Any trade show is a bit like a three-ring circus rolling through town. Sensory overload, bustling crowds, sugary confections, mind-bending oddities, and crowd barkers are as frequent in an exhibit hall as they are at a Ringling Bros. extravaganza. And RentPath LLC, which helps rental-housing seekers find their ideal digs via its online platforms, wanted to be in the center ring at the National Apartment Association's 2019 Apartmentalize show.

That challenge fell to director of creative services and events turned ringmaster Frank Jones. But pulling off such a spectacular feat required more guile than it takes to stuff a dozen clowns into a tiny car. In addition to making RentPath's exhibit as buzz-worthy as a bearded lady, Jones also had to meet some lofty objectives. First, he needed to help the sales department gather new leads and close contracts at the show. Second, Jones had to ensure the marketing department positioned the company as more than an internet listing service by raising awareness about its social advertising and residential communication solutions that streamline the rental process. Finally, while performing the high-wire act of balancing sales and marketing desires, he had to generate a positive return on investment.

As if that wasn't as daunting as being shot out of a cannon sans helmet, Jones had to accomplish it all with a budget that had been trimmed by $175,000 compared to his 2018 coffers. It was a bit like besting Professor Splash's death-defying 37-foot dive into a foot-deep pool – but with a higher leap into a fraction of the depth. Nevertheless, Jones was confident he and his team could pull it off.

The key, in his opinion, was to return to the exhibiting program's history of experiential design and storytelling, a successful formula from which it had strayed. Jones recalls that one of RentPath's most successful stands was its "Think Bigger" campaign six years prior, which incorporated oversized props such as a 12-foot-tall popcorn box overflowing with beachball-sized popped kernels, a massive 3-D ViewMaster with a rotating picture reel, and a 10-foot-tall smartphone. "It was by far one of our most memorable exhibits," Jones says, "and it was less expensive to produce than recent ones." Since then, RentPath shifted to more costly exhibitry, including double-deck structures, LED video towers, and digital kiosks. While that approach had worked for a while, Jones says, those wow-inducing elements lost their novelty as an increasing number of exhibitors followed suit. Plus, Jones believed he could significantly slash expenses – and amp up the attendee experience – with a booth that relied less on large-scale exhibitry and more on storytelling, smaller structures, and modular components that RentPath already owned.

No Dog and Pony Show
Jones started brainstorming thematic concepts with his creative team as well as designers from exhibit house E4 Design (a Freeman company), with which RentPath has worked for years. After tossing around several ideas, Jones and his team established a theme they dubbed "The Renter's Journey of Unfortunate Events," which would highlight the pain points renters face when trying to locate proper apartments, such as tracking down like-minded roommates and pet-friendly accommodations.

Since finding the right apartment can feel a bit like a circus at times, the team hit on the idea of a carnival-themed experiential exhibit. Jones felt the theme would be a unique attraction sure to lure attendees past RentPath's largest competitor (with a massive footprint in a premier location) to the rear of the show hall where the company had snagged a 50-by-50-foot booth along a central thoroughfare. Of course, once showgoers arrived in the exhibit, RentPath would still need to convince rental-owner and manager attendees that it had the tools to help them connect with renters, which would require a quiet meeting space to demonstrate its online platforms and persuade visitors to sign a contract.

Initially, Jones and his team envisioned incorporating a contemporary meeting and demo space directly into the circus-inspired booth. They batted about the idea of designing a double-deck exhibit with the top floor devoted to meetings and demos. However, the renderings showed that the two areas just didn't complement each other, and the necessary stairwell chewed up too much of the ground-floor real estate. That problem resolved itself when the 20-by-40-foot space directly across the main aisle became available after another exhibitor released its hold on the footprint, and Jones immediately scooped it up. "The concept of having two exhibits with distinct themes – the larger yesteryear circus and a smaller, modern-day solutions exhibit – came to fruition at that point," Jones says. "Of course, this presented a new set of challenges in design and execution."

Having separate booths with different vibes meant Apartmentalize attendees might not intuitively connect one space with the other. It also meant RentPath had to design and fabricate not one, but two exhibits. Jones solved the former problem by working with show management to create a one-off sponsorship that allowed RentPath to construct a rigged mobile comprising tiers of circular discs that would span the aisle and both exhibits, thereby visually uniting the separate spaces.

The latter problem prompted Jones to divide the work between two exhibit houses. For the larger circus-themed exhibit, Jones partnered with Don Lipke, senior business development director at E4 Design, to create the space and supplement RentPath's own BeMatrix components with rentals from the same system – a shrewd decision that helped control costs. To further shave expenses and round out the vaudeville exhibit, Jones turned to local thrift shops and online discounters as sources for kitschy vintage decor. "Nothing needed to appear too pristine – just intentionally campy and whimsical," he says.

For the smaller booth, Jones tapped Event Architecture LLC to acquire the Portable Event Structure, a brandable modular exhibit that would provide the contemporary, high-end air necessary to complement RentPath's online platforms. Again, Jones planned to repurpose RentPath's existing exhibitry, such as furniture, demo kiosks, audiovisual elements, etc., for this second meeting space. "Plus, RentPath's in-house design team did the heavy lifting, so we cut expenses by not outsourcing the decor and by designing the printed graphics used in both exhibits," Jones says.

Next, Jones needed to source some live circus talent. He considered scores of mimes and street performers before finding Ariana Productions, a provider of living statues and head-turning entertainers for shows and events. After meeting with the agency's owner and reviewing its portfolio of work, Jones was confident he'd located his troupe. The only thing lacking was a carnival barker to emcee the experience, which he found in Chef Anton, a trade show performer with Tricks of the Trade Inc. Following just one meeting, he had his master of ceremonies.

