A few years ago when I first noticed that G.E.S. Exposition Services had entered the "logistic" market, (by the way, that's a fancy name that UPS uses for "shipping") my first thought was good luck! What exhibitor who was exhibiting in any trade show would give their shipping business to the same company that just gouged them with sky high drayage rates and $180 per hour set up labor rate for installing their trade show displays? Well, in business, you sometimes find strange bedfellows, and in the trade show business, that's no exception. 

The Set Up

Well, if you can't get ahead coming in the front door, then there's always the back door which is the situation which I recently witnessed at a large trade show in Orlando, Florida. G.E.S. was the show contractor for the 400+ booth show which broke at 6pm on a Tuesday night with final move out no later than noon the following day.  As we all know, by the time your crates are returned from empty storage, on overtime no less, you've already lost half the evening, so we decided to begin the dismantle early the next morning with a large crew and be finished and out of the hall by noon. I scheduled the air freight carrier to be there by 10:30 a.m. so as not to impede the show contractors ability to clear the floor in any way. The show contractor had to be out by midnight on the second day of moveout. 

The Sting

I had all the bills of lading filled out and ready to go, but about 10:30 a.m.  I received a call from the air freight carrier telling me that their driver was being turned away at the marshalling yard check in point because he didn't show up at 8 a.m. that morning to sign in, which to me didn't make lick of sense because he wasn't going to begin loading until noon. I immediately went to the show service desk to find out why this was happening and learned the from the service manager that the 8 a.m. sign in time had been formally introduced into the show rules by "show management" and thus couldn't be altered in fairness to all the other exhibitors who had "played by the rules". There was obviously one show manager who'd been had by his service rep and probably didn't think anything of the request to establish that time. 

The Light Bulb Goes On

As I stood there reeling at how I'd just been given an old fashion Southern butt kicking, the logistics people smiled and kindly asked if I was interested in a completive rate to ship my 7 crates plus carpet to Boston? It didn't take but a millisecond for the light to go on in my mind about what was really happening here! Now I understood what the magic of the 8 a.m. check in time was. It was nothing less than a slick way to drive the competition away by forcing the competition to sit in the marshalling yard for 4 hours in the sweltering sun with the meter running, G.E.S. has effectively been able to cut their competitions profit margin in half and has eliminated another freight company from future competition. 

Now I guess that's what G.E.S. calls, good old fashion fun!

By Lowell Nickens, ShopForExhibits.com, LinkedIn Profile

For other information on Trade Show Displays, click here. 

What is that? Well, simply put, it means that the service contractor accepts freight at their advance warehouse usually beginning 30 days in advance of the move in date of the show. Normally, exhibitors can ship their freight to the warehouse, up to the service contractor’s move in date without any extra charge. Now that has changed, and the service contractor in Denver, Freeman

Shipping Crate

in this instance, now gives you 30 days, but they cut the service off at the normal rate “one week” before the exhibitor move in. Then, anything coming in during the last week is charged $16.25 per hundred weight with a minimum of 200 pounds, just for their inconvenience. Think about that. Who would suspect that if you can ship to this facility up to 30 days in advance and you schedule your freight to arrive a week in advance, that by doing so would be grounds for additional charges?

Now let’s be honest here. I was once a decorator a number of years ago and even subcontracted shows from Freeman, who is a very good, upstanding and reputable company, but in the  interest of maximizing every dollar generating opportunity they can, this one seems like a blatant attempt to chisel away at the exhibitor’s pocket-book in a very cheap way! I say that because intuitively, no one would suspect that they getting themselves into this type of situation by having their freight arrive 5 days before the show moves in.

Decorators normally don’t begin loading up the freight going to the show until a few days (depending on the size of the show) before their advance move in, and unless they are receiving the freight and putting the freight directly into a trailer that represents a specific geographic area on the show floor, they will use the advance time in the warehouse to segregate and batch the freight which is going into different areas on the show floor to allow for a more orderly move in. Therefore, receiving more advance freight up to the last-minute really doesn’t inconvenience their process much and alleviates what is normally a greater expense of receiving the freight at show site which is normally on a weekend which is obviously overtime.

What is gained by cutting off the regular advance warehouse rate off a week in advance? Money! At an additional $16.25 per hundred weight, if you calculate the amount of freight that normally comes in during the last week that the advance warehouse is open, this turns out to be very big dollars. But what about small shipments? Well, a small box is now charged an additional $32.50 per box if it arrives alone, on top of the existing drayage prices which might be as much as $90 or more per hundred weight with a minimum of 200 pounds. That little box get’s to be very valuable in a real hurry. It’s no wonder that more and more exhibitors are shipping directly to their hotels to avoid some of this.

I wrote this because the more you know, the more you and some of your clients can do to avoid a few of these very expensive pitfalls. But who’s to blame? Oddly enough it’s not the service contractors, but in my humble opinion,  the show managers who burden the service contractors with so many mandatory free bees that they have to resort to this type of behavior to exist. It’s just sort of sad when it becomes so blatant.

Go to www.shopforexhibits.com for more information on trade show displays.

by Lowell Nickens, ShopForExhibits.com LinkedIn Profile

Here’s the point. A week ago, I had a long time client tell me that he’d had enough. Specifically, he said that it costs more to move his trade show displays from the dock to his booth than to ship them across the entire country; so that meant a new booth for him that has fabric graphics and can be packaged in one or two at the most, flat panel molded shipping cases. You win; right? Well noooo….

Things aren’t always what they seem to be. In response to trade shows becoming less and less wood and more and more plastic, guess what? Yesssss! The drayage rates go up again, or the rules change and what you once shipped as standard freight, is now “special handling,” and it soon costs just as much as before and probably more.

