Monthly Archives: March 2010

Exhibitor 2010 Round Up, Part II

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As I mentioned in the last post, there weren’t radically new new products at Exhibitor 2010 . But what was radically different was the positioning and messaging by the large general contractors, or GCs. If you know these companies, you know that they specialize in managing union laborers on the show floor. But at Exhibitor, you could have mistaken their presence for that of a high-end creative and management firm – which looks like a direction they’re trying to move in.

Maybe I was more aware of their re-positioning because of all the grousing (by display companies) about the GCs muscling in on the display business. True – it’s happening – and it’s not a good development. The GCs are offering discounted deals to companies at a time that companies really need to cut marketing budgets. The GCs can do this because in much of their business they are the exclusive provider of services, and they make significant profits in those areas.

That big companies will attempt to exert dominance in their market and in adjacent markets is an accepted reality. Think of Microsoft and Intel as very recent examples. Whether or not the business activities of the GCs are legal is a matter left to the FTC and others. But it is an unequivocally negative development for the trade show industry. The GCs may be dropping prices and “comping” services today, but make no mistake about it: they expect to make more profit in the long run by doing this. So if they’re doing it for free now but expect large profits in the future…well, you can do the math.

Obviously I can’t stand here and advise companies to spend more than they need to for their trade show. But most exhibitors have had the “you’ve got to be kidding” moment when they’re told what the GC charges to move a pallet 100 feet. So if you don’t like the price they charge to move a pallet, ask yourself if it would be good if that same gang designed and rented the booth and everything you needed at the show. And connected it up. And packed it up. In the long run, these developments could lead to significantly higher prices for all services. And when that happens, because of the exclusivity the GCs enjoy, there won’t be anything anyone can do about it.

Ironically, in the long run, the road to better pricing at the trade show might be by avoiding the best deals in the hall today.

Impact Displays offers a range of products and services to get you the best value no matter what road you’re on. We have compiled a list of tips to make your trade show a success – please contact us to receive our complimentary guide to exhibiting.

Exhibitor 2010 Roundup

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Last week in Las Vegas was Exhibitor 2010 – the trade show for companies that need trade show equipment (honest). From the attendee side, it’s a mix of vendors looking for new products to take to market as well as larger companies cozying up to manufacturers or service providers that sell direct. Overall, there was a pretty good buzz. Granted, the show is half the size it was in 2007 when the industry was going full bore. But, it was a lot better than 2009 – so it feels like the industry has turned the corner.

As far as new products, it was limited. The extrusion system vendors all had new tweaks and add-ons, but nothing radical. LED technology seemed to be everywhere. Computer controlled screen washers pulse an infinite array of colors, making fabric mosaics an ever changing panorama. From a video perspective, LED technology has leap-frogged projection and LCD and the “new, new thing” but the price points so far make this an expensive technology. Even if you don’t need LED hi-definition panels anytime soon, there’s still value in what I saw. Like any vendor that wants to strut, the company showing off this gear came prepared with great content. You’ve heard me bash video content in the past – I learned something this time around.

The company – Data Display AV Co – had produced a slick, short looping video that was an image montage. Eye catching and vivid, it was absent of audio – but the video would leave you slack-jawed. Why was it so good? Ok, it was super hi definition – the video looked liquid. But the coolest thing was that there wasn’t really a message – it combined many video elements – action, still, text, graphic – but the effect made you stop and watch. You didn’t have to pay attention to storyboarding or narrative. And there I was, standing in front of someone’s tradeshow booth. It would have been like shooting fish in a barrel. How do you benefit? Well, the message is…sometimes you don’t want a message. Sometimes you want a spectacle. You want to create a situation. Sometimes you have to avoid the message to get the attention.

It doesn’t work all the time. And it won’t do more than pull traffic. But think about incorporating some sort of spectacle to get attention at your next show.

Impact Displays specializes in creating spectacles for companies engaged in face to face marketing, exhibiting and trade shows and selling.

