The Exhibitor's Resource – Trade Show Marketing Blog

Trade show exhibitors often struggle with what information and images include on their trade show display graphics. Many offer a wide range of products and services, and may feel frustrated when trying to distill their pitch down to a “billboard” message. But we have a workaround for this problem that seems to be working for our clients. We suggest that exhibitors create alternate sets of trade show display graphics for secondary markets or additional product lines. With a larger inventory of graphics, exhibitors can deliver the best message to the audience attending a particular trade show. Sometimes the re-skin is comprehensive, and the entire look of the trade show display is changed with the switch-out of graphics, but the change can be more subtle by only changing out market-specific panels and leaving the overall branding the same.

And the alternate graphics can go beyond just changing the look or message from show to show. Marketers interested in comparing one look or offer to another can do this type of A/B testing by using one set of graphics on one day of the show, and another set on another day. This type of testing works best when there is fairly consistent trade show floor traffic on the days that the display graphics are being tested, but can give feedback about what message or offer draws the most visitors to your trade show booth space.

As you begin your next trade show graphics project, keep in mind the benefits to creating multiple sets of graphics for different audiences and different marketing messages. It will help you improve your trade show marketing effort at a relatively low cost.

Popularity: 20% [?]

When experienced trade show coordinators hear the words “Custom Trade Show Display,” they may think of the heavy wood construction of traditional trade show display designs. Similarly, when they hear the phrase “Portable Display” they no doubt think of the convenient, but generic looking curved pop-up trade show display that has become a staple on the show floor. Although each of those still has its place in the broad trade show marketing world, there are exciting new alternatives that are combining the benefits of each type of display into new options for exhibitors.

Case in point: the Custom Portable trade show display. “But wait,” you may say “how can a display be custom AND portable?” Great question. It starts with the foundation – a new innovation from Nomadic Displays. The foundation platform is what elevates a basic pop-up display into a custom solution and supports the shelving, monitor mounts, demo stations and other accessories that give exhibitors the custom functionality they need. Custom portable trade show displays are easy to reconfigure from show to show and allow for a custom-tailored style depending on the audience and the floor space. They pack down small, avoiding the need to ship in crates, and require no tools or a simple allen key for setup. They provide the same wonderful graphic impact of pop-up back walls plus the scalability of a custom modular hybrid display.

Check out what you can do with a portable display, customized by Exhibit Resources:

Popularity: 27% [?]

Rental trade show programs are an increasingly popular way exhibitors are participating in trade shows. But how does an exhibitor evaluate and select a trade show display rental provider? Here are some questions a trade show coordinator should consider when deciding on a rental trade show display agency:

Does the exhibit house have sufficient experience with custom rental projects?
Trade show display rental agencies with longevity are a better bet for reliability and satisfaction than a startup. The ability to demonstrate past successful rental projects should be a prerequisite for any exhibit house you are considering renting from. A trade show design agency should be able to provide a portfolio of past client projects, including photos from the show and summaries of how the rental program met budget constraints.

Is a standard rental package a good fit for my program?
You may consider renting from a selection of standard kits or packages, plus a short list of options. It’s becoming the norm that these standard trade show display rental solutions can meet exhibitors’ needs well, even without much customization, thereby reducing overall cost. There may be a range of display rental packages pegged to a tiered pricing structure, each level offering a little more in terms of design features, included services, and level of support.

What if more flexibility is required?
Although there are increasingly more sophisticated standardized rental packages available and more options to choose from, in order to allow further flexibility, you may decide that a trade show rental house that can also deliver custom components to pair with the standard kits is the way to go. This is where a creative rental trade show display house can really make the difference by figuring out how to maximize the use of standard components and saving cost there, but spending any extra budget on just the right custom elements to deliver a unique look.

Will you have adequate support on the trade show floor?
Trade show exhibitors should remember Murphy’s Law when selecting a display rental partner. The range of services that a trade show display rental company offers to its clients is an important factor to weigh when deciding on a rental display solution. Should something go wrong, can your rental provider promptly correct the problem by making immediate arrangements for repairs or replacements? What is their contingency plan and how do they manage the process of implementing Plan B? Will they be on-site to take care of your needs?

Popularity: 19% [?]

Trade show displays used to be restricted in one way or another by graphics, either by dimension constraints or other limitations the graphic output option being used. Creative trade show display designers figured out how to work around many of those issues, but there was always a limit to how wide a continuous graphic panel could be or how vivid certain colors could be printed. However, in the past 10 years, large format printing has come a long way, baby. Whether it’s advances in graphic output resolution (how many dots per inch could be crammed into an inch), or it’s dramatic increases in continuous media width, there have been some very exciting improvements in trade show display graphics even in just the last few years. And without a doubt, THE biggest game-changer for trade show display design is fabric printing technology. It’s the new textiles and other woven media, plus the ink technology that goes with it that has turned fabric into stunning graphic murals, back lit display structure, and whimsical other-worldly exhibit forms. Very often now, a printed fabric skin is a viable alternative to just about any other trade show display material. Fabric printing technology for trade show displays has gotten so good that it really is the case that the graphics and the message are all that the audience sees. And of course, the ability to print on fabric has made modular displays even more lightweight and manageable. Best of all, even as the quality of the graphic output improves, the overall cost of exhibiting comes down, in large part due to the savings that are realized with lightweight, fabric-based trade show display architecture.

Popularity: 22% [?]

Preparation for exhibiting at academic and professional conferences is similar to that of trade shows or expos, but there are some subtle differences that an organization may want to consider.