Another good example is trade show electrical. This one is a great example because the spiral has been going up for enough years that you can actually see the insanity in it.  Here’s the progression:

• First we start with an exhibitor who purchases a 500 watt electrical outlet for his pop up lights and a small demo machine in the front of the booth.  Price is reasonable, we pay it, and we’re good to go. What you paid for is the sum total of all the electricity you need for your equipment. (in some cities, the electrician had to screw in the incandescent light bulbs but that was included)
• Now, the show contractor isn’t meeting their profit forecast so they increase prices by eliminating  the use of extension cords from all booths and make it mandatory that you plug into the electricians “electrical drop.” Now you have to order a 500 watt outlet for the front of the booth and one for the back of the booth. You still don’t use more than 500 watts, but you pay for 1,000.
• Because revenue and thus profits are falling from other revenue sources, the electricians have to not only charge for the power, but also for “labor” to install it. Are they doing anything more than what they’ve done for years? No, they just need more money and the good news for them is that they can charge for installing it and for UN installing it if there even is such a thing.
• Now it’s the exhibitors turn to strike back; you invest in LED lights because for each 200 watt light you now only use 24 watts of power and can finally save on the amount of electricity that you need for your booth.  Once again, life is good!
• The Empire Strikes Back! Not so fast on those savings Mr. Exhibitor! You really don’t know how to plug in a light properly without potentially inflicting damage to those around you, so the electricians will assist you for another $75-$100 per booth for each and every show they service. Do the math. Let’s say we have a 300 booth show times $100 minus direct labor to install those pesky pop up lights and they’ve had a pretty good day. Oh, you lose!

When is this all going to end? It won’t until a few people in the industry realize that the old business model isn’t what it used to be, and a new reality needs to be embraced so the industry can live the life span that it was meant to live. Profits just aren’t going to be what they used to be. I don’t really know what the net effect is going to be as prices keep spiraling up, but in my perspective, it has to be significant. I’m even seeing the small guys who have pop ups forgoing  the pleasure of using that product in favor of 3 banner stands lined up next to one another. That’s when you go from minimal exposure to the ridiculous!

Finally, I must say that it also has a lot to do with the union model of representing workers. If keeping your stewards job is always based on “what have you done for me lately” then is it any wonder that prices keep spiraling?

Go to www.shopforexhibits.com for more information on trade show displays.

by  Lowell Nickens, ShopForExhibits.com LinkedIn Profile

I wrote in a recent blog about my first experience with silicone edge graphics on a new 20’ x 40 trade show display.  This new graphic process is used with small and large trade show displays alike, so it appears to be a product that might be here to stay and can be use with most large and small graphic applications.

The second time I supervised the set up of this booth, we noticed a few things that seem to have changed. Generally speaking:

1)    There appears to have been a little stretch introduced into the fabric from the first use, as when applied to the same framework, didn’t appear to be attached as tightly to the frame and more subtle wrinkles could be seen in the fabric when standing up close.

2)    Our booth had pieces of fabric that were 19’ tall by 10’ wide and it appears that the sheer weight of the fabric hanging from  the top of the frame appears to have stretched it some and ultimately the silicone edge at the bottom had to be rolled to take an inch out of the height of the graphic so it could be fitted into the channel and the fabric look tight.

3)    Some of the smaller double-sided frames such as 8’ x 5’  now have fabric that fit on one side and would be too loose on the other side. This appears to be a situation where the framework sagged just enough to make tightening the fabric almost impossible.

4)    In many situations during set up, we would go to a corner of a graphic panel and cut the fabric at a 45 degree angle so that one side or the other could be rolled to take a little slack out of the fabric.

Ultimately, there is a little bit of a learning curve and it will take a while to understand how to blend metal and fabric in the right sizes and knowledgeable people knowing how to react in different situations with their trade show displays before the system becomes a little more predictable to set up. However, I must say that it’s an entirely different scenario to deal with silicone edge graphic on smaller trade show displays versus  larger island trade show displays as the learning curve is much longer.

For More Information on Trade Show Displays

by Lowell Nickens, ShopForExhibits.com  LinkedIn Profile

New graphic applications in the trade show displays market seem to present themselves about once every 10 years. In the 90’s it was lambda print graphics, in the 00’s, it was dye sublimation graphics beginning with overhead tension fabric structures and spreading to pop ups, and the new decade beginning in 2010 is obviously the decade of the silicone edge graphic. Well, if you haven’t heard about it or don’t know a lot about it, let me share a little of my first hand experience with one of our new trade show displays.

I’ve used dye sublimation graphics for the past 4 years when it came to mounting them to large metal exhibit structures with Velcro, but this is the first year that I had the nerve to actually stick my neck out and order the new “system” for a clients new trade show display which just happened to be a 20 x 40’ which had two trade show displays in one, and about 2,200 square feet of silicone edge graphics.

Initially when the primary vendor of this new technique took on a new project, they’d have the manufacturer of the metal send all the framework to them so it could be fitted properly, but now a year later and probably a thousand trade show displays later too, they trust their skill enough to get the right dimensions and move forward and produce it, ship it, and know that it will fit perfectly. In fact, I found that to be the case with my project.

As with any new trade show displays product, there is a bit of a learning curve with regard to installing it properly; and with this product it isn’t as intuitive as you’d like it to be. For instance, when installing it onto a rectangular frame, you attach it into the four corners first, next in the middle of each of the sides and then work your way away from the middle of each of the 4 sides making certain that you work the opposite side away from the middle at the same time. What you’re trying not to do is to stretch the fabric as you move from side to side or up and down. If the silicone edge was stitched onto the fabric correctly, the fabric piece should in the end, be taunt enough to make the graphic look perfect. This not only applies to small trade show displays but large ones as well.

This new process will give your graphics a crisp new look when mounted properly on your trade show displays and distinguish you from your competitors.

Link to the Top of Trade Show Displays Blog

For many who have utilized pop up displays as their primary display system, the temptation from year to year is to sometimes let your message get a little stale by showing the same graphics and images to get people’s attention show after show.  Unfortunately for the prospect that comes by each year to continue warming up to you and what your company offers, they might find the experience getting a little monotonous sooner rather than later.

