When you participate as an exhibitor at industry related trade shows, you quickly learn about both inbound and outbound brand marketing strategies. All of those smiling show attendees walking through the convention hall floor have no idea of the amount of creative time, manual labor and rental location space cost associated with each freshly branded display, promotional trade show giveaways and hand-picked knowledgeable staff. Expo marketing teams must go through the preparation process numerous times to be sure their staff and booth setup is 100% ready for day one first impressions. Leaving the most memorable customer experience through proper modern trade show exhibit design, professional interaction with show attendees, and even interactive digital signage kiosk displays, helps companies guarantee they beat out all competition within their industry niche!
Professional trade show marketing coordinators always cover their pre show planning basis. They know it only takes one user error during display setup that can throw a temporary wrench from staying on schedule, but if any needed last minute mistakes clearly caused by lack of trade show exhibit design knowledge. expedited trade show projects which you know it only takes one accident or booth space issue for something to go wrong with your backlit trade show displays or whichever display booth you choose to brand your products on.
There’s no argument that pre-show preparation, display booth setup and dismantle are all hard work. There are times when everything goes smoothly, but attending a convention without any issues is more common than not. The veteran exhibitors know how much preplanning is involved in expo marketing and what they can do to mitigate as many problems as possible.
To that end, we have put together three tips for a successful trade show exhibit:
1. Get Comfortable with Target Time
Every vendor who signs up to display at a trade show is given a service manual upon acknowledgment of the registration. In the service manual is the ‘target time’ for the delivery of your display, equipment, and inventory. Get comfortable with that target time. Understand that a target time is not a guaranteed time for the delivery of your load. You may be starting your set-up later than you anticipated. Always anticipate unforeseen delays in shipments.
Convention hall coordinators do their best to schedule deliveries with efficiency in mind. Those vendors deepest into the hall’s interior will get their deliveries first; those on the periphery, closest to freight elevators and doors, will get their deliveries last. However, what if you are on the interior of the floor and your freight delivery has been delayed? Your life, and the lives of those vendors around you, will be made that much more difficult. There is nothing you can do about it. There’s also no need to stress.
2. Adopt the Mindset of Simplicity
Indy Displays puts together the most complex trade show booth displays for customers who really need them. Nevertheless, if you do not need to go complex, we urge you to adopt a mindset of simplicity. Why? Because simplicity saves you money at the trade show. Consider the difference between backlit trade show displays that already come pre-wired and with nothing more than a few light bulbs to screw in, as opposed to large and complicated displays that require on-site wiring and overhead rigging for lights.
The cost for an show-provided labor needed to assemble displays will add to a company’s trade show costs. In addition, you will be at the mercy of show operators to provide you with the labor you need in a timely manner. Keeping things simple mitigates your need for extra labor and the headaches and costs that go with it. Try to keep your drayage costs as low as possible too.
3. Plan Ahead
Planning is a good idea for any project. However, in the arena trade show displays, planning is critical. Find out well in advance how much real space you will have. Find out whether electric service for your backlit trade show display will come from the floor or the ceiling. Your booth space location in the exhibition all is an important factor, as well. The more you know about exhibition hall layout, the more efficient set-up and tear down will be. If Indy Displays can help you by creating a better trade show exhibit design, we would be happy to do so. Just get in touch by phone or over the website.
