Monthly Archives: July 2011

Add Video to Your Pop Up Display

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Many companies want to add a video display or monitor to their pop up displays at trade shows. This is a great idea that gives your booth much more versatility and makes for a more sophisticated image and presentation. There are many different ways to put a monitor or video display in pop up display – here is an assessment of the most popular.

The easiest way to add video to a pop up display – or to any trade show display for that matter – is a free-standing monitor pole and mount to secure the monitor to. These can be placed almost anywhere the two foot square base will fit, making them versatile. You can place the monitor away from your graphics, so you won’t block any of your message or have to redesign the graphics. The pole system gives you what you need without any special features on your display. The disadvantage is that they are somewhat expensive – typically $600-$900, heavy and require their own shipping case. These considerations often cut against the idea of the pop up, which is self contained portability.

A second way to add a video solution to a pop up is to use a “scissor mount” system – the scissors are the parts of the frame that cross and fold. The scissor mount consists of a vertical connect that spans the scissors in a quad of your frame, and a forward facing monitor mount to attach your monitor to. The advantage of this system is that it is integrated into your pop up and can hold a reasonably large monitor. You will have to modify (cut) your graphics to let the mount pass through and also to run power and video cables from he rear of your pop up. And the monitor will block a small portion of the graphic, so plan your images with this in mind. But this solution doesn’t require a lot of extra gear and will fit in your pop up case – and at less than $500, it’s a bargain.

You can also attach a monitor to the channel bars of your pop up. This method doesn’t necessarily require you to cut your graphics (if you don’t mind the cord hanging in front of the pop up) because the entire mount is in front of the graphics. And the mount is small and inexpensive – typically about $100. But you are limited to smaller monitors (26″ and smaller) because the monitor is usually a bit farther in front of the display than the scissor mount.

The last method is a dedicated monitor shelf within your pop up display. This requires you to cut an entire quad from your pop up graphics, but in return you get a very integrated look and a very stable mount. This mount will fit inside your pop up case and typically costs $500-$750 for the shelf. The monitor itself will have to have a base – it will sit as it does on a desktop.

There are many convenient and affordable ways to add video to your pop up display. These will make your booth more useful and will help you pull more prospects into your trade show booth.

Impact Displays offers a variety of trade show displays for companies attending trade shows and conventions.

Show Off your products with Best Trade Show Booth ideas

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The best place to get a unique marketing experience is to display your products in trade shows. Your ultimate goal in trade shows should to draw most of the attention in your trade show booth. To show off your products, you need to follow some best trade show booth ideas that increases your sales. Here are some of the ideas that might be useful while exhibiting your product in trade shows.

  • First make your trade show booth as interactive as possible and create some demonstrations so that your customers can get involved and get a feel on how your product works.
  • Only through proper trade show displays, the key features of your product can be visually prominent to the customers and use some attractive trade show exhibits so that your potential customers can engage your booth personally.
  • Present the relevant information with eye catching trade show graphics and also, create a product walk through if your product is complex and difficult.
  • Have some live demonstrations on your booth so that your customer do not turn off from your product and offer some free products so that your customer remains of the trade show even after they leave.

As said above only trade show displays can bring the audience into your booth and at the same time don’t use the same display that you kept in the previous year because there may be some audience who may be visiting the trade fairs frequently. There are different types of trade show displays available with some attractive designs so make use of it and make your trade show booth an attractive one.

Impact displays offer different kinds of trade show exhibits with attractive designs and graphics and make your trade show booth an eye catching one.

The Low-down on Trade Show Flooring

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Let’s talk trade show flooring. Ok, this won’t be one of those discussion that re-plays well at your next social gathering. But stop and think about the flooring for a second and you’ll agree I’m not crazy to suggest you dwell on it.

The basic facts of trade shows are that you spend a lot of time on your feet. Sometimes you’re with prospects, sometimes you’re not, but there aren’t a lot of opportunities to get off your feet without creating an unappealing picture for the audience. We’ve all seen the booth staff that’s sitting down – you don’t want to bother them and make them get up. That’s how your audience feels too, as they move to a competitor’s booth.

