EXHIBITOR2010

MG Design Associates Corp. won the Best of Show Award for exhibits larger than 200 sq. ft. at EXHIBITOR2010, which met March 14-18 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Las Vegas.

Ten exhibitors earn top honors

LAS VEGAS — Ten exhibitors were recognized for the overall excellence of their booth design, for outstanding booth staffing or for outstanding new products at EXHIBITOR2010, the world conference and exhibition for trade show and corporate event marketing, which met March 14-18 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Las Vegas. Judged by a panel of their industry peers, the winners were selected out of 248 participating exhibitors.

Best of Show

Noting that the design, execution and boothmanship of this year’s exhibitors were exceptional, the judging panel considered a number of companies before arriving at their final selections.

MG Design Associates Corp. won the Best of Show Award for exhibits larger than 200 sq. ft.

Winning Best of Show in the category of 200 sq. ft. or less was Kubik, Inc.

Judges used several criteria in selected the Best of Show winners. These included: Is the booth functional and accessible? Does the booth have an inviting and attractive design layout? Are the booth products displayed effectively? And are the booth products’ marketing messages clear?

Best Booth Staff

Quantum Desine Group, Inc., a first time exhibitor at the show, won the Best Booth Staff Award at EXHIBITOR2010. The award was based on their use of proper booth etiquette; active engagement; effective conversation starters; adequate staffing; qualifying techniques and how well informed the booth staff was.

Best New Exhibitor Award

Apple Rock Advertising & Promotion, Inc. won Best New Exhibitor at EXHIBITOR2010 award, an award created to recognize the 47 new exhibitors in this year’s event. Judges applauded the engaging techniques of the exhibit staff and the way they directed visitors to the product displays.

Buyers Choice Awards

Six of the new products debuting at EXHIBITOR2010 were honored by judges with Buyers Choice Awards. The six were recognized from the 38 products selected for entry in the show’s New Product Showcase. The products were chosen based on innovative design, broad-based application, the addressing of an industry need and whether or not the new product would enhance the job of an exhibit or event marketing professional.

Showcraft was recognized for its euroPod kiosk. Judges liked the multiple data-capture options and badge swipe functionality of the kiosk as well as the ways in which messaging and corporate branding can be displayed on its color laminate panels. One judge commented: “I like the look of it. It’s elegant, modern looking and doesn’t look as disposable as pop-ups sometimes do.”

PosterGarden won for its Sophora Tensioned Fabric Display, a 10-foot booth that comes in a convenient pillowcase-and-zipper design, assembles without tools and is 100 percent recyclable. “I like that the fabric is ‘sales-rep safe,’” said one judge. “My reps could put this together on their own. The fabric is machine washable, which is a huge plus.”

The Envoy Exhibit System from Skyline Displays Inc. earned its award because of its proprietary fabric connection system, which makes it easy to change one fabric graphic for another without changing any of the exhibit’s existing hardware. “It takes a lot of labor out of the equation and you can’t see the framework,” said the judges.

Freeman’s Autostereoscopic 3-D Monitor won for its ability to deliver a stereoscopic experience without the need for 3-D glasses, according to the judges. They also liked the way in which universal mountings make the 42-inch LCD monitor easy to mount in an exhibit.

The interactive technology of Kaon Interactive’s Kaon v-Connect Pro was recognized by the judges for its ability to facilitate face-to-face real-time interaction between an exhibitor’s product experts in the home office and booth visitors at a show. “You can still show your product even if you don’t have the room in your exhibit,” said one judge.

The Flex-Plain by Cees Smit Group International, an international exhibitor from the Netherlands, earned its Buyers Choice Award for the versatility of its tensioned-fabric display system. It’s amazing and easy to install in just a few hours,” said one judge. [March 18, 2010]