An explain article

What trade show booths have in common with presentations.

Industry 4.0. Cloud Computing. Artificial Intelligence. What is that anyway? Buzzwords may generate attention, but also emptiness! Buzzwords raise more questions than they provide answers. Or do you feel differently? Can you conceive something concrete under Industry 4.0? Probably not. And that's not unusual. Because the term refers (like most buzzwords) primarily to the future - and that still needs to be shaped.

So, what does a company do when it wants to shape Industry 4.0 and also communicate this to customers? It is much easier to promote a concrete product than a future concept that is intangible. I work for a presentation company. Therefore, I know communication challenges of this kind very well. How can I generate attention around a worn-out buzzword? How can I bring it to life? How can I make added value tangible and communicable?

In the spring of 2019, Molex Inc. (an international electronics company) came knocking at our door. They brought with them a classic buzzword challenge: "We are now doing Industrial Automation Solutions for Industry 4.0. But we feel that no one understands what it's about. Can you help us?" Molex didn't want a presentation in the traditional sense, but a trade show booth. Essentially, like a presentation — only in 3D and walkable.

As a presentation company, the job usually ends with the digital presentation. But upon closer look, the fundamentals are not so far removed from trade show booths. We are bold, Molex is bold. So, together we embarked on the journey. As a presentation company, we approached the project like a presentation. Perhaps that's why we were able to build a very special booth. We incorporated many elements from the world of presentations — I will focus on two of them in this article.

#01 - Interaction with the audience.

A central success factor in presentations is interaction with the audience. Many things can be clarified more effectively with a single question to the audience than with many descriptions. Before we explain our buzzword "Industrial Automation Solutions 4.0" along with all its added value to the customers — why don't we first ask them what they imagine it to be?

Similar to the introductory question in a presentation, we set up an introductory station at the trade show booth. Before introducing visitors to Molex's technological concept, we asked them how they envisioned the future of the automated factory. Following the motto "Every strong image becomes reality," the customers were asked to respond with a sketch. Using pre-made icons, they could generate their future image on provided iPads and — if they wanted — project it onto a large LED wall for everyone to see. The station was very popular, initiated valuable discussions, and generated numerous images.

#02 - The standard format.

The human brain is programmed for surprise. That's why a bold design works better than a standard-format design. Remember — we are a presentation company. When we design lectures, it usually happens with PowerPoint — not a particularly thrilling starting point. The results are nevertheless spectacular — often, nothing resembles the master slide design that is so familiar. Bullet points and SmartArt are (mostly) hard to find. In our view, it's about breaking visual habits. What holds true for presentations also applies to the trade show booth. An observation shows: almost all trade show booths communicate with photorealistic representations of concrete products. From our perspective, this is the perfect opportunity to visually stand out. Because solutions are not products; you can't photograph them, nor can you buy them off the shelf. They often emerge from an idea and evolve in collaboration with the customer. That's why we relied on technical concept sketches and handwritten elements in visual imagery. The design suggests: something is being created here. You're not selling customers a finished product; you're selling them a technological concept. A concept that is not set in stone but wants to be tailored to the individual needs of each customer. In summary, one could say: trade show booths are just another form of presentation. But whether or not you use a presentation as the basis for your trade show booth: Industry 4.0. Cloud Computing. Artificial Intelligence — make sure to breathe new life into your buzzwords.

For our customer Molex, the trade show booth in 2019 was a complete success. In addition to new customer business, Molex gained valuable insights into the customer perspective through the sketched future images. While Molex was pleased that the booth even made it into the highlights of HMI 2019, visitors benefited from a refreshingly tangible representation of a very complex buzzword.