At a recent show I saw a very unique way of changing out the message on a pop up that would work for all pop up displays. This particular exhibitor had 3 sections on his photo mural panels that had material that would be dated rather quickly, so in order to keep up with the changes he had to make and not be reprinting $2,500-$3,000 photo murals each time his message changed, ordered new images printed in approximately 18” square prints and attached them to the existing photo murals of his pop up displays in the prescribed locations with standoff caps.  He took the caps and inserted the ¼-20 threaded piece that when screwed into the cap on the front surface would be long enough to continue through the mural and be tightened onto the mural by a cap from the back side.  Somehow, the presence of the caps took away from what might have been a rather phony looking way of mounting the print and made it look very polished and natural in how it was finished.  So often I’ve seen this tried unsuccessfully on pop up displays, because unless you’re using a straight frame and the graphic really does stand-off the photo mural, it looks very unprofessional; but this didn’t!

Another way to keep your product looking fresh at each show is to inspect and be aware of how your case looks that you’re wrapping a graphic or fabric piece around to make a case to counter kit to complement your pop up displays.  Over time, the part of the case that’s not covered will get beat up rather badly, so instead of buying a new case or stopping using it as your podium, there is a very inexpensive solution which is to buy a $50 black lycra cover that slips down from the top and actually covers 100% of the surface with a solid black backdrop on which to mount your graphic panel.  Now, the beating that your case takes in transit won’t negatively affect the look of your booth presentation and will give new life to your pop up displays.

Link to the Top of Trade Show Displays Blog

Trade Show Exhibits

Today my landlord walked into my office and handed me a brochure and asked if I’d ever seen anything like this before? As I looked at the brochure which described a virtual trade show called Expo 3.0, “The Receivables Trade Show” which was sponsored by InsideARM.com. I’d heard about virtual trade shows and the general concept, but have never been curious enough to really research it to see what the lure was for such an edgy concept.  It was obvious that you could save a buck on your trade show exhibits by going this route, but was there more?

After doing a quick Google search, I quickly learned that there were a few big players spending big bucks such as Ziff Davis Enterprise; who I figured must know something that I didn’t or why would they be so involved. So I continued to search and contemplate what I was seeing.

With the domination of electronics at every level of our society, we hear so much and quickly become overwhelmed and tune out to much of what is coming out way; so it comes as no surprise that somebody had to make the effort to see if virtual trade shows would work; at some level! But does it really stand a chance? Well, at least some of the evidence certainly suggests that it might, so consider this:

1) As Show Managers are squeezing the exhibitors at one end and the unions are well positioned at the other end, could it be remotely possible that some exhibitors would acquiesce and go for this relatively low-cost alternative; line, hook, and sinker?

Trade Show Exhibits

2) With the uncertainty in the economy and the promise of big tax increases looming on the horizon, companies are slashing travel budgets and discretionary spending in anticipation of those uncertain expenses just ahead. Might it just be time to try something new to see if any unexpected rewards might come from sticking your neck out a few feet and looking for potential suppliers “on-line?”

As I continued looking through the virtual show brochure that my landlord gave me, it spoke about the webinars being the ideal way to woo potential clients to your products and then explained how the interaction would work with the attendees and the exhibitors. They referred to communicating with exhibitors by sending emails and notes which is another way of saying “Chat.” That’s when the red flag went up the flag pole! CHAT? I don’t know about you, but if you’ve ever chatted with a potential client online, that’s called taking 30 minutes to consummate 1 minute of conversation in one of the most painful exercises ever invented by man; and not very productive either. To a type A salesperson, it’s like talking in slow motion with all the visual and audio clues being left out. You never even have the opportunity to know if there is something being left out of the conversation because the “chatter” can disconnect from the “chatee” anytime he or she wants to. But wait, there’s a bonus; the brochure suggested doing a group chat! That’s nothing but wasting your time and sales in multiples.

Now consider this; the trade show floor with hundreds of trade show exhibits is a dynamic, vibrant, and ever changing series of events, products, and especially relationships. Quite often it’s not what you see that is effecting change or creating a future sale, but it’s the dynamics that you don’t see that’s making the biggest difference. Here are a few examples:

1) Over a year ago I wrote a blog article about The Invisible Audience at a Trade Show. This was a first hand account of how other suppliers at trade shows, who service you and your direct competitors, are able to quietly and effectively over a period of time, drive great numbers of new customers to your door; and it doesn’t cost you a penny.

2) Industries evolve and mature over time, and the same thing is true of exhibitors and relationships with customers. Sometimes it just takes time; pure and simple. My landlord told me about one of his companies that went to shows for 5-6 years before the big payday hit. It was a matter of creating relationships and trust which after a few years, matured into good solid business relationships.

3) If the main attraction for exhibitors to the virtual trade shows is being a speaker and getting potential sales by virtue of the seminars, I think there might be a problem. How many executives do you think could sit in their office and listen to a whole day worth of speakers without getting interrupted or distracted; by something!  My attention span would be broken by the first box of Krispy Krems that came in my front door and it may take me quite sometime to return to the office after a few unscheduled bathroom breaks etc.

I presently run two online web sites that sell trade show exhibits so I feel I have some experience in selling in this environment; never having had the luxury of meeting my clients face to face. Everything we communicate is by email and on the phone. When you’re competing against perhaps a half-dozen other companies all selling the same thing, it becomes very difficult to differentiate yourself. For me, basic sales skills and product knowledge, and an enthusiasm for what I do has served me well. Selling face to face is light years easier in every respect, which is why I would say that with some products, perhaps a virtual trade show might be feasible, but for right now, I don’t think trade show marketing is going to be threatened anytime in the near future.

Link to the Top of Trade Show Displays Blog

Trade Show Marketing

Over the past 30 years, there has been dynamic changes in the trade show industry and trade show marketing; not only from the maturing of the product itself which many markets in the US enjoy, but in the way it functions internally to grow and sustain itself. But many years ago, deep inside the mechanism of growth and prosperity in the trade show industry, a cancer was spawned, which over the years, has become more and more insidious, and now this cancer’s exponential growth is becoming increasingly evident. The cancer that I’m speaking about is nothing less than basic dishonesty.

