Which Way Do I Go?

When performing an event site visit recently, our team went to great lengths to walk the space as if we were the attendee seeing it for the first time. We were watching to see where we might need a directional sign. Are the hallway intersections intuitive? When walking from one end of the convention center to the other, would the attendee naturally understand which way to go? If not, a directional sign there might be helpful.

After walking the convention center, we sat down and edited the locations to make sure we won’t overwhelm attendees with signs. Then we work with the designer to make sure the signs are very clear; short and sweet with large arrows and little information. We follow a similar pattern for the speaker and exhibitor journey as well. I assumed this is how all event planners operated. I recently discovered I was mistaken.

Our team exhibited at two different events recently. Your perspective is very different when you’re hosting the event and when you’re exhibiting at the event. We received affirmation that the way we think about our attendee experience might be “better than the average bear.”

At Event A, our booth was in a prominent location near the main entrance; a high-traffic area with great exposure. Excellent! When attendees approached the building, they received their name tag outside, then had to walk inside to retrieve their lanyard, badge holder, and conference shirt. Unfortunately for the attendees, there was no signage telling them that the location to do this was not in the large atrium where we were (which would have been the logical place) but down a long hallway flanked by vendors on both sides. Because of our great location, our team quickly became “guest services” as we directed attendees down the hall for three days.

Event B was a larger event at an arena for over 5000+ people. Surely this would be better. Our hopes were dashed when as we pulled up to the location, despite our best efforts, we could not even find where exhibitors were to check-in. We ended up at a propped open door which turned out to be for volunteers, on the opposite side from where we were supposed to be. Not only that, but one of our team members was speaking, and even while working with one of the event staff members, she could not find the location for speaker check-in. I could only imagine what the experience had to be like for the attendees. I never made it around to the entrance to find out.

All this to say, when planning your next event, please take the time to forget that YOU know where you are going. Start at the beginning, literally, and see where you think a directional sign might come in handy. Feel free to invite someone along who has never been to the location to get their feedback. Ensure your attendees, speakers, and exhibitors are comfortable participating at your event and know where to go next.

Have you had a lack-of-sign or an over-abundance-of-sign experience? Share it here or email me. I’d love to hear about it!

I’d love it if you’d like this blog, share it on your social media and with others who plan events!

Want to schedule a consultation with Tracy? Visit tracybaer.com!