Trade Show Exhibit Fabric Counters

When many exhibitors think of trade show displays, they are apt to picture things like signs or banners. These are excellent ways to show off your branding and share your message with trade show attendees. However, some of your displays can have a dual purpose — they can offer practical function and also show off the graphic of your choice.

If you need a place to set things, store things, receive guests or fulfill any number of other purposes, consider adding a counter to your booth. Instead of a plain counter made only of hardware, why not make your counter a part of the display by choosing a fabric counter from SpeedPro that features bold, dye-sublimated graphics? A counter display is a sure way to elevate your trade show booth.

What Is an Exhibit Fabric Counter?

An exhibit fabric counter is a helpful component for any trade show booth. Think of it like a reception counter you might see in an office for receiving guests. It’s composed of a metal frame, fabric graphics and a flat countertop. You can stand behind a counter island display while you engage attendees in conversation, and you can use it as a surface for display literature or email list sign-up sheets for attendees to fill out.

The fabric counter category includes more than just reception-style counters. Another type of counter included in this category is a charging counter or tower. These installations are designed for the sole purpose of giving people a place to charge their phones. You’ll attract attendees to your booth who are stressing over a low battery and will have an opportunity to serve them in a very practical way.

Exhibit fabric counters aren’t just useful for practical purposes. They also offer aesthetic value. Unlike most typical counters, these counters feature fabric graphics stretched over the hardware. This means, in addition to using the counter for functional purposes, your counter also serves as a part of your display.

Even with solid colored fabric, these counter styles appear sleek and eye-catching, especially compared to dull, outdated counters you may be used to seeing in many office buildings. You increase the impact of your counter even more, though, by printing graphics on the fabric. This allows you to show off your branding in a big way.

What Types of Trade Show Counters Are There?

Trade show exhibit fabric counters come in a wide variety of styles, so you can choose the best option to accommodate your practical needs and the look you want to achieve. These options include:

• Charging counter: The charging counter has a modern appearance with a concave, cylindrical shape that shows off the graphic of your choice. The sturdy countertop has a place for eight phones to charge — four designed for Android® phones and four for Apple®.
• Charging tower: The charging tower has double the charging tips — eight for Android®, and eight Apple®. A thermoform countertop and base and counter surround a backlit graphic tower. At the top is a cylindrical display. This is an excellent option if you want a high-impact display with maximum function.
• Pillar counter: The pillar counter is a narrow, oval-shaped counter with a concave graphic that surrounds the sides. It’s the perfect choice if you don’t need much counter space and want a fun, funky look.
• Half moon counter: The half moon counter, as the name suggests, is semicircular. From the front, trade show attendees see a countertop and a rounded fabric graphic. From the back, you see valuable storage space.
• Ellipse counter: The ellipse counter has a unique shape and appearance, making it a great choice for a fun, modern booth design. In between an elongated oval countertop and base are two separate panels — one for your graphic, which extends to the center of the counter, and the other a solid laminate panel to add contrast and dimension.
• Bullet counter: The bullet counter, like the pillar counter, is narrow. Instead of an oval shape, however, the top of the bullet counter sports a funky, bullet shape, resembling a rounded triangle. Your graphic covers the whole area from base to countertop.
• Oval counter: The oval counter is comprised of a large oval-shaped base and countertop with a concave, stretched fabric graphic which wraps around the entire frame. This gives you a spot inside for storing items you want to conceal rather than have out.
• Bar counter: SpeedPro offers a variety of options for bar counters. These counters are all large and semicircular in shape. Some are shorter while others wrap around to form the majority of a circle, with a spot for your members of staff to enter into the middle so they can position themselves behind the counter. A bar counter is the best option if you want maximized counter space and room for a large graphic display.

All of our charging stations and counters allow you to customize the graphics and even allow you to choose your preferred finish for the countertop. These finishes include silver, black, mahogany and natural. No matter what look you’re going for — ultramodern, classic, elegant, organic or any other style — you can choose a counter shape and finish that will complement your graphic and the whole of your booth.

What Are the Benefits of Fabric Counters for Trade Shows?

Fabric counters offer some important benefits for exhibitors at trade shows. Including a fabric counter in your booth:

1. Makes receiving guests feel natural: You want interactions between your staff and attendees to feel as natural and comfortable as possible. While it’s a great idea to have some employees standing at very front of your booth so they can engage with passersby, it’s also helpful to have someone standing behind a counter in your booth. This signals to people that this person is prepared to answer their questions and help them find the information they need.
2. Provides a surface for items: Counters also provide a surface for you to place items such as tabletop displays, sign-up sheets, portfolios or any other materials. Some businesses may even be able to display their products on a countertop. Whatever the items are that you want to make available to attendees, a countertop gives you the perfect place to set them.
3. Provides storage space: Another advantage of using a counter or counters in your trade show booth is that they can provide hidden storage options. This is a great way to keep everything you need on hand without letting your booth appear cluttered. With no storage closet to use, counter shelves are a helpful alternative.
4. Shows off your branding: Fabric counters are also a type of display. In addition to their practical purposes, they also give you a chance to show off your brand with eye-catching, dye-sublimated graphics. You can feature your logo prominently with vivid colors. A fabric counter can be a focal point in your booth.