Where does it come from and where did it start? In the trade show industry it began perhaps in the 60′s or maybe even earlier, but when I came onto the scene in the early 80′s, it had metastasized and began spreading its’ tentacles in a variety of way. When it began, I’m sure it was nothing more than a “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” sort of arrangement, and just like so many evils, the first step didn’t seem so bad at all, in fact it was probably looked upon as a smart move on the part of both participants.

Let’s go down that path for a moment. In the beginning, in order to make the budget work, one show manager asked his or her decorator if they could shave a few bucks off the cost of the pole and drape booths and in return, they could add a buck or two onto the cost of the drayage. Seemed pretty harmless at first, but as evil so often does, it grows and always leads to something worse. What was the evil you ask? It was the fact that show managers began misrepresenting themselves to their customers, the exhibitors, as their agents who negotiated with the facility management, the decorator, the electricians, and all the other service providers whose services are contracted for at a trade shows. The exhibitors had this silly notion that what they paid the decorator, their money would become profit to the decorator, and it was their association visa vi the show manager, who was representing them and working for their best interest; and they had no clue that the show manager was taking money under the proverbial table from the other side!

Trade Show Marketing

In the early 80′s, a pole and drape booth with I.D. sign normally cost the association about $12 per booth. I’d heard that in the past it had been as high as $45-$50 per booth, but by the time my career began in 1980, change had begun. By the end of the 80′s, it was pretty standard that show managers paid nothing for a pole and drape booth if their show had an appreciable amount of freight from the exhibitors, and decorators were expected to provide all the registration equipment, show management freight, and carpeted lounges etc. But who paid for all these services? Obviously the exhibitors and even sadder is the fact that they didn’t even know it. They thought that the booth fees and the registrations for the show paid for all that. Silly them!

Trade Show Marketing

In the minds of show managers and association executives, the temptation to take an easy buck has been too great. Show managers know that if they can cut a great deal with the decorator, they can not only justify their own position in the organization, but perhaps even elevate their position. By bringing home the bacon, the new dollars might help to add new staff, give raises to deserving personnel, and generally do things that otherwise couldn’t be done. Their position could quickly become the most important position in the organization. They’ve never once stopped to think that with each new pound of bacon they bring home it just adds to the burden of their exhibitors who are their customers, and restricts the growth of their shows by accelerating the incremental cost of adding new booth space or limits the number of booth personnel their exhibitors can afford to bring to a show.

All of us by now, have heard the rumors that the major show contractors such as GES, Freeman, Champion, and a host of others traditionally compete to get the contract for shows by offering large amounts of cash that go directly into the pockets of associations and show management companies. I used to look down on the decorators as villains, along with the unions who over the years have jacked up prices to ridiculous levels; but in all honesty, you have to look to the core of the problem and call a spade a spade. Show management has betrayed their own customers at the alter of self service and self gratification, and continues to up the anti each and every time they cut a deal that doesn’t pay the show contractor a fair price for each and every service that they consume. If they would do so, they could demand that the service contractors and unions do the same; but when your hand is eternally stuck in the cookie jar, you have no moral justification to ask the service providers to bring fairness and common sense into their pricing structures. It won’t be long before we see a service kit in Chicago with overtime I. & D. labor at more than $200 per hour; plus supervision fees!

It’s my belief that it’s only a matter of time until trade show  marketing will somehow correct itself; because when any business model gets skewed to this degree, it will create an opportunity for someone to figure out a better mouse trap!

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Link to the Top of Trade Show Displays Blog

Back in July 2009, I offered up a post that suggested that before you hop onto anyone’s political or social bandwagon too soon, you might like to weigh the facts carefully related to “what do the people who are pushing this agenda to have green trade show displays, have to gain by promoting their cause?” In that post I said the following about being taken by somebody’s scam:

How do you avoid it? Start with this:
1) Who is saying it and what financial incentive might there be to play this thing out?
2) If someone becomes the official spokesperson for the cause, do they have anything to gain financially by promoting it?
3) If this thing can be hyped enough, can somebody associated with it get promoted or recognized to the point where there might be another dollar in it for somebody?

Trade Show Displays

Get the point; follow the money!

Nobody likes to be taken in by somebody’s scheme, but what do we now know that we didn’t know when I wrote the above?

1) All the source data that proved the entire Global Warming theory, was in the care, custody, and control of professors at the East Anglia University in England; who, based on this source data, put forth the “proof” for global warming. Let me also state that only a select few were ever allowed to see the source documents that were collected from around the world. Doesn’t science work on the basis of peer review in order to learn the “truth” about anything? Why was the peer review process abandoned in this particular instance?

2) When asked to share this data a few months ago, the world was told that it was destroyed due to storage problems which would forever render the entire scientific community,  unable to prove or disprove the original findings.

Trade Show Displays

3) Then we find out from archived emails that were disclosed, which were written by the very scientists who held the source data hostage for years and then destroyed it, that they had both manipulated the data (and they told how they did it) and schemed to discredit anyone who would challenge them.  Seems as though the “follow the money” suggestion was very appropriate.

Now I’m not a big conspiracy theorist, but any fair-minded person would have to conclude that “there’s something rotten in Denmark.” Hmmm, where did that slang phrase come from? Well, it’s a phrase right out of Shakespeare, spoken by Marcellus; however the exact quote should be read as the “state of Denmark” which in this instance, refers to a fish which is rotting from the head down—all was not well at the top of the political hierarchy in that day and age. Certainly seems appropriate at this point in time as well, given that the Global Warming Conference is being held in Copenhagen, Denmark, and even as we speak, something seems to be rotting “from the head down” in many political circles who are pushing this agenda.

Now, as I said in July, I really didn’t see any point in turning my trade show displays business into a green revolution, and after waiting a few more months, I’m glad that I didn’t fall “hook, line, and sinker” for that rotten fish!

