, NV. It had over 175,000 attendees, 4400+ exhibiting companies, and almost 3 million square feet over five venues and took place for four days.

Besides hundreds, if not thousands of product launches throughout the show, CES 2020 also had a 1200-booth dedicated launch area called Eureka Park. Taking up a good section of one of the Sands Expo two floors, these start-ups were segmented into broad sectors (health and fitness, AI and robotics, etc.).

This area was packed with visitors during the whole show, and even in the last hours of the last day, it still had good traffic. Buyers actively engaged with the entrepreneurs. Also, of note were country pavilions. France alone had a 400-company pavilion. The Netherlands had over sixty. Other standouts included Egypt, the UK, Japan, and South Korea.

Here are nine questions to consider when working on a new business pavilion strategy and its subsequent execution:

  1. What is your exhibition doing to encourage launches and new products?
  2. Where are you placing the new product pavilion on the exhibit floor? Is it front and center, or stuck at the back end of the exhibit hall?
  3. What are the criteria to determine eligibility?
  4. How long may a company stay in the new business area before graduating to the main exhibition floor? One or two years? More?
  5. What kind of package space will you include? Kiosk formats are the most popular.
  6. What will you charge? Remember, start-ups don’t have much money!
  7. How will you promote the area to potential exhibitors? To visitors?
  8. Will you hold a start-up pitch session?
  9. What will you call it? Be creative and clear with your messaging.

Provide onsite excitement and help the industries your shows serve to adapt, change, and grow. Make it easy for buyers to find new products and services by producing and promoting a new business pavilion at your next exhibition.