The Exhibitor's Resource – Trade Show Marketing Blog

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: 24% [?]

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: 16% [?]

Trade show marketing professionals know that life on the road can be draining and take it out of you. Sometimes you’ll need to take a personal day to go to the spa and rejuvenate the mind and body (with an emphasis on those feet). The same goes for the trade show display you’ve been shipping all over the country or the world. If possible, you’ll want your exhibit house to inspect your display when it comes back from each show, taking care of any minor adjustments or fixes to make it ready for the next trade show or event. But beyond those regular inspections, sometimes more extensive display cleaning and even reconstructive work to your exhibit is in order. Be sure to build routine trade show display refurbishment into your budget and your schedule, especially for frequently used display properties. The protective shipping container, whether it’s a wood crate or a plastic case or tub, may need to be repaired. Display materials need to be periodically spot-cleaned and any damage fixed. Fabric graphics are incredibly durable, but may eventually need to be professionally cleaned and ironed according to manufacturer specifications, as well as have any necessary sewing repairs made. An exhibit agency like Exhibit Resources will keep your trade show display in like-new condition for each new show, ensuring that you and your business maintain the polished presence you’ve worked hard to achieve.

Popularity: 8% [?]

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: 30% [?]

As trade show exhibitors continue to look for cost saving opportunities, many are discovering that outsourcing Trade Show Management services is a smart choice. Exhibitors are seeing that there is significant value to having industry experts handle time-sensitive trade show logistics on their behalf. A common situation is one in which an exhibitor’s schedule is just demanding enough to be unmanageable by the marketing manager or other staff, but isn’t quite a full time job that would justify the hiring of a dedicated Trade Show Manager.

There are additional efficiencies and benefits to outsourcing Trade Show Management in addition to freeing marketing staff from the burden. In many cases, trade show design firms are more efficient in planning for shows, working with show officials, and arranging freight, travel and accommodations. The overall expense for trade show management can be reduced significantly simply because of this improved efficiency.

Another benefit to outsourcing Trade Show Management is that exhibit agencies have the knowledge and experience to leverage the best outcome for their clients. Agencies are often more familiar with the city, venue, decorator, hotels and freight options than an in-house coordinator ever could be. The experience they gain from one trade show can help inform decisions for another, whether it’s for the same client or for one in another industry.

And because it is their job to reduce the cost of exhibiting, trade show logistics coordinators can often help exhibitors avoid rush fees and other penalties frequently incurred due to overworked marketing professionals who may simply not have the time or bandwidth to meet early bird deadlines, schedule freight to arrive via the lowest cost service, or research the best travel packages.

Ready to find out if outsourcing Trade Show Management makes business sense for your trade show program? We suggest contacting your exhibit house, or us.

Popularity: 23% [?]

Plotting trade show deadlines and project milestones on a timeline is a good way for an exhibitor at a trade show or other marketing event to ensure that they stay on schedule. An exhibit agency like Exhibit Resources is a good partner in developing such a guide to keep your project on track. The experienced event marketing professionals at an exhibit house can help exhibitors manage all of the details, from submitting forms and payments to reserving services. The timeline offers a visually accessible way to quickly see those details, and know when decisions need to be made. Timelines also make it easy to see what stage the project is in at any given time. Often a timeline is the go-to document to make sure nothing falls through the cracks, and can help prevent unnecessary rush fees from suppliers, shipping companies, and the show venue. A trade show planning timeline can include due dates for approving design, submitting graphics, submitting show services forms, and shipping materials.

Consider working with an exhibit agency that includes a timeline as part of the regular communication process. But if this isn’t offered, there are some options out there for creating such documents. “Mind Mapping” software often includes a timeline view, and can help get organizations on the same page internally, as well as help coordinate with vendors. After all, when planning for a complex event such as a trade show, the more informed everyone is about how their part of the process affects the final outcome, the more successful the project will be.

Popularity: 18% [?]

A - Get the word out to prospects, clients and trade show attendees ahead of the conference.
B - Make the most out of every minute on the expo floor, and then network as much as you can to drive traffic to your exhibit outside of expo hours.
C - Follow-up on show leads and other connections immediately and persistently after the trade show, or even while still at the show.

A) Pre-show mailers, email blasts, and calls to set up at-show appointments are the three tasks you and your team should be focused on one to two months ahead of your show. Your team’s goal is to “get on the dance card” of every potential customer. Consider an incentive to get pre-qualified prospects to your exhibit space. Take advantage of show-sponsored marketing tools, such as postcard mailings to all attendees, or email blasts to lists of attendees from your target segment. Many shows can break out lists of just your target audience, often by their professional title.