Lowell Nickens

Click here for  additional information regarding Trade Show Displays.
Link to the Top of Trade Show Displays Blog

Trade Show Displays

I’ll bet I just lit the powder keg with that title! But before you storm my blog site with nasty comments as though I was Sarah Palin being written about on the Huffington Post, hear me out on this! Where does common sense begin in this argument and where should stupidity and political correctness end? Yes, I have a business that sells trade show displays and the pressure is always on to be socially correct and sell “green” things!

Trade Show Displays

To begin with, who’s really against clean water, clean air, and all the other things that we hold near and dear with regard to the physical quality of our planet. I have a place on a nice lake and I’ll be darned if I’m going to let anyone mess with the water or the forest etc. I truly believe we all feel that way. However this green thing is basically one big conundrum which means the train of common sense has left the station.

Take for instance an observation I made at the grocery store a number of years ago when first we had paper bags  and then suddenly there was a plastic alternative. Hmmmm which one do you choose? If you take the plastic, then it goes into the landfills and will never return to mother earth. If you take the paper, you have to cut down a tree and for heaven’s sake who wants to do that; but it will degrade in the earth if it has a little moisture, but then I’ll be destroying the habitat of a spotted owl who does prefer to be in old growth forests, however if the barn owl keeps chasing his tail feathers all over North America like he’s doing and killing him off, a pad in downtown L.A. will be looking mighty good to him. And what about the barn owl, do we go after him and kill one endangered species that is endangering another endangered species? Where does it end?

I’ll tell you where it should end! Common sense is where. A long time ago I made an astute connection regarding something that we’ve been hearing a lot about lately which is never let a disaster go to waste. About 15 years ago we had a minor earthquake and of course you could set your watch knowing when every geology professor at every school of higher education would begin scratching and clawing their way onto the local news proclaiming that the chances were one in 10,000 that “the big one” was coming soon and we needed to be ready and to ignore the warning signs was something that we as a civilized society just couldn’t let happen. Yep, we needed to fund all these grants for education sake, but sadly the real reason was because it was “all about the money”.

There are a lot of things in life that I will be, but the one thing I really don’t like to be is a “sucker.”

How do you avoid it? Start with this:
1) Who is saying it and what financial incentive might there be to play this thing out?
2) If someone becomes the official spokesperson for the cause, do they have anything to gain financially by promoting it?
3) If this thing can be hyped enough, can somebody associated with it get promoted or recognized to the point where there might be another dollar in it for somebody?

Get the point; follow the money!

A number of years ago I watched a scenario play out before my very eyes when Mt St. Helens erupted and I was the director of sales and marketing at the Hilton Hotel in Portland. It was about 3 months before the city was to host a national convention consisting of national television news executives. This was the “A” group of reporters and executives, however it wasn’t long before several of the local hot shots who were bucking for a national gig had hyped the event so big that everyone was convinced that lava was going to flow through the main streets of Portland and the big convention canceled out of concern for the safety of their own member. The city took a real hit, but it once again showed that regardless whether it’s in a political, academic, business, or whatever arena, follow the money trail and you’ll get a straight answer and be taking a few less sucker punches along the way.

Trade Show Displays

Now back to the green thing; I see a lot of trade show displays related sites promoting green products and I get emails touting all the advantages of carrying all those fine products to the point of being ridiculous. In the last 9 month I’ve only featured one green product which happen to be bamboo banner stand,  along with a host of other trade show displays that aren’t green,  and during this time I’ve not had a single call, or inquiry asking about green products.

Now back to common sense; given my life experience, what can I assume?

Lowell Nickens

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Trade Show Displays

Our society is one that is responsive to a number of different stimuli; and every day, advertisers must find ways to use that stimulus in their campaigns. With so many messages coming our way on a daily basis – and a growing desensitization to such messages in light of our shortening attention span (after all, how many of us can easily watch television and surf the web at the same time?) – it has become exceedingly difficult to catch our attention, let alone keep it for any length of time. The successful advertisers are able to craft their message in such a way that they are eye-catching, unique, and ultimately difficult to ignore; and this philosophy extends to everything from television to print advertising and trade show displays.

But the same can be said of those marketing efforts that may not be thought of as traditional advertising – including trade shows and expositions. Trade shows are advertising campaigns on a smaller, more focused scale. Participants have a certain period of time – from hours to days – to appeal to potential clients and customers, as well as promote their name within a conglomerate of industry peers.

Trade Show Displays

Trade show exhibits are considered advertising, marketing, and public relations all in one for those companies who exhibit in trade shows. With the help of professional companies that can best determine the trade show displays that will be most effective for participants, businesses can be begin to craft a message that will ultimately represent their business philosophy.

Words are one thing. But when it comes to successful trade show participation, image is everything. Modern day exhibits are anything but the plain displays of yesteryear. Today, businesses understand that in order to compete on a level playing field they need to come to a trade show with the most visually impactful trade show displays; exhibits that will best reflect their business as a whole.

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Trade Show Displays

Companies come in all shapes and sizes and deliver all manner of products and services. Those companies that participate in trade shows with trade show displays most often do so in order to promote their name and their offerings to those potential customers that may be interested in said products and services; as well as to make a name for themselves within the industry as a whole.

Trade Show Displays

This does not mean, however, that a company must offer up a general and generic message in order to brand the company; in fact, larger companies may choose to market a particular product or service from among the many that they offer. In fact, for larger companies the ability to promote one service or product at a time allows them to attend a number of trade shows within the same year; maximizing their exposure and allowing them to effectively communicate their branding message throughout a variety of industries with their trade show displays.

In order to do this most effectively, companies often have a multitude of trade show displays in order to work within a variety of trade show environments. This is a cost-effective way in which to make the most of a company’s brand marketing. With a number of trade show displays at the ready, companies are able to make the most of their trade show experience by targeted marketing – that brand message that will communicate a company’s experience and ability to offer a product or service to a particular audience.

