The Biowall Factor: Bring Your Trade Show Booth to Life
In 1970, an adorable chartreuse-colored Muppet named Kermit the Frog told us all that it simply wasn’t easy “bein’ green.” If Kermit were to visit a trade show today, we think he’d be happily surprised. As exhibitors experiment with adding biowalls to their displays, they’re seeing attendees across the country respond with a collective and resounding “ahhhh.”
Biowalls for Trade Shows
Biowalls — also known as living walls or vertical gardens — are nothing new. They’ve been around since the birth of the biophilic design craze some 15 years ago, when a study published in the Journal of Forestry revealed that shoppers would be willing to pay up to 25% more for merchandise at retail stores that were situated along a lush, green, tree-lined street. Ever since then, retailers, mall developers and restaurateurs have sought to capitalize on our attraction to nature by bringing the outdoors in.
Exhibitors, too, have discovered the hidden benefits of biophilia in trade show displays. And unlike the large, permanent biowall installations found on commercial properties, temporary biowalls don’t require water or electricity, thus making them an easy addition to existing trade show exhibitry.
And attendees? By all reports, they’re drawn to biowalls like moths to a flame.
“Living walls span form and function, providing both a decoration and a welcoming feel,” explains Mark G. Brotton, landscape designer and owner of Living Water Irrigation and Landscape in Santa Fe.
“From a marketing perspective, the benefits of living walls are impressive. Improved air quality and the feel of fresh air are immediately noticeable to passersby, and visual accentuation of the space using plants is both calming and rejuvenating for them,” Brotton says. “The final effect is a pleasant community space with crowd-gathering qualities.”
Case in Point: How Resideo Used a Biowall to Bring Its Partner Wall to Life
Held in January every year, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas has been dubbed the world’s largest technology show. The stakes are high, the floor is packed, and exhibitors compete side by side in an effort to make a big splash with attendees as well as the media.
Prior to attending the 2019 event, the marketing team at Resideo spent time brainstorming unique ways to display the names of their Honeywell Home ecosystem partners.
They decided on a biowall, which was a key component of their CES exhibit — which was designed to look like a consumer’s home.
“In the past, our partner walls have been very admired and photographed at events, so we enhanced the experience this year,” Amanda Althoff, Brand Marketing Manager, explained. “The biowall is a living metaphor for Resideo’s broad ecosystem of partnerships and collaboration that makes having a connected home simpler for our consumers.”
At CES, Resideo’s biowall displayed the names of key partners that integrate with the Honeywell Home ecosystem amidst a lush background of over 140 live green plants. Photo courtesy Resideo.
Set to look like the exterior of a consumer’s home, the entrance to Resideo’s exhibit featured faux grass, small trees, an iconic red door and their Honeywell Home partner biowall. Photo courtesy Resideo Technologies.
Resideo’s new biowall feature turned out to be a big hit with show attendees.
“After being inside all day, attendees meandered into our biowall area and found it to be a calm place to escape from the flashing lights of CES,” said Althoff. “It was attention-grabbing from afar, and a great way to get people to come up for a closer look at both the plants and our ecosystem of partners.”
The Logistics of Biowalls for Exhibitors
No water, no electricity, no grow lamps. No heavy, messy bags of potting soil. No specialty shipper. Truth is, integrating a biowall into your exhibit is much easier than you might imagine.
For example, Resideo shipped their biowall frame to Las Vegas along with all of their other booth exhibitry, and then simply rented the plants from a local florist that offers convention services — in this case, National Plant and Floral. Once the event was over, plants were collected, placed back in their pots, and delivered back to the greenhouse at NPF.
Deanna Iniguez, NPF florist, says that the idea of bringing nature indoors is becoming really popular with exhibitors, not just for the aesthetics, but also for the bottom line. “Customers feel more at peace and will often spend more time in green environments, which generally translates into increased sales,” she said.
____________
To learn more about the businesses and vendors featured in this article, please visit their websites:
