Tradeshow Signs - Doing What Comes Naturally

Lost and Confused Signpost I’ve been going to the Advertising Specialty Institute Chicago Show (the promotional products show) for several years at McCormick Place. This year, as in years before, I usually park in the Lakeside Center since the show usually located in the hall just across the bridge between buildings. Through the Lakeside Center, up the escalator, cross the bridge and what do I find? A completely shut down hall. Signs for a food industry show are displayed, but the show is not in session. Guessing it’s in the process of move-in. Only other thing going on is a Pampered Chef convention (not a good fit for me!). Uh-oh! Did I get the wrong date? I look at my registration confirmation. No, I’m here on the right date. So I head back to the information desk in Lakeside. The attendant says they moved the show to another hall — or should I say “haul” — from where it usually is held.

Well, that explains it. But it doesn’t explain why there were no signs redirecting to the show’s new location. In recent memory, say for the past six or more years, this show has been in the same hall. I was visiting the show on the last day. I can imagine how many were wandering around looking for it on days one and two of the event. My running around and trying to find where it had moved wasted about more than a half hour of my life. Yep, really appreciated that workout.

Got me thinking about tradeshow and event signs, especially directional ones. Here’s what I’ve concluded:

Place Signs and Staff Where Attendees Would Naturally Be – As in the case of the ASI Show, these directional signs should have been placed near its standard location. A map showing how to get to the new venue would have been helpful. The show had greeters to direct to the new venue, but they were situated after you had walked through the entire building and taken the escalator down a flight or two from its usual location.
Realize that Attendees’ Visits Start BEFORE They Arrive – Saying something is at McCormick Place isn’t specific enough since it has multiple buildings and levels. Registration and promotional information must include hall location and maps, especially when the location has changed after several years. They may have had a lighted sign off the 31st Street ramp on Lake Shore Drive directing to other parking. But I’m driving and if I have a green light, I’m not paying attention to that. I vaguely remember seeing a Pampered Chef message on the sign.

Now that I’m finished with that rant, we should talk about street signs in downtown Chicago…