Through the use of targeted marketing, companies can utilize their trade show displays much more effectively throughout the year, gaining an audience, a reputation in the industry, visitors, and hopefully some converted customers along the way. Such is the reason that trade show displays should not be overlooked when it comes to comprehensive advertising and marketing for any company.

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Trade Show Booths

Trade show participation – for those who have not experienced it as of yet – is like a home away from home experience for those who are manning their trade show booths. Generally held over the course of several days, and even up to a week, company employees may often find themselves out-of-town for this period of time and engaged in this reality where they are completely focused on the marketing of their products and services. They may be staying in a hotel, eating dinners out, and generally networking and socializing beyond trade show hours; it can be a truly enjoyable, informative, and ultimately successful experience for those that take it seriously and prepare well.

The core of the preparation for any trade show, of course, is the outfitting of trade show booths – those spaces which companies rent for the period of time in which they are participating. These trade show booths are essentially company headquarters for the duration of the show and act as the marketing nucleus in terms of presenting attendees with information about the company.

Trade Show Booths

To this end, those companies that have been successful in what is ultimately a marketing venture that is the trade show have created high-end trade show booths that are visually stimulating and work towards getting a company noticed and – beyond this initial attraction – propels passerby to approach the booth and talk to a representative of the company. This is a successful event.

Trade show booths, or even banner stands for that matter,  are not cookie cutter and should be created to meet the precise needs of the purchasing company. Any reputable designer of trade show booths will work one on one with interested companies to gauge their specific needs and set about – of course with budget in mind – to create something that is both spectacular and ultimately very effective.

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Trade Show Displays

ShopforExhibits is the leading retailer for trade show displays; it offers the latest and greatest in design and quality, at extremely affordable prices. What more could you ask for? At Shopforexhibits you will find an online retailer that cares about the quality of your trade show needs and expectations; visit their site to browse through their extensive collection of modern, reliable, top quality exhibits with all the accessories to match. But before you do this, it would probably be wise to sit down and take a few minutes of time to perform a display needs analysis. This will give you an opportunity to define your needs in order to get the best trade show displays for your company.

By doing this work in advance, you will save time and money, and also be completely clear about what your specific needs are, and how finding the perfect trade show exhibit can meet those needs in a cost-effective, time-efficient manner. Ask yourself what your reasons for exhibiting are. Sometimes writing down on paper what your goals are, and what your purpose as an event marketer is, can lead you to understanding exactly what type of trade show display will meet your needs. Two other important questions to ask are: What is your budget? What is your competition? Determining how much money you have and who you are competing against will immediately lead you to discover what your options and limitations in regards to trade show displays are. Lastly, determining who your target audience is, and what your marketing plan to sell to this audience is can help guide you to the right trade show display in no time. Always remember to have a plan and act on that plan to help reach your event marketing goals in a flash.

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Trade Show Exhibits

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Have you ever wondered why your competitor’s business is getting more attention than your own at trade shows?  The answer may be as simple as branding and marketing with their trade show exhibits.  If your competition has better branding skills and are better able to package their product with more spunk and lasting power, then they will continue to beat you every time.  We should change that for good.  You need to develop a branding strategy that will give focus and structure to your entire advertising campaign.  Once this is done, you will then need to develop a logo that in essence is the symbol that carries out your company’s image to the masses.

Trade Show Exhibits

Now that you have an idea of what you want the public to see and think of when your company comes to mind, it is now time to establish a graphic image that surrounds your company name that paints a positive picture in the customer’s mind, every time they see it on your trade show exhibits.   Here are some tips that will help you create a strong logo with lasting power.  Keep in mind that a powerful logo design will have a strong, balanced image without any added clutter that dilutes the messages; it should also have a distinct and bold design that easy easily noticed from afar.  You should also include graphic imagery that matches the overall theme and look of the company, and the logo should always flow with the name of the company and also the key products or services the company is known for.  When the logo is created it should stand apart from others, but should be printed in a font that is easy for everyone to read.  Lastly, your logo should communicate what your business and products are clearly, and also can look good in both black and white, and color.  When designing your trade show exhibits, your brand, logo and position should be in a prominent position to create a lasting impression in the viewer’s (trade show attendee’s) mind. If you follow all of these steps when creating your logo, it will surely bring you marketing and trade show success.

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Trade Show Displays

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Often times, people tend to confuse their logo for their brand when it comes to Trade Show Marketing.  The brand encompassed the personality of the company, including the value proposition, the positioning statement, the mission and philosophy, the company’s culture and of course the logo. A branding strategy within an advertising campaign is plan for marketing efforts.  A logo is just one piece of the branding strategy puzzle.  Do not get me wrong, it is still a very important and crucial piece of that puzzle, but it is not your brand as a whole.  The logo you develop for your company is a symbol that has the ability to become a sign of instant and powerful brand recognition for you business, and for the services and products that your business represents.  This symbol can become something that can be understood cross-culturally and can break through many barriers on its own.  That is why its development as an important part of your branding strategy should be something that is not overlooked.

Before you begin the actual process of creating your logo, remember that the development of a brand strategy for the company must be complete before you start.  This is important to remember because, the logo acts as a representation for your company and their branding campaign, if you begin to develop a logo without the stability of a brand, you may be putting across the wrong message to the public.  The more consistent your branding strategy is overall, the more consumer recognition and positive feedback you will receive.  In regards to the world of trade show marketing, a branding strategy would be like the entire campaign of your event.  And the logo would be the symbol or mark that represented the brand on a physical scale.  The logo may appear at the display stands, or on the t-shirts of the booth staff, or maybe even printed in bright colors on the Pronto banner stands.  Wherever it may appear, just remember that consistency is key.

