Most exhibitors want to attract as much traffic as possible. The largest continuous space of an exhibition stand can be actively used for this purpose： A photorealistic floor is a design option that fulfils several functions at once.
　　Long-distance effect
　　If the photo floor is designed to cover a large space， your stand will be highly visible from a distance. This can be done either with your logo or by creating the floor in your logo colour. You can also play with your respective product or a specific theme. A football pitch， for example， would signal that your product is from the world of football or all about lawns. The long-distance effect could be flanked by guiding the visitor to your exhibition stand with floor advertising spaces that also consist of photo floors. Many exhibition centres and organisers are offering this now.
　　Close-up effect
　　If trade fair visitors are close to the stand， a photorealistic floor can attract even more attention. If people stop to look at a well-done presentation， a sales rep can address them at the stand and hence “draw them in”. Products and product characteristics can also be clearly illustrated in this manner - even if they do not appear to be very interesting at a first glance. Underfloor heating is a good example， with a photo depicting the individual layers.
　　Dwell time
　　A photorealistic floor can also serve as a starting point for further talks between potential customers and the sales department. Ultimately， the aim must be to get visitors to linger at the stand for longer. This can be achieved by creating a cosy atmosphere with relaxation zones or a Bavarian beer garden with a cobblestone photo floor， for example. Another option is to present a company’s history in photos， which can then be explained in more detail during a chat while touring the stand.
　　After-effect
　　At a trade fair with thousands of exhibitors， many stands are lost in the crowd and quickly forgotten. Due to this sensory overload， visitors usually only remember one or two highlights. A spectacular photo floor can steal the show from many other attractions and remain in the target group’s memory for a long time.
　　Overall concept
　　Of course， a photorealistic floor has to be integrated in your exhibition stand. So whoever is in charge must therefore already think about the floor when designing the stand - the same as with walls or TV installations. Basically， the floor should be part of the whole story. Vodafone serves as a good example. The message of the mobile phone operator was： “We’re taking G5 to the moon.” A photo floor with a lunar landscape was used for this purpose. Plus： Some exhibitors create exhibition stands where the floor is the main means of communication and most important element. 　　Implementation
　　As far as the material and its installation are concerned， it is just a standard PVC floor. The printing process is the same as for a large poster. If the floor is to feature a logo， vector files are a good choice. If， for example， you want to recreate something from nature， you should definitely use photos of the real thing. Having realised more than 5，000 projects our company now has over a huge repertoire under the Fotoboden brand - which can be adapted to the desired presence. Costs
　　A good carpet costs 15 to 20 euros per square metre， a photo floor around 30 to 35 euros - no more than double the cost. This equals an increase in the total costs of your stand by only one or two per cent. In return， the photorealistic floor will attract up to 20 per cent more visitors， giving you great value for money.
　　Ecological footprint
　　In theory， you can reuse the floor， which happens in some cases. But in practice this often fails due to different stand sizes. But the material is 100 per cent recyclable to create new PVC floors. We have signed a contract with a recycling plant in Cologne. Due to this， you can return the floor free of charge and we will pay for the recycling costs.
　　（This article was published in TFI issue 3/2019）