Companies come in all shapes and sizes and deliver all manner of products and services. Those companies that participate in trade shows 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.

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.

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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Over the past 30 years, there has been dynamic changes in the trade show industry; 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 show. 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!

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!

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 the market 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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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.

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 displays 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 displays are not cookie cutter and should be created to meet the precise needs of the purchasing company. Any reputable designer of trade show displays will work one on one with interested companies to gage 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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Perfect 10 Custom Modular Hybrid Display

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.  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.

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.  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

Often times, people tend to confuse their logo for their brand.  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.

Magellan Graphic System

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 pronto banner stand, 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 in order to ensure that everything else created around it, will be perfect.

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Exhibitors invest huge amounts of money each year in their trade show marketing plans, 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.

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 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 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 stand to catch the attention of attendees with information about a giveaway, etc.

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I’ve always said that Pop Up Displays do have their place in the trade show world; it’s just determining what that place is, which is where so many people run into trouble. Far to often new comers to the exhibiting world have a mindset that says that says; “all I need to do is show up and smile and business will come my way.” So that we can look at this in a little more rational way and come to some logical conclusions, let’s go down the list of a few scenarios where you would be projecting your image with a pop up display:

1) Your company is exhibiting over the weekend in the local mall and the mall management has given the exhibitors strategically placed locations in the middle of the aisles from which you can get peoples attention and visit with them as they move from one store to another. Good idea? Yes, probably is because most of the exhibitors will, in all likelihood, have only  table top displays at best.  You’ll probably look light years better than most.

2) Your company is exhibiting in a chamber of commerce after hours event to get new members acquainted with existing members and you wish to expose your services to potential buyers. Good idea? Yes, probably is as you’ll look better than at least half of the participants that are exhibiting; especially if you’ve created a graphic package that smartly represents what your business offers.

3) Your state convention is coming up and you’re wondering if a pop up is the image you want to project to a statewide audience. Good idea? Yes, probably is because on a statewide basis, table tops are still the most popular and you’ll still stand out in the crowd.

4) Your regional convention is being held in San Francisco and you want to attract a regional clientele for your business, and at least a half dozen of your direct competitors are going to be exhibiting there plus 2 of the competitors market their services on a national basis. Good idea? This is where it begins to get tricky. Hmmm, maybe not! Why you ask? Well what’s your plan to differentiate yourself from your competitors if you’re using a concave shaped booth  that 50% of all the exhibitors in the hall use; therefore you’ll  look exactly alike everyone else; guaranteed! Or is that your plan to blend in with everyone else? I hope not!

5) Now you’re considering exhibiting in your industries national convention; this is where is gets worse! How are you going to differentiate yourself plus look the part of a “market leader” when you’re looking like one of the other guys? If you want to look like the small regional guy that’s fine, but people who buy from people nationally at some point want to be doing business with one of the big dogs in the industry or at least with somebody that looks like it at least. Where do you fit in? Now keep in mind, if you have a one of a kind product, you can probably get away with using a pop up without any ill effects.

So what is the bottom line? It all boils down to how you look up next to your competition; PERIOD-end of story! In my next blog on this subject, I’ll explore what “looking better than your competition” really all about.

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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.

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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 in favor of more interesting looking booths.

So how do these attendees 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 trade show attendees are given anything in advance other than a company name, a booth number, and perhaps a general description of what the company offers.

No, trade show attendees 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 buy.

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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