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In order to create a branding strategy that in essence will help launch any good solid advertising campaign, you must first define who you are as a company and as a brand in order to be able to develop a strategy that uses it.  Your brand is at the root of everything your advertising will stand for.  It is the foundation for all of the other components you must build upon.  The way you decide to define your brand will create a bench mark for all of your marketing materials and strategies to be compared to, and this will help you begin making the necessary decisions needed to develop a plan and banner stands is just one of many avenues you can use to achieve your goals.

Banner Stands

Developing a brand is important for a number of reasons.  For your company to be able to define who you are and why you are providing these products and services to the public, you must know who you are and what you stand upon.  If you are planning for a big trade shows and  events, you must know what you represent as a company and as an idea.  What your brand is, is how you are going to present the image to the masses.  Once your brand is established you can then begin to pay attention to more detail, such as the design of your trade show exhibits and displays, and also what your ad campaign is going to look like.  You can begin to design your  banner stands and other display items the moment you figure out what your color scheme and logos are, etc.  But at the core of every decision is your brand, because it in essence controls everything around it.  Make sure you choose very carefully when developing your brand whether it’s on banner stands or exhibits, in order to ensure that everything else created around it, will be perfect.

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Banner Stands

Exhibitors invest huge amounts of money each year in their trade show marketing plans, trade show exhibits, banner stands, etc., but it is also important to not forget that trade show attendees also invest a lot in the process as well.  They have expenses such as, hotel rooms, plane tickets, meals, and much more.  When companies invest huge sums of money to send employees to exhibiting events, it is up to you as an exhibitor to make them happy, and to also make their trip worthwhile by giving them exactly what they want.  Due to this, you should make sure to know what it is that attendees are looking for to make the experience interesting and fulfilling for every party involved.

Banner Stands

Attendees want to find products and services that interest them, and can be of some benefit to them and the company they are representing.  You must make sure that each exhibiting event you invest in as an exhibitor is for the right reasons and that you will easily be able to catch the attention of a target audience. Spend time working on your conference displays and banner stands to make sure they are clean and designed well to grab the eye of visitors.  Attendees are also looking for a concise description of who you are as a company and what you can do for them.  Even if you have beautiful graphics and color schemes, your trade show displays will fail if they cannot clearly describe and relate to your customers.

The last thing that attendees want to see is a comfortable place to rest and sit, and also some fun promotional products like banner stands to get them excited about the experience overall.  Fill up your trade show booths with trade show accessories that will create a little oasis for guests to find reprieve.  Make sure that any promotional events and giveaways going on in your event are clearly advertised. Make use of your Pronto banner stands to catch the attention of attendees with information about a giveaway, etc.

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Banner Stands

One of the most important trade show objectives is to acquire contacts and leads from each event that can lead to potential business in the future.  Your company signs up for an event, creates a trade show display, designs banner stands, hires and trains an energized exhibiting staff, spends time and money investing in the quality of the presentation, and then from there, thinks everything will be magically taken care of.  Often times, this is not the case.  This could be the reason why the majority of trade show leads do not successfully turn into business.  Research shows that nearly 80 percent of all trade show leads are not handled properly.  Another 43 percent of potential customers receive materials after they have made a decision to do business with another vendor.  Lastly, 18 percent of potential customers have reported that they never actually receive any materials after the trade show is over.  These numbers are devastating; because they show that customers are not getting what they want, and vendors do not know how to give it to them.

The three major reasons for the problem of poor follow-up post event are, poor quality leads, lack of proper resources and responsibility, and also improper follow-up skills.  We must examine these issues and try to get to the bottom of these problems so that both parties can be happy and satisfied.  If companies can learn the importance of follow-up success they will begin to understand why the post-event work is not only necessary, but also an integral piece of the trade show puzzle. If you don’t, all the money you spend on trade show exhibits and banner stands will have been wasted.

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Trade Shows

The trade show – for those who have yet to experience the pomp and circumstance – can be an overwhelming experience; especially those larger trade shows in which companies from throughout an entire industry come together under one roof for a matter of days or even a week. First of all, it can be more than a bit frightening to come face to face with that many companies – those that are essentially competitors (if not on a day to day basis then most certainly during this time period when you are vying for the same audience). But beyond that first initial shock there is the realization that we are expected to perform – and perform at our best – throughout this time period. And if we don’t, we will most certainly be passed over by attendees at trade shows in favor of more interesting looking booths.

So how do these attendees at trade shows know that if the companies in question have what they need? It certainly can’t be from the conversation that they have had with company representatives – that comes later when passerby are intrigued enough to actually approach the trade show booths and talk to someone about the products and service offered by the company. And it certainly isn’t from the literature that they have read. It’s not like attendees at  trade shows are given anything in advance other than a company name, a booth number, and perhaps a general description of what the company offers.

Trade Shows

No, attendees at trade shows decide to stop and talk to somebody in a booth by first checking out their trade show booths. It’s the booth that attracts them first. Savvy companies that want to succeed in a trade show environment bring along with them comprehensive and visually interesting trade show displays that will convey in a matter of seconds what booth personnel are not able to impart as people pass by.

Think of trade show exhibits as a first date. Better make it look good or you’re not likely to get another!

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Trade Show Marketing

The majority of small business owners have a limited budget that they are able to use for marketing each year. In order to prepare for your next trade show, marketing knowledge is a very crucial piece to the puzzle. Due to the limited budget it is smart to spend time and energy creating a well-rounded trade show marketing and advertising program that is a combination of marketing and also sales and activities. The sales activities combination will not decrease your advertising budget, but it will add value of getting to spend time interacting with your prospective clients, which can potentially lead to new customers and increased business. This interaction will help your company immensely.

It sometimes seems unfair that comparatively, big businesses can throw around a lot more money without as much of the stresses as small businesses when it comes to advertising, and trade show marketing,  etc. Even though small businesses have a limited budget for spending, does not necessarily mean that you cannot compete with the big boys. There are many ways that you can gear up for your next big trade show event by creating a cost-effective plan of attack for advertising that will bring everyone under the sun to come visit your new booth and see the new Burst display system. Call your vendors and ask them to help you in a little give and take where you participate in co-op advertising. You can also spend a little extra time mailing out referrals and buying incentives with your current customer base. There are numerous ways for your company to re-invent your advertising plan without breaking the bank. Remember to never give up and to always be willing to create new and exciting ways to advertise whether you are a big or small company.

