Signage strategies for events and exhibits

It’s one of the smallest details at any event, but it can make a major impact on customer experience: directional signage. Attendees feel better when they can easily find their way around a venue, and it can be frustrating for attendees who have trouble getting to your event—or navigating the site once they arrive. And let’s face it, you’re going to accomplish far more if your attendees get there stress-free.

Getting the site signage right takes real insight about your event and a little planning ahead, so start early.

Ten tips:

1. Walk the walk. Include a signage assessment in your initial site visit. Walk the routes your attendees will take—from arrival to departure. Consider the route they will take from their sleeping rooms to the various parts of your event.

2. Ask an expert. Dale Fisher, senior event planner for the tech trade publication Network World, solicits advice from a venue representative during joint, pre-event walk-throughs. “They do hundreds of events a year so they know the traffic patterns of their facility better than anyone else,” she says.

3. Visit other events at the venue. “There’s no point to reinventing the wheel,” says Catherine Lyons, director-meetings and trade shows for the International Sleep Products Association. Lyons visits facilities while other events are in progress, for an opportunity to observe traffic flow and signage placement and to get a feel for what color schemes work well.

4. Document your needs. As you walk through the venue, create a list of the signage you will need. Scott Jameson, manager-trade shows and events at Robert Bosch, suggests following existing signs to “see where it gets confusing.” Photograph areas where you plan to add signage, especially when you plan to hang it from the building’s architectural features.

5. Talk to the facilities team. Depending on the signage you have in mind, you might need to meet with the venue’s engineering team for a primer on where you can hang or mount signage, and what the size and weight limits are. If you plan to use illuminated signage or electronic messaging, such as plasma monitors, speak with the venue’s electrician as well. Jameson says it’s important to ask whether “power is available where you want it, how much power there is, and if you need extra generators.” He also checks loading dock locations and labor procedures to ensure signage can be delivered and installed easily.

6. Clarify supplier jurisdiction. Find out if you will be able to use your own suppliers or if you are required to use house suppliers for AV and labor.

7. Evaluate the impact of the elements. If any of your signage will be outdoors, you need to plan for adverse weather—wind, rain, and extreme hot or cold. “Your signage must be weatherproof,” says Fisher.

8. Walk the walk—again. A few weeks before the event, double-check your signage plan. Look for places where plans have changed, or where signs are so far apart that attendees might wonder if they are still on the right track.

9. Incorporate your needs into the contract. Fisher says some venues and hotels don’t allow signage in the public areas. Protect yourself by including everything you need—including what time of day you plan to install your signage—into your contract. “We’ve put it into our contract that we can put signage onto the doorway at the entrance,” she says.

10. Have an on-site resource. Be prepared for last-minute changes. Fisher says she makes sure there is someone at the venue who can fix or create signage.