Tradetec Skyline

Nine reasons for renting a trade show display instead of purchasing one.

1.Rental Exhibits provides the flexibility to bend with the prevailing marketing winds without abandoning long-term goals.

2. Trade show rentals allow exhibitors to change their look from show to show or to reinvestment their brands as their product focus shifts.

3. Good rental display inventory help maintain a cutting-edge appearance in the short term without making huge capital investments that could haunt a company down the road.

4. A trade show rental display costs 25-35 percent of a similar built-to-own booth. Graphics cost about 20 to 40 percent of a typical rental price. Since clients usually buy and reuse graphics, those renting for multiple shows can often cut those costs considerably. Given those figures, three or four rental exhibits cost roughly the same as buying a comparable exhibit.

5. Rentals allow exhibitors to be a little braver. You can take a risk and do something different.

6. Combination rental displays and custom options provide flexibility. More and more people are seeing rental as a cost-effective way to enhance a booth property they already have.

7. As companies attend more shows, it’s almost inevitable that two shows will run back-to-back or at the same time. It doesn’t make sense to buy a new exhibit.

8. A company may attend numerous shows with its own booth but once a year wants to do something dramatic at the industry’s premier event.

9. Exhibit rentals can open the door to new exhibitors. The prospect of buying a booth can discourage first time exhibitors. A rental can help make their first outing both affordable and productive.

Tradetec Skyline

Chicago’s Best Exhibit Rental Source

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Trade Show Gear Check List

Do you have what you need for your next trade show or event? You can never be too
prepared. Here’s a list to checks against when you are exhibiting at a trade show or event.

Oh, yes, remember that first one. Don’t forget your exhibit. That happens.

Essential

• Trade show exhibit
• Business cards (lots)
• Literature and brochures
• Product samples, if any
• Computers, as required
• Pens (Highlighters)
• Lead sheets, log book or lead scanner, recorder
• Notepads or paper (for visitors too)
• Stapler or paper clips (Staple remover)
• Give away items, if any

Personal

• Good shoes
• Aspirin/Pain relievers
• Antibacterial water-free hand wash
• Facial Tissues
• Bottled Water
• Band-Aids
• Energy Bars/Candy
• Breath Mints

General Travel

• Confirmation nos. (hotel, rental car, airline)
• ID, credit cards and cash
• Clothes and required personal items

Repair and Cleanup

• Duct tape
• Scissors
• Cloth or paper towels
• Recommended cleaning agent for your exhibit, Bestine etc.
• Screwdrivers or appropriate wrench
• Folding allen wrench set
• Extra fasteners (screws, nuts, etc)
• Extra extension cord
• Extra power strip
• Extra light bulbs

Shipping

• Emergency contact information for display house or shipper
• Shipping labels and bills of lading for return shipment
• Package sealing tape, shrink wrap
• Instructions for return shipment

For more trade show information you can visit our main site at Tradetec Skyline Displays

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 Some advice on Branding Your Display

There are two good reasons to participate in a trade show, says Michele Lando, a principal at Skilset Communications, Inc., and highly regarded speaker and author on brand-related subjects. The first is lead generation and the second is awareness.

Whatever your reason for participating, your tactical marketing efforts, including trade shows, should consistently be maximized for greatest results and should be integrated into your overall marketing and business strategy.

Maximization, Integration and Consistency is a wise marketing mantra to follow.

• Maximizing your investment, time and outcome means thinking about your managing your trade show as a process - not a singular event.
• Integrating it effectively means examining how it plays into your overall marketing mix - your advertising, direct mail, sales tactics and your overarching brand strategy.
• Consistency is what creates credibility and awareness over time and helps you drive sales, attract partners, alliances, investors and even high caliber employees.

It’s trade show time!

Let’s begin with maximizing your booth. There are a great many considerations such as booth size, show size, audience, venue restrictions and other variables too vast to detail in this article. Regardless, stay true to these two constants for success:

1. The trade show booth graphics must be consistent - with your corporate look, your pre-game promotion ad, your traffic-driving direct mail campaign and any game day handouts. This enhances recognition value and creates credibility through consistency.

2. Key messages must first be developed and then produced large enough to be read-at-a-glance. Attendees are bombarded with information and are often intimidated to actually look dead on at your booth, or you, for fear of being “roped in.” Visuals are ideal for messaging on booths.

3. Stop them in their tracks by using trade show technology like lighting, lasers or LED’s

4. Trade Show entertainment is also another great way to capture an audience long enough to engage and get your message out .

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What is Material Handling?

Material handling includes the unloading of your exhibit materials, storing them at the advance warehouse and delivering to the booth space, the handling of empty containers to and from storage, and removing of material from you booth for reloading onto outbound carriers when the show closes. It should not be confused with the cost to ship your exhibit materials to and from the convention or event. You have two options for shipping your exhibit, literature and promo material to the show, advance warehouse or directly to show site.

Material Handling Charges

Charges from show decorators like Freeman, GES or Champion are be based on the weight of your shipment. Each shipment received is considered separately. The shipment weight will be rounded up to the next 100 pounds. Each 100 pounds is considered one “cwt.” (one hundred weight).

There is a 200 lb minimum charge for each shipment weighing less than 200 lbs. The average “cwt” charge ranges from $50 to $150 for straight time.

This means that one carton of literature shipped in to the show separately and not consolidated will be charged as if it was a 200 pound skid and you will be charged somewhere is the range of $100 to $600 for material handling. You may have shipped that last minute carton(s) thinking you were actually saving money by using UPS or FedEx instead of a trade show common carrier like Associated Global or Roadway.

What can you do to save money?

It is very important to consolidate your shipments and make sure all literature and promo items ship to the trade show in one shipment, via truck, to advance warehouse preferably with your exhibit.

To sign up for our monthly trade show tips newsletter email us at info@ttskyline.com

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Promotions That Drive Better Trade Show Booth Staffing

Perhaps you have been justifying your trade show pre-show promotions because they help bring in more people to your booth. They do that, and more. A good pre-show promotion, when tied to an in-booth giveaway, can also improve the performance of your booth staffers. Here’s how:

 

Your staffers will have an easier time developing rapport and qualifying attendees, by building on the good feelings the attendee has after receiving a nice gift for coming to your booth. Continue Reading »

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