Smarter Sound - Skillful exhibitors use sound to seduce - not batter - show visitors.

Standing outside the doors of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), waiting crowds of attendees could see little of the exhibit hall inside. But they could hear it. The thumping drone of videowalls, high-pitched scream of rock 'n' roll soundtracks, and piercing ding of thousands of video games penetrate through the outer doors. Once inside, visitors experience a strange phenomenon: With so much noise, they often hear an exhibit before they see it, prompting exhibitors to pump up the volume even further to attract attention.

But is volume the best way to grab people's attention? Ralph Miller and Peter Lewis don't think so. Miller is executive producer of Ralph Miller Productions; Lewis is a sound designer and president of AUDISEE Sound and Music. Together, they think they have discovered a smarter way - what they call "sound environments." And two of their clients - Nintendo of America and Ericsson Inc., think the sound duo are on the right wave length.

Simply put, sound environments keep and control sound within a specific booth space, not outside it. "A lot of exhibitors try to blast their way into people's ears," says Miller. Rather than approach an exhibit with a "louder is better" attitude, Miller and Lewis control sound to create a refreshing exhibit oasis. They mask the intrusive noise of the show by integrating orchestrated sound into virtually every component of the exhibit: graphics, product displays, presentations, even lighting. All this is to provided customers a low-decibel comfort zone in which they can more easily learn about and discuss a company and it's products. Here are some of their techniques and how to put them to use in your own exhibit.

Sound as Attraction
"If there is one piece of advice I would give to exhibitors using sound, it is this: Turn it down!" says Miller. Sounds simple on paper. But how do you compete when that neighboring exhibitor insists on breaking decibel records? Miller and Lewis use Several smaller speakers at lower volume, instead of two speakers pushed to the max. By doing so, they gain greater control over the clarity and breadth of the sounds they produce.

In Ericsson's cell phones exhibit at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show '96, Miller and Lewis created a videowall that grabbed visitors attention as they walked by the front o the booth. Videowalls are certainly nothing new. But Ericsson's version stood out for two reasons: First, it had an unusual vertical format that attracted the eye, especially in combination with the surrounding lighting. Second, the videowall sound was intentionally nonintrusive. It was just loud enough to hear from the aisle and just energetic enough to tap visitors curiosity, not drive them away. Nor did it invade the space of nearby competitors. "We made it so you couldn't really hear the videowall until you were within 15 or 20 feet of the screen," says Lewis. "Then as you came closer to it, the sound took you over, immersed you and had its way with you."

When you walked inside the product display section of Ericsson's booth, the boom of the videowall quickly faded. There, attendees could concentrate on the products and ask questions of booth staffers.

The same held true for the theater in Nintendo's booth at E3. It also featured a large video screen that held attendees' attention with an impressive soundtrack. "But when you were outside of the theater, you didn't hear it," says Lewis. "It was contained."

By selecting speakers that best met their needs, then placing and aiming them in the right position, Miller and Lewis controlled the size and quality of the sound emanating from each videowall.

[note: this is an excerpt of the full Exhibitor article]