How Promo Suppliers Are Rethinking Trade Show Booth Strategy

With trade show season in full swing, a clear shift is happening on the show floor. As suppliers look to create more meaningful, intentional interactions with distributors, they're rethinking booth design and their approach to buyer interaction.

To get a pulse on what’s happening behind the scenes, we chatted with suppliers and event organizers about evolving distributor behavior, the changes they’re making to booth design, and advice for other suppliers looking to connect with buyers.

A More Intentional Show Floor

Today, trade show attendees arrive on the show floor with a plan. They’re not just wandering aisles like they once did. They have a list of suppliers they want to visit, products their clients are asking for, and problems they’re looking to solve.

For Kelly Stone, owner and CEO of The Idea Box powered by Proforma, focus comes down to finding partners who can deliver solutions. “Being in the industry for 25-plus years, shows are important to see new ideas but those are few and far between,” Stone says. “Honestly an eye-catching booth design as well as having engaging people in your booth make all the difference. If you get my attention, and you can help solve a problem or fill a need, that is what I am looking for.”

As Stone outlines, distributors are more selective about how and where they spend their time on the show floor. That shift is changing not just how they navigate shows, but how exhibitors approach them.

Andy Cohen, senior vice president of media, events & marketing services at Advertising Specialty Institute, says he’s noticed exhibitors focusing on quality over quantity — prioritizing the right connections instead of trying to meet every attendee.

“They’re really planning out their attendee engagement strategies and being more intentional about attracting attention from the attendees they most want to see,” Cohen explains. “As far as attendees are concerned, they’re definitely more focused on having deeper conversations with exhibitors. A few years ago, you’d walk one of our shows and see many attendees just floating from booth to booth to get their badges scanned and moving along to the next one. It’s not like that now. There are longer and deeper conversations, which is great to see. I’d say both sides are more purposeful about their interactions with each other at trade shows.”

Kristine Eng, director of marketing at Pop! Promos, an A+ rated ASI supplier, says that’s been her experience in the booth over the last few years as distributor expectations have “massively” changed.

“Gone are the days of holding up a badge, asking for a scan, and waiting for a catalog to hit your inbox — or mailbox,” Eng shares. “Today, distributors are far more intentional with their time on the show floor and are looking to spend it with supplier partners who add real value.”

She’s also seeing more distributors crowdsource “shopping lists” from their clients ahead of a show, asking them to sound off in the comments on social media about what they’re wanting or needing. This allows the distributor to walk the floor with purpose rather than meander from booth to booth.

“That shift has fundamentally changed the dynamic from passive browsing to curated discovery,” Eng shares. “The biggest evolution is the move from product-first thinking to experience and activation-driven booths. Products still matter, but it’s the context that makes them memorable. The difference between ‘Where did I see those socks?’ and ‘Oh, those were the socks with the fun lemon design I saw at the Pop! Promos Farmers Market booth’ is the experience surrounding them. Trade shows are about making memories, and those memories are what create lasting brand recall and stronger post-show follow-up.”

Where Booth Strategies Fall Short

Even as expectations and attendee behaviors evolve, some booths haven’t kept pace. Traditional setups that rely heavily on signage, backdrops, static displays, or broad messaging can miss the mark, failing to capture or sustain attention long enough to spark meaningful conversations.

Without a well-thought-out engagement strategy and the necessary post-show follow-up, suppliers risk falling short, Cohen says.

“If you just hang some signage and a backdrop and expect that you’re going to get great, high-quality leads, you’re mistaken today,” he adds. “You need to plan a strategy in advance that is designed to engage with specific audiences and capture their attention.”

Show floor engagement is only half the battle, albeit the more challenging one. The other is what Cohen says is all too common: the lack of follow-up from exhibitors. “Yes, there’s work to be done once you come back from a show, but if lead follow-up and engagement isn’t job-one at that point, then you’re missing out on huge opportunities,” he argues. “Be as specific as you can in the follow-up with leads after a show. If an attendee asked you about a promotional program for one of their clients, then reference that in your follow-up. It’ll make you stand out from the pack that’s doing generic follow-ups — or worse, no follow-up at all.”

With quality attendee engagement hinging on both the look and feel of your booth, it’s all about having the right balance, which is easy to get wrong.