With everything coming together, RentPath just had to prime the pump to make sure attendees knew the circus was coming to town, so Jones and his team sent a pair of teasers via email blasts and social media. "The pre-show promotions were minimal by design and added to the mystery of the RentPath experience intended for the primary exhibit," Jones says. As such, the teasers used classic circus iconography such as striped tents and fortune cards that promised showgoers "good fortune" at the show and pinpointed the company's booth spaces inside the exhibit hall.

Step Right Up!
As soon as Apartmentalize opened its doors, buzz about the RentPath spectacle began to grow, and attendees beat a path for the back of the show floor. At one front corner of the booth, RentPath placed a classic Zoltar fortune-telling stall with a gold-painted seer (a performer from Ariana Productions) clad in golden garb.

Ringing an ornate bell caused Zoltar to spring to life and check his crystal ball via faux animatronic movements before pulling a red and gold branded fortune card from a deck and handing it to the attendee. The cards foretold of wondrous futures, e.g., "You will soon be visible to more in-market renters than ever before," accompanied by calls to action such as "Good fortune awaits at your demo of the RentPath network."

After receiving their fortunes, attendees flowed into the midway portion of the exhibit. Faux grass and vinyl-printed stone walkways led the way to an enclosed, candy-striped big-top tent. Visitors first passed a food vendor where they could grab some cotton candy or popcorn. As they enjoyed their sweet or salty treats, guests were free to snap photos with golden live topiaries standing atop 2-foot-tall pedestals near the queue in front of the tent's entrance. Curious about what was happening inside the shrouded enclosure, visitors joined the line and were entertained by an on-stage magician who captivated the crowd with sleight of hand and jokes. The queue gave staffers ample time to work the crowd, qualifying prospects and distributing souvenir programs that highlighted RentPath's services.

About every 10 minutes, carnival barker Anton emerged from the tent to interact with the magician and schmooze the audience before leading up to 15 people at a time through the entrance ringed with glowing lights. Inside, visitors arranged themselves in front of four curtained dioramas. Anton explained they were about to witness the greatest oddities in the human landscape: renters struggling to find new accommodations. On his command, a staffer dramatically raised the first shade to reveal Ethel the cat lady. Inside the approximately 8-by-8-foot diorama, Ethel's apartment was filled with all things feline: stuffed cats, cat-printed wallpaper, a cat-shaped clock, and a small video "window" with a pair of strays seemingly perched outside on the sill. Anton explained that Ethel was having difficulty using her computer to find a pet-friendly apartment in her area, not to mention roommates that could handle her feline fetish. As he talked, Ethel (portrayed by an Ariana Productions performer) played her part to perfection, often breaking the fourth wall by stepping out of her scene to engage with members of the audience while stroking one of her stuffed cats.

Following the act, which lasted roughly two minutes, a stagehand lowered the screen and moved on to the second diorama featuring George, a young professional on a hated two-hour train commute who was struggling via his smartphone to search for an apartment closer to work. The third scene revealed Susan, a college grad on a quest to find a place far from her annoying roommates, who were depicted on a video wall fashioned to appear like a doorway looking into the apartment's kitchen. Her search was hindered, however, by a lack of credible reviews of her top escape options. Finally, there was John, an overworked father of two dramatically splayed across a sofa in evident exhaustion and surrounded by trikes, stuffed animals, and toy planes. John was more than a little frustrated by being unable to reach a live person on the phone in his long-suffering search for a larger, more family-friendly apartment.

According to Jones, the live-action scenes were largely an improv act. "Originally the actors were to perform as animatronic mannequins with no dialogue. Chef Anton, however, took liberties with his script, injecting his own personality with ad libs. As a result, the 'mannequins' became more animated in their scenes and even added small bits of dialogue crafted on the spot," Jones says. "I compliment the talents of Chef Anton and the Ariana Productions team. This was their first time working together with only about two hours of rehearsal just prior to the show opening. Once they found their rhythm, I knew we had a hit."

After the curtain closed on the final diorama, Anton escorted showgoers through the tent's exit, which placed them near RentPath's adjacent booth. Waiting staffers invited attendees across the aisle to see how RentPath's online services could solve each of the featured character's dilemmas and in the process help apartment managers more easily connect with renters. After the brief journey, sales reps provided attendees with deep dives into the company's solutions with demonstrations inside the sleek, glass-fronted Portable Event Structure meeting space. There, sales reps worked to address attendees' challenges, collect leads, and close contracts.

The Grand Finale
By returning to RentPath's experiential-design and storytelling strategies of past shows, Jones created a narrative arc where the sales reps could provide resolutions that rental managers can use. By the end of the two-day show, more than 600 prospects visited the circus-themed booth, which led to demonstrations for hundreds of attendees and more than 200 at-show signed contracts, doubling the previous year's number of contract closings. And as a result of Jones' hard work, RentPath's exhibit took home top honors for Best Island Booth at the show.

Just as important, by downsizing the physical structures, mining the company's own exhibitry, sourcing discounted or used components, and keeping much of the production in house, Jones was able to stay within budget and produce a positive return on investment. Not surprisingly, All-Star Awards judges were as captivated as Apartmentalize attendees, touting both the exhibit's creativity as well as its measurable results. "This is a master class in how to create a themed booth that generates loads of traffic," one judge said. Another judge praised Jones' ability to accommodate a budget cut without sacrificing his exhibit's impact. In an era when exhibit managers are expected to do more with less, Jones proved you don't have to pull a rabbit out of a hat to deliver a showstopping success – you just need to put together a spectacular show. E