3 Ways Pinterest Can Help You Plan Your Next Exhibit

April 19, 2014

Justine Savage

Justine Savage is the Marketing Coordinator and blogger for Nimlok, designer and builder of custom trade show display exhibits and portable displays.

Planning the look, feel and concept of your trade show exhibit can be a daunting task, and with increasing creativity and spectacle on the trade show floor I’m sure you’ve been feeling the pressure to get more and more creative with you booths.

Creativity starts with the planning process, so my suggestion? Breathe some new life into your brainstorming and design process by taking advantage of Pinterest. Here are three easy ways Pinterest can help you and your team create your best booth ever:

1. Find & organize inspiration for all aspects

How many times have you found yourself dumping ideas into desktop folders and Word docs or going really old school and physically pinning ideas to a cork board? While Pinterest may have become a social outreach tool for your company, don’t forget that it can also be a great tool for internal use. Pinterest boards can help you visualize your exhibit in ways Word documents and closed folders cannot.

There are a variety of visual aspects that go into planning an exhibit including design, graphics, clothing, digital elements, interactive elements, giveaways…do you need me to list more? With Pinterest you can create an inspiration board for each aspect. Plus, Pinterest isn’t limited to visual elements, you can also find marketing ideas or opt to pin inspiring content from anywhere you choose online. Once you narrow things down you can pin the top contenders to an overall vision board for your exhibit.

2. Collaborate With Team Members

Hopefully you know that pulling in all kinds of viewpoints can bring new and exciting ideas to the table, but in the early exhibit planning stages you may feel like inviting too many cooks to the kitchen can have the opposite effect. After all, with too many people in one room sharing opinions, you may end up overwhelmed and walk out with no real ideas at all. Not to mention the fact that sharing ideas face-to-face could be intimidating for some team members.

Pinterest is the perfect way to get your whole team involved in sharing ideas in a way that is more organized, less intimidating and doesn’t restrict idea generation to a 1-hour meeting. Your team members can pin their ideas wherever and whenever. So how do you do this? Create group boards and invite your team members to pin. It’s that easy. Let the boards grow and watch for crossover in ideas. Once you have a healthy amount of pins, gather the team to collectively discuss favorites. Give team members a chance to elaborate on their pins and work together to boil down all the ideas into one solid concept.

3. Better Communicate Ideas

Communicating visual and conceptual ideas is not easy. I once interviewed a glass blower, and when I asked him to explain the biggest challenge in creating art with clients he described the communication barrier like this,

There are a million types of blues in the world so when a client says blue and I say blue, we could both be thinking about a completely different color.

Using a Pinterest board to communicate concepts can help remove ambiguity and the threat of false expectations. Once you have an idea board down that truly represents your vision for the exhibit, it can be shared with team members to get everyone on the same page. Then in the construction phase, share with your exhibit designers so they have a real feel for what you want in color combos, shape and form. You can even take it one step further, by making and sharing inspiration boards for collateral, email and giveaway designs.

Using Pinterest boards for exhibit idea development and design is an easy way to get everyone on board (pun intended), and ultimately help your whole team create a strong, cohesive exhibit concept that could blow last year’s exhibit out of the water.

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Overview: The award-winning Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) goes the extra mile to make every day extraordinary by offering customer service excellence and industry-leading partnerships. From their dedicated in-house Rigging team to their robust Exhibitor Services, The Center of Hospitality brings your imagination to life by helping you host unforgettable meetings and events. With more than 2 million square feet of exhibit space, world-class services and a dream destination, we are committed to making even the most ambitious conventions a reality. In October 2023, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners voted to approve allocating Tourist Development Tax funding for the $560 million Phase 5A completion of the OCCC. The Convention Way Grand Concourse project will include enhancements to the North-South Building, featuring an additional 60,000 square feet of meeting space, an 80,000- square-foot ballroom and new entry to the North-South Building along Convention Way. “We are thrilled to begin work on completing our North-South Building which will allow us to meet the growing needs of our clients,” said OCCC Executive Director Mark Tester. “As an economic driver for the community, this project will provide the Center with connectivity and meeting space to host more events and continue to infuse the local economy with new money and expanding business opportunities.” Amenities: The Center of Hospitality goes above and beyond by offering world-class customer service and industry-leading partnerships. From the largest convention center Wi-Fi network to custom LAN/WAN design, the Center takes pride in enhancing exhibitor and customer experience.  The OCCC is the exclusive provider of electricity (24-hour power at no additional cost), aerial rigging and lighting, water, natural gas and propane, compressed air, and cable TV services. Convenience The Center is at the epicenter of the destination, with an abundance of hotels, restaurants, and attractions within walking distance. Pedestrian bridges connect both buildings to more than 5,200 rooms and is within a 15-minute drive from the Orlando International Airport. The convenience of the location goes hand-in-hand with top notch service to help meet an event’s every need. Gold Key Members The OCCC’s Gold Key Members represent the best of the best when it comes to exceptional service and exclusive benefits for clients, exhibitors and guests. The Center’s Gold Key memberships with Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld Orlando and Walt Disney World greatly enhance meeting planner and attendee experiences offering world-renowned venues, immersive experiences and creative resources for their events. OCCC Events: This fiscal year, the OCCC is projected to host 168 events, 1.7 million attendees, and $2.9 billion in economic impact.  The Center’s top five events during their 2022-2023 fiscal year included:  AAU Jr. National Volleyball Championships 2023 200,000 Attendees $257 Million in Economic Impact MEGACON 2023 160,000 Attendees $205 Million in Economic Impact Open Championship Series 2023 69,500 Attendees $89 Million in Economic Impact Sunshine Classic 2023 42,000 Attendees $54 Million in Economic Impact Premiere Orlando 2023 42,000 Attendees $108 Million in Economic Impact