Abstract

Trade show booths are focal points in exhibitors’ trade show marketing, as well as platforms for meeting different target groups, most important new and existing customers. Booth designs thus need to attract trade show attendees’ attention; this study explores which design elements are most effective for doing so. Using eye-tracking technology, it reveals which design elements attract visitors’ visual gaze, using both and comparing a two-dimensional photographic artwork based laboratory study to an actual three-dimensional visual live experience context. The results indicate comparable gaze patterns and relative importance of design elements in both research settings, such that the same design elements attract the most attention in lab and live communication environments. Distraction and sensory overload result in considerably fewer absolute gaze contacts on trade show floors though. Furthermore, the results show that visually outstanding components such as towers, canopies, furniture, or interaction elements compel more attention than wallpaper or screens. This study validates the use of eye-tracking tools in three-dimensional contexts. It also offers managerial recommendations to exhibitors to include visually remarkable elements in their booths and to rely on eye-tracking techniques to evaluate available design options.

摘要

展会摊位是参展商展会营销的焦点，也是与不同目标群体、最重要的新老客户会面的平台。因此，展位设计需要吸引展会参加者的注意力；本研究探讨了哪些设计元素对此最有效。使用眼球追踪技术，它揭示了哪些设计元素吸引了参观者的视觉凝视，同时使用了基于二维摄影艺术品的实验室研究，并将其与实际的三维视觉现场体验环境进行了比较。结果表明两种研究环境中设计元素的可比注视模式和相对重要性，因此相同的设计元素在实验室和现场交流环境中吸引了最多的关注。不过，分心和感官超负荷会导致展会现场的绝对凝视接触大大减少。此外，结果表明，塔、檐篷、家具或交互元素等视觉上出色的组件比墙纸或屏幕更能引起人们的注意。本研究验证了眼动追踪工具在三维环境中的使用。它还向参展商提供管理建议，在他们的展位中加入视觉上引人注目的元素，并依靠眼动追踪技术来评估可用的设计选项。