Navigate Trade Show Services Carefully

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If you’re a typical exhibitor you need the basics to be organized and have a good show: booth space, trade show display, collateral and show services. Most exhibitors understand the first three well and are bewildered by the last one. Show services are important considerations, depending on the type of exhibit you have – the costs for services can be the single largest line item in your budget. Careful management and understanding of what you need can save you money and anxiety. Design your trade show display for success when it comes to services and you’ll get better bang for your buck.

Most trade shows are managed under contract with a show organizer. The organizer in turn decides who gets to do what under the roof of the venue or trade show hall. Services are broadly segmented into labor and everything but labor. Labor services can be performed by the General Contractor (“GC”) or an Exhibitor Appointed Contractor (“EAC”). Each of these entities complies with local labor and union rules in performing services at the show.

It’s important to work closely with the supervisor or union steward at the show – they can make your experience go much more smoothly. In particular, you need to be aware of what you, as an exhibitor, can and can’t do by yourself. If you have a pop up and retractable banner stand, you’re safe – you can set these up yourself. Some 10 x 10 modular displays (ie, tool-less) can be set up by the exhibitor without using GC or EAC labor. Larger displays will generally require GC or EAC labor (referred to as I&D). You can often supervise your booth assembly (if you know how), or the GC or EAC can provide a supervisor. Make sure you’ve booked your I&D to take advantage of “straight time” under the labor rules and can avoid the overtime/double-time charges. And make sure the display is really ready to be set up when you book the I&D – nothing worse than labor standing around and getting paid while you try to find your display.

A trickier task is managing the show services, and this is where you can spend a lot of money. Everything from power, video and internet access to carrying your display (called drayage) and collateral to your booth is charged for. Hanging a sign? Make sure you budget for it. Second-story? Plan for fork lift charges. Renting flooring or furniture? A guy wire for some lights? You guessed it.

None of which is unfair, of course. Some displays are construction projects and have budgets that reflect this. But as you plan your booth, think about ways to reduce unnecessary costs and avoid surprises. If you can build your display from lightweight materials (aluminum over steel or wood, for example), you’ll save a lot of money. Ditto if you can avoid a hanging sign by increasing the size and visibility of a tower mounted sign. Think long and hard about that second story. We’ve built them – and they’re really cool. But they can run the meter on costs. And get your carpet, furniture, monitors, A/V, etc offsite rather than at the show. You’ll need all of these things but if you wait until your booth is set up you will pay top dollar.

All of which is a simple way of advocating a thoughtful approach to design. There’s more than one way to solve the trade show marketing equation. With advance planning and a careful approach, you won’t spend more than you have to and you’ll get a great return.

Impact Displays offers a full range of trade show and face to face marketing solutions for sale and for rental. More information is available at www.impact-displays.com. We have compiled a list of tips to make your trade show a success – please contact us to receive our complimentary guide to exhibiting.

Fabric Displays – A Versatile Alternative to Inkjet Graphics

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Many people are surprised to learn that a lot of trade show displays have graphics that are printed on fabric, since they usually see graphics printed on an inkjet printer and laminated. We’ve seen a big increase in the demand for fabric graphics and tension fabric structures in the past five years. And it’s easy to see why: fabric graphics can shape conform more effectively to create complex 3D shapes and they produce a rich, deep color palette.

Depending on the type of messaging and imagery you use, fabric graphics can be very effective. They can deliver vivid graphical and landscape imagery and create more “atmosphere” for the audience. They have a softer appearance and depending on the other graphics images they can be bring traffic to your display. Fabric won’t usually present close up photography, especially of people, where gradient realism is at a premium.

You can display fabric graphics in several ways – they will fit on fabric pop ups and banner stands to form basic portable backwalls. They also form backwalls when used in modular displays like our Pro Series trade show displays and our truss displays. And you can create an amazing array of 3D shapes using tension fabric structures – essentially a light aluminum frame tightly wrapped by a fabric graphic. You can usually mix fabric and laminated graphics on the same display (on a truss, for example) as long as you endure that the sheen of the printed material and the color tones can be matched by your printer or graphics supplier.

