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ICSC booths: does size matter?
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I took a tour around the Las Vegas Convention Center Sunday morning as workers were putting the final touches on booths at the International Council of Shopping Centers’ real estate conference.
I walked by the Baltimore booth twice before I found it. Crammed between two huge corner booths, Baltimore’s booth may be small (realtors might call it “quaint” or “intimate”) but it’s purposeful.
Technically it’s the Baltimore Development Corp.’s booth and its goal is to get the word out about leasing opportunities in Baltimore and to facilitate meetings. (Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake spent much of Sunday afternoon there meeting with businesses and is doing the same all day Monday.) It’s not flashy but it gets the job done.
A little further down the Leasing Mall, The Cordish Cos. booth follows the same tables-and-chairs decor. But commercial real estate brokers and mall owners are another story. KLNB Retail‘s imposing corner booth is reminiscent of a small cafeteria, only instead of sitting down over lunch people are sitting down over a deal.
And General Growth Properties’ booth is even more impressive — sleek white couches, decorative foliage, special lighting … hey, isn’t this company in bankruptcy?
By all accounts, though, activity at the RECon conference is much better this year. So whether you’ve got the bare bones operation or all the bells and whistles, the job’s a little easier now than it was a year ago.
Which makes me think the size and decor of booths is as much about keeping up with the Joneses as it is about attracting business …
