Tag Archives: banner stands

Easy Ways to Improve Your Trade Show Display

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If you’ve been to a few trade shows recently, you’ve probably noticed a lot of cool, new trade show displays. Everything from banner stands to pop up displays to modular displays have been upgraded, enhanced and improved. It’s really amazing. And it’s cool, if you have the budget for new trade show display.

If you don’t have a new display budget, don’t despair. Looking good doesn’t mean dropping a bundle or getting a new display. There are some very cost effective ways to improve your company’s look at its next trade show. If you’re in the category of “do more with less” then read on.

One of the easiest and most cost effective ways to dress up your trade show presence is   with a few banner stands. Imagine you were going to re-do your pop up graphics, but budgets are too tight to justify that. For $400-$500, you can get two good quality retractable banner stands that will augment your 10×10 space. Think of them as accessories if you will – placed on the corners of your display they can doublle your messaging power.

If you want something a little different than a banner stand, consider a tower display or a podium with graphics. Each will add a touch of class and give your company more messaging and branding opportunities. Neither one of these trade show displays have a big foot print, so they won’t take up a lot of space. But they can powerfully add to your company’s presence.

If you have more budget, you can consider new trade show graphics. Let’s face it – it’s mostly about the graphics. Whether you have a tired pop up display desn’t matter if you have great pop up graphics. So save some money, and spend it on the graphics. It’s one of your best “bang for the buck” categories in trade show displays.

Lastly, if you can’t do any of these improvements, don’t worry. Just going to the show – spiffy display, grahics ot not – will dive more business. It helps to have a great presence. But what really hurts is not going at all. So make sure – no matter what condition your company’s gear is in – go to the show.

Impact Displays has trade show displays, graphics, accessories for companies in all price ranges. Contact through our web page or give us a call at 877-217-2681 and let’s get started on your trade show display.

 

 

Strategies for Trade Show Success

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A few years ago, our “neighbor” in the office park where Impact Displays is located told me they weren’t going to trade shows anymore. They felt they knew all their customers already, and they didn’t think there was a lot of value in trade show exhibiting.

Keep in mind, they weren’t doing virtual events and this was before social marketing exploded. They just figured they had the universe covered. I couldn’t believe it, not only because they had been active at trade shows in the past year, but they were a tech company. All tech companies go to trade shows. Their industry changes about twice a year.

Surprisingly, I hear this a lot from businesses that sell to other businesses. They said “We know all the buyers. We’ve been working with them already for years.”

The thing is, they’re forgetting how many new companies (customers) are formed every year. And they’re forgetting the value of staying in front of their current customers. Don’t think your current customers will notice you skipped the major trade show? Think again. If your competitors are there and your company isn’t, they’ll remember….your competitors.

Ok, so let’s assume two things drive this: budget and traffic. Budget is the harder problem to solve, but it’s not impossible. Check out a budget pop up display with full graphics. This is a very cost effective way to refresh your company’s look. If you have a tired display but not enough cash to replace it, think about refreshing the trade show graphics. A new look, maybe a new message, but new – NEW – gets attention. If you can’t go for the new graphics, how about a few retractable banner stands to spice things up. One in each corner? These are among the least expensive and highest return trade show displays.

Onto traffic. If you’re skipping the show, one reason might be that you’re not getting good traffic or good prospects – so you think you know all the customers. Think about cost-effective pre-marketing strategies. An email list of attendees is a great place to start. It’s available and inexpensive. And since you know the attendees are already coming, the pitch is easy. You can offer a giveaway, a discount, etc – anything to get them to stop by your booth. Don’t think this trick is limited to big companies and big budgets: the cost effectiveness of email marketing skews the advantages in favor of small companies. You can follow up with mailers or phone calls – all more expensive and somewhat more effective. But at the very least, do some email marketing and drive the traffic to your trade show booth.

Don’t make the bad decision to skip the trade show. With some effort, you can economize and drive traffic to your trade show booth. the result is…the future of your business!

Impact Displays has trade show displays, graphics, accessories for companies in all price ranges. Contact through our web page or give us a call at 877-217-2681 and let’s get started on your trade show display.

 

How to Perfect Your Trade Show Messaging Strategy

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Companies that go to trade shows often get stuck when they think about their trade show graphics. They don’t really know what they should say, what images to use, what message to convey. These are really important things to get right – you can have a good trade show without them but you need them to have a great trade show. Good graphics involve the right message delivered the right way: content and composition. Here are a few pointers if you’re planning your trade show graphics.

Present you brand effectively. People get stuck on this. We’re not just talking about a logo – we’re talking about the way you do what you do for customers. Your brand carries your way of doing business – your company’s value – through to customers. So there can be a logo and a slogan, a way of using images, a way of communicating. For example, Nike’s onetime slogan of Just Do It wasn’t just a trademark, it was a Nike’s approach to sporting goods consumers: don’t talk about it, just do it. The trademarked slogan supported a primary value its consumers – athletic performance is about action, not talk. When you are thinking about your message – your text, your imagery – make it consistent with your brand.

Don’t get too complicated. We’ve seen a lot of companies try to “say” too much with their graphics. It’s almost like they don’t expect the trade show attendees to talk to them – just read their graphics. Keeping it simple has two primary benefits. First, it looks better. No one wants to read 200 words on a pop up display or retractable banner stand. Second, it leaves a lot to the imagination, which provokes a conversation in the trade show booth. That’s where you want to leave it – given them enough to get interested, but not more.