“Many suppliers over-index on aesthetics and under-index on interaction,” Eng notes. “A booth doesn’t need to look like an Apple Store to be effective or attractive. While a sleek setup can be impressive, it often creates a barrier rather than an invitation. What matters more is how people enter the space, how they move through it, and how naturally conversations can start. If your sales reps can’t easily tell a story, or if attendees don’t know where to pause and engage, you’re missing opportunities. The best booths are designed not just to be seen, but to be interacted with.”

From Display to Experience

So how are suppliers putting this into action? Eye-catching visuals plus proactive, engaged booth staff. These two paired together is what separates booths that draw attention from those attendees end up walking past, Cohen says.

“Any kind of activation or demo, especially with large machinery, tends to get noticed on a show floor,” he adds. “Lastly, prizes or contests that surprise and engage attendees [work well].”

Hands-on, product-driven booths change how attendees engage with and remember a supplier. It creates more opportunities to talk, touch, and experience products.

“Attention spans are short, so signage with too much content is quickly overlooked and often ignored,” Cohen says of traditional versus more retail-inspired displays.

This is exactly the mindset Next Level Apparel took to the drawing board, asking if the traditional trade show setup truly reflected how it works with its customers.

“Large walls and oversized graphics can look impressive, but they can also create distance,” Eric Simsolo, president of Next Level Apparel, shares. “Internally, the question became: What would feel most welcoming, transparent, and aligned with our brand?”

For the apparel manufacturer, that meant tearing down some walls, figuratively and literally.

"We wanted an open environment that mirrored the way Next Level Apparel partners with distributors every day — collaborative, accessible, and built on real conversation rather than presentation,” Simsolo says. “Signage is important for visibility, but we intentionally focused on what happens once someone steps into the space. By prioritizing hands-on merchandising, the booth functions more like an in-store experience than a traditional display.”

For Next Level, that meant a workspace where distributors could browse apparel collections independently — the way someone would in a retail store — or work with someone to build a program together.

"That hands-on interaction allows the product to speak for itself, giving guests the chance to feel the fabrics, craftsmanship, and quality behind every garment, and creates stronger recall because the experience feels practical, not promotional,” Simsolo argues.

This approach takes the focus off leads and puts a spotlight on interaction, and naturally, guests not only entered the booth but stayed longer.

“The shift was immediately noticeable,” Simsolo says. “Guests spent more time in the booth, and the conversations were more intentional. Instead of quick walk-throughs, attendees explored the collections, navigated the space intuitively, and engaged more deeply with the product.”

The retail-like environment made people more comfortable and curious, Simsolo adds, reinforcing the thought that distributors are looking for something more when walking the floor.

At Pop! Promos, the team intentionally designs bespoke booth experiences each year, Eng shares. Despite it taking more time to develop, the approach ensures booth presence aligns with the brand.

“It’s a heavy lift, but it allows us to show how we shine,” Eng continues. “Creativity is our superpower. As a fully custom supplier, there are no limits to what we can build, and our booth needs to visually reinforce that from the moment someone walks by.”

This year, Pop! Promos opted for a fun farmers market theme, leaning into trending produce iconography and a nostalgic, nature feel. The idea of picking fresh fruits at a farmers market reflects a desire for warmth, authenticity, and community, which Eng says is a natural fit for the Pop! Promos brand.

“Partnership, collaboration, and relationship-building are core to how distributors and suppliers work together,” she continues. “By framing our booth as a market, we weren’t just displaying products; we were creating a space that felt welcoming, human, and connected.”

The supplier used farm stand carts to create small vignettes, encouraging people to stop, slow down, and explore. “That shift from scanning racks to discovering scenes changes the quality of conversation,” Eng says. “When products are presented with intention and personality, they spark storytelling. And storytelling is what makes both the product and the supplier memorable long after the show ends.”

That kind of interaction is what ultimately keeps distributors in a booth. “Tell me why and how. Ask me questions, and listen to me and offer solutions,” Stone says. “You will keep me in your booth if you do that.”

For suppliers rethinking their trade show booth strategy, Eng says it all starts with clarity:

“You have to understand your customer and your unique value proposition, and more importantly, why that combination matters to them. You don’t need the biggest or flashiest booth on the floor to stand out. Start by defining the single message you want someone to walk away with after spending two minutes in your space. Then ask, ‘How can we communicate that differently than everyone around us?’ When your booth strategy is rooted in intention rather than imitation, the impact follows."