The solution may be in the flooring. When you reserve your booth space at the show, the organizers rarely mention that you’re probably going to be standing on bare concrete unless you get trade show flooring. At best, you’ll have the venue’s carpet, which is more like astro-turf. Either way, you will want a floor covering that is more comfortable for your staff.

So one primary benefit of flooring is that it can be up to 3 times easier on your staff – they’re less tired and more energetic. And it shows with prospects – they can tell an energetic rep from a tired rep. Good flooring with a reasonable amount of cushioning is something you do for your staff.

And the great thing about flooring is that it’s not expensive to look slick while you’re giving the staff a break. Flooring is available in carpet, in foam, in wood and in more exotic composites that can be printed on and back-lit. Pretty cool – but the basic stuff that looks good and benefits your staff is, well basic. And so is the price – you can rent it for $3-$4 per square foot and you can buy it for $6-$10 per square foot, depending on the design and the finish.

Once you begin this think about trade show flooring, you realize what a marketing asset the floor can be. It is often literally larger than most of the displays (in terms of area) that hold your graphic. True, it may not be as effective in certain places, but it’s…there. Why not throw some logos down? Or get a custom printed carpet – it’s less expensive than you think. With some creativity, you can increase your marketing impact without spending a lot or getting a bigger booth. And that’s smart trade show planning!

Impact Displays offers a family of displays, graphics and accessories for companies engaging in face to face marketing, events and trade shows.

Make Your Trade Show Display Bring in More Business

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There are as many different strategies for trade show display design and placement as there are…, well trade shows. You’ll hear how they should be open and airy. Or private and exclusive. Contemporary. Or traditional. Cutting edge…or comfortable. Brightly colored. Or subdued. Confused?

Don’t be. For the most part, none of that really matters. Sure, color, space and placement may appeal to the personal tastes of the people planning your show, but these choices are unlikely to change the performance of your trade show booth or the ROI of your trade show.

What you should be focused on is the messaging and the interaction or engagement potential. Simply – how your brand attracts the prospects and how your booth lets you have a conversation. It’s really that simple – and if you do it well, it won’t matter what the other choices are.

To attract prospects in a busy convention center, you need graphics that are vivid and attention-getting. Imagery tends to work better than text, but it’s important to make your brand seen.

Next, make sure there’s someplace to have a conversation. Portable podiums, counters, and tables are the best choices – they’re not too formal, but they’re very functional. Best of all, these are inexpensive additions to your trade show booth and they can typically be rented. You can use a podium very effectively even in a small booth – a 10 x 10 pop up display while small works great with a podium out front. Podiums work well with larger booths, but you can also use a table, given the larger space. The most important thing is to create someplace to have a conversation with your prospects. You don’t want everyone just standing around looking uncomfortable.

Podiums and counters may be “free-standing” or they may be “attached” to your display, depending on how much space you have. Generally, free-standing models are more flexible – they can be placed in different areas to provide flexibility, etc. You can get podiums with storage areas, but remember, these are lightweight pieces of furniture – don’t leave your valuables unattended in the booth overnight. In addition to storage, you can have graphics applied to the top or sides of your podium to maximize your marketing message. And you can add a monitor pole and mount to make it an interactive kiosk. Regardless of the model you choose, podiums, counters and tables give you space to have a conversation with a prospect – and that will get more business for your company! And that’s making your display do the work for you!

Impact Displays offers a variety of trade show displays for conferences, events and face to face marketing.

How to Get the Right Lighting for Your Trade Show Display

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One of the most often overlooked aspects of a trade show booth is lighting. Why is it overlooked? Many first time attendees think “I’m in a convention center. There are lights all over the ceiling. I don’t need lights on my booth. And that way, I may not need an electrical circuit.”

If they skip lights for their first show, most of these attendees get lights for their next show. It’s true – the ceiling is covered in large lights. But they’re 50-60 feet away and at best they provide very diffuse, flood style lighting to most areas of the floor. And if your booth happens to be located in a less illuminated area (between lighting drops, for example), or next to a larger booth that blocks ambient light, you won’t have a good looking booth no matter how good your graphics are.

