Exhibitors in pole position on the grid

Exhibitors expressed a positive reaction to the use of carpeted aisles, as representatives from L' Amy, Cambridge Optical, Hoya, and Rodenstock all agreed that it was an effective way of attracting visitors on to their stands. Krysten Thorne, Hoya marketing manager, said: 'Although the grid system made it hard initially to design a booth for our stand, the aisle hasn't hindered us. In fact it was good at catching the traffic of people coming on to the stand.' But for those exhibitors whose larger stands crossed over the aisles created by the grid, there was a mixed response to exhibiting on a split-site stand. The problem of creating a unified stand, however, was easily resolved by most companies who provided their own carpet to fill the space in between. Tony Ellison, Topcon UK sales manager, said despite the positive response to his company's stand by visitors, he was still in favour of the layout used at previous shows. 'The grid system has proved restrictive for us as it takes away the ability to do something special within such tight confines, but I suppose the carpeted aisle is not a bad compromise.'