One common difference is that the venue may not accommodate as large a display as you might set up on the trade show floor or in an expo hall. Working with an exhibit agency such as Exhibit Resources will help you successfully translate the look and feel of your larger exhibit space to the smaller scale that might be required. There are several approaches to small space branding, depending on what is offered at the conference. One uses the conference-supplied table, usually 6ft or 8ft long, for which you will want to develop a professional table top display, including a branded table cover or table runner. Another scenario is a 10′ conference exhibit space in a ballroom or large lobby without a table. A good option for this space is a fabric pop-up display, which can be shipped in a small case to the hotel and then transported to the conference and set up by one or two reps. For more restricted spaces, either narrower or lower than a standard 10′ wide and 8′ high portable backwall display would fit, exhibitors can set up two or three banner stands to approximate the look of a backwall, but with some adjustability in height and width.

Aside from space considerations, the wording of messages may need to be developed specifically for the audience of the conference. Depending on the type of conference, the tone of the message may be need to be more targeted to the specific niche, or it might benefit from a more academic or trust-building focus. Bold yet conservative graphics could be more effective than the in-your-face attention grabbers that may play better on trade show floors.

Popularity: 23% [?]

The creative, technical and project management expertise that Exhibit Resources has become known for is frequently tapped for projects other than just trade show displays and exhibits. We regularly design custom corporate interiors, retail spaces, showrooms, and welcome centers as well.

But we have a great idea for exhibitors who might want to bring the impact of large format graphics to the office right now: Why not set up your trade show display in the lobby of your corporate headquarters? After all, even though our custom modular displays are engineered to be light weight and compact for shipping, they are also designed to reflect a high-end and refined aesthetic. Displays like the Lumiture based one shown below can help with interior space definition while vibrantly welcoming your guests and introducing your brand. If your trade show display features integrated AV presentations or shows off product samples in display cases, even better.

Just keep in mind that as your trade show calendar fills up, perhaps with more vertical market or niche trade shows, you may decide to have a second display produced specifically for your lobby. And although it’s true that for more permanent lobby displays you have even more flexibility in how elements are integrated with the existing interior architecture, there is still good reason to keep lobby display structure at least somewhat mobile. With all of the strategic trade show marketing you’ve been doing, along with the positive impression you’ve made on visitors to your facility, you’ll be moving to a larger office space soon, and you’ll be able to bring your lobby display with you.

Popularity: 27% [?]

As a trade show display designer, and now as a trade show marketing consultant, I have been an advocate of having an initial meeting with a client to learn their specific marketing objectives, understand their unique place in their market, and establish the budget, time line and other factors that affect a new trade show display, before the design process is started.

But there is another approach: giving exhibitors the resources to develop trade show display ideas along with their agency. One of the most popular and effective resources is a gallery of work that the exhibit design agency has done for other clients that the new exhibitor can browse through in order stimulate creativity. Not only can a trade show display portfolio provide ideas to discuss, it can also help instill trust in the exhibitor that the exhibit house has the experience to pull off the project.

Another way to generate trade show display ideas and establish the overall direction of the design is for an exhibitor to flip through a set of images that represent different – often contrasting – design styles, and identify the look and feel that is most congruent with their brand, their corporate aesthetic, and their message. This type of process can ensure that both the exhibitor and their exhibit design firm understand what subjective words, such as “high-tech” or “established,” look like when translated into a trade show display design.

An additional resource is the case study, which can help fill in the functional or engineering details behind the visual impact of the trade show display. An explanation of why or how a designer’s ideas met an exhibitor’s marketing goals or solved a shipping logistics problem can trigger new ideas and ways of thinking about the trade show display design process.

Popularity: 28% [?]

Trade show exhibit design and planning should focus on the following objectives that lead to sales:

Attract visitors to your trade show booth to learn more about who you are and what your company’s offer is.
Captivate your visitors once inside your trade show exhibit by presenting a compelling message or a high-energy presentation.
Engage your guests in a dialogue about their needs and how your offer may help meet those needs.
Educate potential clients and existing customers on the benefits and advanced features of your offerings.
Inspire trade show booth visitors to become subscribers to future communication from you and a continuation of the conversation.
Motivate your prospects to take the next step, such as accepting a product trial period, receiving a quote, or placing an order during or immediately after the trade show.

Popularity: 55% [?]

Have you taken a look at your existing trade show display and wondered how you will be able to showcase your company effectively with such limited display real estate? While all exhibitors are looking for a manageable trade show display, a successful trade show depends on a good fit and enough display space to achieve your exhibiting goals. Is your current display unable to accommodate the AV demos you want to feature at your next trade show? Is there more branding that you would like to do that your display just doesn’t have space for? Does your trade show booth staff complain that there isn’t any seating or private meeting space in your display to facilitate more in depth conversations with their prospects?

These are just some of the reasons that it might be time to look at upgrading your trade show display. Luckily, there are trade show display options that can meet your needs, but not exceed your budget. One option is to rent the trade show display for your next show. Another is to upgrade your current trade show display. We offer a new line of upgrades for the popular Nomadic pop-up display, that allow you to add AV demo stations, header graphics and other accessories to enhance the look and functionality of your trade show display.

Popularity: 25% [?]

Exhibit Resources has been notified that we will be receiving a National ADDY Award at the AAF National Conference in Washington, D.C. at the Crystal Gateway Marriott. The award is for the trade show exhibit we designed and produced for Burt’s Bees. Erin Snow from Burt’s Bees will be on hand, along with Exhibit Resources representatives, to accept the award at the ADDY Dinner, Show and Gala on Saturday, June 6. The annual event wraps up the four day conference, which also includes seminars, workshops, forums and an expo for the advertising industry.

Popularity: 28% [?]