We’re actually borrowing a page from the textile industry on fabric graphics – they’ve been printing fabric for clothing and furniture for decades. The real change has been the development of low cost, high resolution fabric printers that allow beautiful images at price points that rival inkjet laminated prints. This has allowed us to offer fabric solutions as attractive alternatives to other types of graphic.

Impact Displays carries a full line of fabric displays. More information can be found at www.impact-displays.com

Hybrid Trade Show Display Purchase-Rental: Best of Both Worlds?

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Our recent post about trade show display renting and buying generated some reader questions and comments. Some said we missed the most useful buy/rent decision framework. In essence, they said “It isn’t whether you should buy or you should rent, it’s which components you should decide to buy and which you should decide to rent.” Point taken.

Sometimes we get stuck in an either/or debate, even when we’re emphasizing the usefulness of each solution available. And some of our smartest customers, when asked if they want to rent their displays or to buy their displays, have said “Yes” and they do both. They buy the core elements of their displays, giving them control and management autonomy. And they rent the more peripheral elements – expansion hardwalls, conference rooms, podiums, monitors, etc. Since they know what they need in a majority of shows (booth size, format, etc), they feel comfortable owning the core elements, like the the backwall – either pop up or modular, the counters, etc. But since they may not know how often they’ll need the peripheral elements, they mitigate the ownership risk (maintenance, usage, etc) by renting these.

This is a very good plan if your company is large enough to employ a hybrid purchase/rental strategy. It can optimize your capital budgeting and trade show expense management – and it can focus your trade show programs for best results.

Impact Displays offers a range of purchase and rental solutions for trade shows and exhibits. Impact Display also complies a list of trade show tips to make your next trade show a success.

Custom Trade Show Display Vs Modular Trade Show Display

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We get a lot of requests for custom displays. Funny thing is, most of these requests don’t involve true custom display builds. To clarify some of these issues, we thought it would be useful to identify the main differences between custom trade show displays and modular trade show displays. As a buyer, you need to make sure you’re asking for the right design concept. Not only are lead times very different, but pricing, flexibility and re-use are very different between these similar sounding design ideas.

Companies decide to go custom because they don’t want to look like other exhibitors and because their marketing and messaging requires unique display characteristics. There are many great things to say about the workhorse of the portable display universe, the Pop Up. But uniqueness isn’t one of them. Moving from a stock portable to a modular trade show display gives you gives you more control over its look and features. Many buyers assume that means a custom display. But most customers really want a modular display, which is different. Part of the confusion is the variety of terms the industry uses: hybrid display, modular display and portable modular display are all terms that describe a display with elements of customization.

So what is a modular trade show display? It’s a display built from a system of components that can be reconfigured. It’s modular, so you can add or remove components like walls, counters or conference rooms. It’s constructed from a system of interchangeable components, usually aluminum or steel. So you can build a wall, a counter or a conference room from common, standard components. Traditional custom displays are built entirely from scratch, usually from wood and they are “purpose built.” So a conference room is only ever a conference room, and removing it usually renders the display un-usable. Custom displays are usually built with a monolithic design philosophy: all of the components are necessary to deliver the display and it can’t be easily modified.

Modular trade show displays were developed in reaction to the inflexibility of traditional custom builds. Using interchangeable components in a modular design allows exhibitors to re-configure a display, changing the size or configuration cost effectively. This protects the display investment and allows exhibitors to continuously upgrade their display assets, rather than discard and re-design. Modular displays can usually be built in 1-3 weeks at a cost of $40-$60 per square foot, whereas a traditional custom display usually takes 3-4 months and costs $75-$100 per square foot. Custom builds continue to fill an important (although shrinking) portion of the display market. But for most companies, a modular trade show display is a more economical, flexible and greener solution than a traditional custom display.