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Trade Show Displays

The key to successful marketing is to be able to understand your customers’ needs and to develop a plan that incorporates all of those needs effectively. In the world of trade shows, the right exhibit design is a very crucial part of the whole process with your trade show display, and can be the deciding factor for success. If you would like to see your business become more successful, then you should begin to work on the organic aspect of growth, because that will last the longest. There are many ways in which to focus on organic growth and here are a few examples: acquiring more customers will help increase the revenue of the company, running a new campaign which encourages your current customer base to buy more products. You can also run a campaign, which advertises the more expensive services or products that can help make you more money, or also get them to sign a longer deal or contract with your company to ensure that they will be around longer.

Trade Show Displays

The most profitable one to begin with would probably be the first one, which is to acquire more customers and expand your current customer base. If this were a marketing plan for a trade show, you would now begin to design a plan that would eventually bring the most traffic to your trade show display. Begin using advertising and marketing to your greatest benefit, so that every moment and every dollar is being used to its highest potential. That is how you will become successful by using every opportunity to its fullest. You should begin spending time doing research to create a marketing plan so that you know what each step is going to be. The more prepared you are, the more successful you will be. In order to acquire new customers you should steer your product development in a direction that reaches out to new customers that may not have used your products or services before. Finally, develop a message for your trade show display that reaches and connects with the masses; because if there is a common ground and common point of relation for everyone, it will be accessible to anyone who shows interest. The larger your target market is, the more customers you will have the opportunity of acquiring.

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Starting a new company is always a challenge for a number of reasons; there is the financial foundation that must be put in place, the physical property, the staff, the equipment and, of course, the orchestration of the business plan. Beyond the traditional start up, however, there are often specific opportunities or events where a new business has the ability to present itself for the first time and introduce its products and services; a trade show is one such opportunity with display rentals.

Display Rentals

Trade shows are held throughout the year; an opportunity for businesses within an industry to network with their peers and essentially market their company. For new businesses the trade show experience is especially important as it often marks the first public event during which the name and “face” of the company is presented. Because of this significance, it becomes even more important for a new company to effectively brand itself within the parameters of the trade show. To this end, it is crucial for new companies to come out of the box with a powerful and effective trade show presence that will foster the goals of the company. Don’t just think of a large capital expenditure to make your presence felt, also consider Display Rentals for your first show or two until you understand exactly what works best for your sales team on the show floor.

Display Rentals

Professional companies that create impactful display rentals, work with companies – new and established – to best represent them in the trade show environment. Smartly designed trade show exhibits are those pieces that belong to the participating companies; how they outfit those spaces is up to them (within the guidelines set forth by the trade show rules). With professional services behind them, new companies can create trade show displays that will:

* Attract the attention of trade show attendees. Such an environment is a competitive one; it is essential that new companies present themselves with impact and style rather than fading into the background.

* Pair a new company with its trade show “face.” Trade show displays done the right way are meant to define the company so that the sight of its trade show booth in the future will automatically alert attendees to the company’s presence.

In the next post we’ll discuss some of the other ways that effective trade show displays are able to help new businesses through the outright purchase or display rentals.

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In the last post we discussed how trade show exhibits are especially important for new companies that are just introducing themselves at their first trade show experience. We spoke about how important it was for a company to truly brand itself during such events and that trade show displays allowed them to do just that by coming out of the gate with a strong message and visual support. Strong trade show exhibits present the “face” of a new company, branding it so that attendees at future trade shows will immediately recognize the business; as well as attracting the attention of attendees that will get a clear message of what the company does and what it offers.

Trade Show Exhibits

Aside from these important items, some of the other benefits of a new company coming to a trade show with impressive trade show exhibits include:

* Offering motivation. Ultimately the goal of trade show attendance is to spark a conversation with potential customers. But before we can begin the work of converting interested people to customers we need to inspire them to approach us first. Trade show exhibits with impact are mean to attract the attention of passerby and inspire them to approach the booth and have a conversation.

* Public relations. Any successful company knows how important perception is in the overall scheme of things. Good public relations is about aligning your company with a certain perception so that when people hear your name they automatically have a positive thought based on something that they have seen or heard. A strong presence at a trade show with high-end Lambda graphics that look crisp, professional, and sophisticated can ultimately be great PR for any company.

Trade Show Exhibits

* Generate a buzz. A new company only has one shot at being the “new guy on the block.” Take advantage of this position by starting strong with  high quality trade show exhibits that will ultimately generate good word of mouth. People will come to see what all the fuss is about.

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Another  great  post  on Trade Show Displays:

Trade Shows

Trade Shows tend to sneak right up behind you and your staff, even if you think you are completely prepared and ready to go.  At the last minute, things seem to pop up that you never imagined would be a problem.  That is why using a trade shows checklist in the final days of your event preparation can really help to make sure that all last minute details are taken care of with ease and responsibility.  This checklist can help you save time and energy in order to focus on the main priorities of your event, which is to make sure that all of your event objectives are being met.

Remember to review your objectives and sales plan so that everyone knows exactly what goals have been set for your trade shows, and why they should be paid strong attention to.  It is also a good idea to gather your trade show exhibiting staff together for a meeting where you can answer any last minute questions, and go over the schedule of the show.  It is also a good idea to contact your event sponsor to make sure that all of your trade show exhibiting, materials have arrived, and also to make sure you understand what location you need to pick them up at, and also where you need to return the materials after the show is over.

Trade Shows

Lastly, review your post-event plan for follow-ups, etc. and make sure that your exhibiting staff is well prepared and confident to do a good job.  If everyone is on the same page and has the same understanding of what needs to be done, hopefully the event will run smoothly and you will have  success at all the trade shows you attend.

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