What Are the Benefits of Charging Counters for Trade Shows?

Charging counters offer benefits of their own. In fact, you should consider including both a counter island display and a charging station in your booth. A charging tower or counter:

1. Meets a practical need: People use their smartphones for everything from navigating their way to and from the trade show venue, checking email and taking calls to answering texts, looking up companies’ websites and more. So, when a person’s phone dies while they’re at a trade show, this can be a real problem. Providing a charging station meets this practical need.
2. Shows hospitality to guests: Providing a charging station meets a practical need and says something about your company because you offered a valuable source of help for free. This shows goodwill and hospitality, which is an excellent way to give consumers a positive impression of your company.
3. Keeps attendees at your booth longer: When someone plugs their phone in to charge, they’re not going to leave it there and keep walking. Instead, they’re going to stick around at your booth. The longer someone stays at your booth, the better chance you have of exposing them to your brand, engaging them in conversation, generating a lead or even making a conversion.
4. Shows off your branding: As with fabric counters, charging counters also give you a chance to show off your branding. As people are staying nearby while their phone charges, they’re being exposed to your branding. While they’re not likely to remember companies they passed by, they’re far more likely to remember your booth and your brand.

How Can You Use Fabric Counters In Your Booth?

Now that we’ve discussed the benefits of counters, let’s talk more specifically about how you can use them in your booth. When it comes to charging stations, the use here is pretty clear. However, counters provide more of a blank canvas that can be used in many ways. There are limitless options for how you can use your counter. Here are 10 ideas to get your creative juices flowing:

1. Offer refreshments: A counter is the perfect place to set out refreshments for your guests. This could include carafes of coffee, bottled waters or any other type of beverage. Beverages alone are an excellent way to attract people to your booth and refresh your guests, but you can also set out snacks like wrapped candy or nuts.
2. Provide a place to rest: Another way to serve your guests with your fabric counter is by including barstools in front of it and encouraging guests to have a seat. When trade show attendees have been on their feet all day, this small gesture can mean a lot. Just be sure there are displays or literature guests can look at while they rest.
3. Give out promotional items: You can also use your counter as a place to set out promotional items, commonly referred to as swag. Giving out swag is a popular trade show strategy for marketing your company beyond the confines of your booth. These should be useful items that show off your brand so the people who receive them continually see your logo, leading to strong brand recognition.
4. Demonstrate your product: If your company sells a product that really shines when you demonstrate it, you can use the counter as a place to run demos. It isn’t just the counter’s surface that’s helpful. A counter allows viewers to come up close to see every detail of your demo while providing a natural delineation between the demonstrator and the onlookers.
5. Show off your products: Trade show exhibit counters are also a great place to set out your products. If you’re a tech company, you can set out tablets or laptops people can use to navigate through a demo of your software. If you’re a food company, you can set out samples for people to try. Whatever products you sell, letting attendees get up close and personal with examples of the product is a great idea.
6. Share a portfolio or catalog: You can also use your countertop to feature printed materials such as a portfolio of your work or a catalog of your product offerings. If you’d prefer to go paperless, you can accomplish the same goal by including tablets on the countertop for attendees to scroll through images and information about your products or services.
7. Feature tabletop displays: A counter is a display in and of itself, but it also gives you a place to feature other displays. Tabletop displays can include folding panel displays, collapsible displays, banner stands and more. Your counter can feature your logo, and your tabletop displays can provide more specific information about your company. You can also feature actual products as a countertop display.
8. Answer questions: Another idea for your counter is to include a sign that lets attendees know you’re there to answer their questions. You can also include a sign that says something like “Ask us how we [accomplished a certain goal for a client]” or “Ask us how you can [take advantage of a promotion].” Keep a member of staff posted behind the counter so they can engage with attendees and answer their questions.
9. Collect information: A custom counter is also the perfect place in your trade show booth to invite attendees to share their contact information. There are multiple strategies for how you can do this. The simplest way is to set out a clipboard and ask people interested in your business to write down their email addresses so you can follow up on leads. You can also offer an incentive, such as a prize drawing.
10. Facilitate purchases: If you’re giving trade show attendees the opportunity to purchase products at your booth, you need a place to facilitate those sales. A custom fabric counter makes an excellent checkout counter. Bring your point-of-sale (POS) system along, and you’re ready to check people out so they can bring your products home.

Trade Show Counters From SpeedPro

If you want to meet a practical need for surface and storage space or for phone charging and show off your branding in a big way, SpeedPro is here to help. Trade show counters from SpeedPro feature quality countertops in your choice of finish along with eye-catching graphics, printed on fabric through the process of dye sublimation and bordered by silicone edging, making it quick and easy to assemble the counter display. Find a SpeedPro studio near you to get started today.