So, get some lights. Nearly every type of trade show display can accommodate a light – from banner stands to pop up displays and backwalls to modular systems and truss displays. Generally, these will be designed as spots, with a small focused beam that will illuminate your graphics like a light on a fine art painting. And you can use them if you have areas of the display that light – like a truss can.

Historically these lights were incandescent – a halogen, most commonly in an MR16 format. More recently they have moved to fluorescent and increasingly to LED formats, which will become the standard in the next few years. These newer formats not only draw less energy, which is always good, they also generate less heat, reducing the fire risk (and the temperature in the convention center).

A good rule of thumb is that you need a light every 3-4 linear feet of graphic. So a pop up display might use 2 or 3, a 10 x 20 modular system might use as many as 6, etc. Typically, the lights will be mounted on top of the display and have cords running down the back, unseen, and ganged into a single circuit.

You can also consider backlighting and light-boxes as an alternative to front-lighting. Although somewhat more complicated and expensive, backlighting provides a distinctive appearance – your graphics will seem to glow. It’s a great look and something to consider if you’re looking for that extra edge.

Impact Displays offers a range of trade show displays, graphics and accessories for companies holding face to face events and participating in conferences.

How to Freshen Your Trade Show Graphics

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If your business slows down in the summer it can be a great time to plan for your next trade show. One of the easiest and most cost effective improvements to your existing display is to replace the trade show graphics your company has used in the past, especially if they’re a few years old. Fresh graphics can improve your company’s appearance to prospects and partners, giving your company great “presence at the next trade show.

Replacing graphics on most displays is easy – your existing trade show vendor can typically do this in a week, as can most other trade show display companies. If you use your current vendor, they will usually keep your artwork and the layout specifications of your display system on file, so modifying and re-printing is a snap. But even if you go with a new vendor, most can produce graphics to fit your display if you have the make and model or the size of the graphic panels – it just takes a few more steps to get the job done but is not a big deal.

When you replace graphics, you have an opportunity to:

Update your company’s image – consider updating your image or logo.

Rearrange messaging to make it fresh – this can be a simple re-ordering that looks snappy.

Upgrade your worn or out-dated graphics – particularly if they are more than a few years old.

If you have a pop up display, full mural panel graphics are the way to go. Simply put, full murals allow you to make the most of your pop up display by covering it with your message and branding completely. You can elect to get value-oriented non-laminated graphics, or the gold-standard laminated graphics. Either way, it’s a great investment.

If you have a fabric graphic frame – a pop up or a backwall – you can get these replaced easily. Fabric is great because it’s vivid and because it’s easy to care for. But after a few years it will show wear – wrinkles, stretches and pulls. So consider replacing with new fabric panels.

Banner stands can also use new graphics. Many banner stands have graphics that can be removed and replaced by your trade show company with fresh ones. This is an easy and inexpensive way to spruce up your stands without buying brand new ones.

Use the summer to get some new graphics for your trade show display. When you’re looking good at your next trade show, you’ll be glad you did!

Impact Displays sells a family of trade show displays and graphics for all types of trade shows and face to face events.

Drive Traffic to your Booths with Banner Stands

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One of the most commonly used visual marketing tools in conferences, trade shows and other events are banner stands and by using this trade show display one can drive traffic to their booth and can increase their visibility of products in an easy way. To get more customers to your trade show booth, you need to place this trade show exhibit in a busy area near your physical location. Have your banner welcome people with welcome messages and this type of signs could be used to promote a large sale.

Using high spaces help your customers to get messages from far distances and your banner stand have a greater impact when it is seen from multiple directions and from far distances. Promote your products by placing banner stands with small pamphlets on your coupons and increase the number of customers by distributing them when they stand up in queue.

Portable advertisement enhances more sales of your products and increase business visibility and use them in food court or local malls so that many people can view your products. These are some of the ideas to promote your products with banner stands so that you can drive more traffic to your trade show booths.