Impact Displays designs and sells a broad range of modular trade show displays. You can find more information about these solutions at www.impact-displays.com. Impact Displays also compiles a useful list of trade show tips to make your next show a success.

Renting Vs Buying Your Display

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We get a lot of questions about buying versus renting trade show displays, especially in the larger properties where the investment is significant. Of course, every situation is unique in its details, but we’ve been doing this long enough to make a few solid generalizations.

There are several important factors to account for when you are considering renting vs buying. Typically, the analysis goes something like this: “If I buy it and it lasts 3 years and I exhibit at 2 shows per year, the cost is $X/show. But if I rent it, the cost is $Y per show. And since $X is less than $Y, I should buy.”

Amortized or out of pocket cost per show is important, but it’s not the only factor you should consider. You also should consider these factors:

• Intensity: do I plan to exhibit a lot or not that often?
• Flexibility: do I always exhibit in the same size booth or does it vary? Do I want a different look at different shows even if the booth size doesn’t change?
• Maintenance: do I have a process and/or people who can manage and maintain my booth?
• Ancillary uses: can I use the display for other marketing purposes between trade shows?
• Upgrades: will my booth design needs change over time?

Regardless of cost, how you answer these questions may indicate whether you are a better candidate for a rental or a purchase. If your needs change often and you have a light schedule, you may be a better candidate to rent, for example. But if you always use the same size booth and you exhibit a lot and can maintain your display, buying may be a better option.

It’s impossible to ignore costs, of course. But we’ve found that for the majority of customers, cost is not the most important factor (this surprised us, too). So give good consideration to the factors above and others that might be important to your display strategy – it will ensure that you’re happy in the long run.

Impact Displays has a broad selection of displays to rent and to buy. More information is available at www.impact-displays.com.

Use Video the Smart Way

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A few years ago we noticed a big increase in the number of exhibitors including video in trade show displays and event exhibits. Video seemed to be the next big thing – compelling, contemporary and engaging. And if you look at the history of media, the stats bear out the power of the moving image as a communications medium: more ad dollars are spent on the various forms of video (broadcast, cable, etc) than any other format. So we were surprised to see a big pullback from video in the last year – and we went out to talk to exhibitors about it.

To be sure, video still has impact and appeal. But many one-time supporters have gone cold on it because the video format sometimes isn’t right for their exhibit. When we did some research, it turns out that video was being used indiscriminately. Exhibitors were assuming that any video – all video – would add to their display.

This just isn’t the case. First, keep in mind your audience and your ability to get their attention. Most experts will tell you that you have 3-10 seconds to capture the audience’s attention as they encounter your trade show display or pop up displays. Then you have 30-60 seconds in the periphery – they’re either in the trade show booth or immediately outside of it – to deliver a relevant message. And if they stay engaged, you have 3-5 minutes to tell a story, qualify your offering and develop a relationship. In this complicated dance you can’t simply put monitors running looped (continuous) content and expect results. Video must be strategically integrated where it will interact with the audience. And it doesn’t matter if the booth is small or large – the same engagement points exist in all selling environments.

The bottom line is that video almost never works in engagement point one or two. The run time is difficult to get right, and there’s the start/stop nature of video that can be off putting. And, you’re asking the audience to commit to video of an unknown duration before they’ve qualified your solution. The best place to use video is in engagement point 3 – informative but light – when the prospect is inside the periphery of the trade show booth.

Video is incredibly powerful when it’s used right, but a waste of money or worse – an audience deterrent – when it’s used wrong. Use it for medium run time product information at a place in your booth where you have qualified and engaged prospects.

Impact Displays offers a range of integrated and stand-alone video solutions for face to face marketing events, expos and trade shows. More information can be found at www.impact-displays.com. Impact Displays also posts a comprehensive list of trade show tips to make your trade show more productive and profitable.