B) Schedule enough booth staff to cover your exhibit space for the entirety of the expo hours, factoring in snack, lunch, and bio breaks. Make sure that knowledgeable staff are available continuously until the show hall is empty. Once you and your team leave the expo floor, make an effort to connect with prospects and clients at after hours receptions and networking events. Encourage those you meet outside of expo hours to drop by your trade show booth to see that demo or meet with that colleague that has experience with their situation. Do everything you can to drive traffic to your booth on the next show day.

C) If you’ve done A and B, you’ll have a long list of interested prospects to call on after the show. This is a great problem to have, but you need a strategy in place to make sure you turn those leads into sales. One idea is to handle as many requests and follow-ups as you can while still at the show. This offsets the work you’ll need to do when you return to the office, but also ensures that you are seen as responsive and engaged. But once you’re back to the routine of the office, it’s important to make time for proper follow-up on all of the leads acquired at the show.

Popularity: 15% [?]

If you’re starting your search for a pop-up trade show display, you may be finding it hard to compare one display to another during your initial search, in part because the differences are most apparent in person. Therefore, you may be looking for some guidance on which specifications to insist on, and which might not matter as much. Well, we have one piece of initial advice: Avoid Velcro.

Veteran trade show marketing professionals will tell you that using “hook and loop” (the generic name for Velcro) to attach graphic mural panels to a pop-up display frame isn’t the way to go. While Velcro has its place in the trade show exhibit world for certain applications, such as attaching temporary graphics to fabric panels, the best way to attach full-size graphic mural panels to a pop-up display frame is with magnetic strips. Even for someone installing graphics for the first time, a magnet-to-magnet connection is quick and easy, and the result is a perfectly-aligned graphic. The polarization of the magnetic strip helps guide the graphic panel into place. By contrast, Velcro-applied graphics can be a struggle to install and align properly. Velcro can attach too early or too strongly, making adjustments difficult. And even when Velcro panels are finally aligned, the result isn’t usually a smooth and clean joint, but often a wrinkled gap between the two panels. A display with magnetic graphic panels, however, appears to be a single continuous graphic backwall, with seams that are only visible if one looks really closely.

Our second piece of advice for the new pop-up purchaser: Visit a trade show exhibit showroom to verify that the fit and finish of the display you are considering meets your quality standards. Get a demonstration of the setup of the display and test it out for yourself. Will this display be something that you and your staff will be able to manage the setup of? Will the presentation be clean and professional and reflect your company’s values? While there are more options and quality specs to consider than just how the graphics attach, insisting on a pop-up display that uses magnets is a good start to getting something that will work for you, your team and your business.

Popularity: 18% [?]

When preparing yourself or your booth staff for an upcoming trade show, it is important to consider what questions you should be asking visitors when they enter your space. Here are some tips to help you prepare:

• Come up with several direct, but open-ended questions to ask of booth visitors that will first qualify them, and then engage them if they’re your target.
• Encourage qualified visitors to tell you what’s on their minds and ask them what business problems they have that your offering could address.
• Stay away from opening questions like “May I help you?” “How is the show treating you?” and “What do you do?”
• Ask good follow-up or probing questions to find out more.
• Make sure your answers to attendee questions intrigue and feed the conversation. A conversation is about getting information as well as giving information.
• Rehearse your booth presence with some role playing with your colleagues, you’ll be surprised how much better-prepared you’ll be after a dry run.

Popularity: 11% [?]

A very popular feature within trade show display spaces is the product demo. Depending on the product being demonstrated, this could be computer-based or a hands-on demo with the actual product that the exhibitor is introducing to show attendees. Either way, booth staff will benefit from rehearsing their presentation. Even seasoned veteran sales staff who know the product inside and out need to put the time into demonstrating its features and functions in front of an audience to ensure that everything goes smoothly at the show. A test audience can also give feedback about how clear the demo was, suggest changes to help comprehension, and give feedback about what details might benefit from call-outs on supplemental graphics or handouts. Does putting the product in the hands of the audience to pass around help, or is it a distraction? Should audience members be invited to “drive” the computer-based demo? If AV is involved, will it be visible to all of the expected crowd? Run-throughs will help staff answer these questions ahead of the show, and help them get comfortable with their time “on stage.”

Popularity: 10% [?]