If your changing course in branding, do it incrementally. All companies evolve their brands. Successful ones do it slowly, shifting a bit at a time, preserving a lot of the old – until the whole brand and messaging strategy is new, current relevant. If it’s done effectively, you hardly notice it.

You don’t need to say something new. In fact, unless something has changed, you should say what you have been. The idea behind a brand is familiarity and trust. Brands evolve, messaging and strategy evolve. But don’t think you have to say something different every time. Because to build your brand effectively, you have to say the same thing, in the same way, over and over and over again. So don’t throw out the trade show graphics for your hanging display or truss display if it works!

Impact Displays has trade show displays, graphics and accessories for companies in all price ranges. Contact through our web page or give us a call at 877-217-2681 and let’s get started on your trade show display.

 

Easy Ways to Stand Out at a Trade Show

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It’s pretty hard to stand out at a trade show. If you’ve been to a trade show, you know what I mean. If you’re new to trade shows, imagine a football sized conventions center. Pack it with narrow aisles and fill those up with open but close-together trade show displays. Limit your ability to see any great distances by the trade show displays themselves. You see what I mean – it’s hard to stand out.

If you were a big company you could have a huge booth and a lot of ways to be visible. But if you were a large company you probably wouldn’t be reading this. So you need some tips on how to increase your trade show visibility. We have a few ideas – read on.

Assuming you are using a 10 x 10 or a 10 x 20 trade show booth space, you are usually limited to an 8 foot maximum height. Check, but in most convention center shows in North America, that’s standard. Most of your visibility options involve getting the height off of the back wall and nearer to the traffic, so attendees don’t “glaze over” with all the sameness. If this sounds interesting, consider a tower display. It’s essentially a cylinder of graphics with a small foot print, so you can put it on the corner and get attention. Another idea, particularly if you have small products, is a display case. Some are tall, but even waist height cases will get attention. You can also equip a portable podium with a header – essentially a sign that is 6 feet in the air. Lastly, consider a retractable banner stand on the corner of your display. Inexpensive, small foot print and versatile. All of these solutions will break up the monotony of the “backrow” of back walls by placing an “unexpected” trade show display on a corner. The important thing is to make the display noticed but not obtrusive.

If you have more of a budget, a hanging trade show display is a great way to improve your company’s visibility at a trade show. There are a number of options – gravity tension to tension fabric – but they all have one thing in common: height. A hanging sign is suspended from the ceiling of the venue – so it can be 20 feet or more in the air. You will be noticed from a lot more places and it will bring attendees to your trade show booth. And, if you want the least expensive way to compete with big companies, a hanging sign is the way to go.

Trade shows can be crowded and that makes it hard to stand out. But with some creativity, your company can get the attention it deserves.

Impact Displays has trade show displays, graphics and accessories for companies in all price ranges. Contact through our web page or give us a call at 877-217-2681 and let’s get started on your trade show display.

 

How to Do a Trade Show on a Tight Budget

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We write a lot about how to make the most of your new trade show display, how to upgrade, how to think big. Fair enough – that’s exciting stuff. But with small business still looking for a rebound, your company might be in economy mode. You may be considering whether or not to exhibit at your trade show – if you can afford it. You have to consider more factors than we could discuss here. But if you can afford the most basic expenses, here’s how to get it done on the cheap.

Before we talk about how to do it cheap, let’s talk about how to make a cheapness really expensive. How’s that? Don’t go to the trade show if you can afford to. Just don’t go. How’s that expensive? You’ll save maybe $5,000? Sure, but you’ll miss an average of 60 prospects, somewhere between 5-9 of which will buy in the next 3 moths, according to trade show statistics. If your business is like most, the new customer has a lifetime value of $3,000 or more. So you just left $15,000-$27,000 on the table. And that ignores more distant prospects you’ll get visibility with, etc. But you saved five grand!

Ok, so go to the trade show if you can. How to do it on a budget takes creativity but it’s not impossible. First, try to swing a deal with the show sponsor – you might get a 10 x 10 for less than published price if you ask. Book hotels early and book flights 6-8 weeks out. Only 2-3 people go and put a hard limit on the T&E.

When it comes to trade show displays, we’re definitely talking portables. Truss displays and modular displays are expensive to ship and set up. So you need to think pop up display – or fabric pop up display to save even more weight. Usually – usually – the airlines allow a pop up in checked baggage. And a fabric pop up up or tension fabric display is a no brainer, it’s so light. If you don’t have a pop up display of your own, you can usually rent a pop up display for $600 or so (excluding graphics).

If you want to economize even more, try retractable banner stands as an inexpensive alternative to a traditional back-wall. Or a folding table with a slick table cover. The point is – once you’re at the show, it doesn’t much matter what you have. Of course it’s always better to look as good as you can. But if you’re budget is tight, don’t be lulled into thinking that skipping the show saves you money. It costs more than it saves.

Impact Displays has trade show displays, graphics and accessories for companies in all price ranges. Contact through our web page or give us a call at 877-217-2681 and let’s get started on your trade show display.

How to Plan a Small Show Trade Show Exhibit

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Sometimes you’re limited on budget – or you’re going to a small trade show where the booth spaces are small – and a traditional 10 x 10 trade show display just won’t work. Career fairs, recruiting events, school and education shows are often designed around this small booth format. You need a plan for a small show space – and small CAN be beautiful, if you do it right. Here’s how.

Start with the basic idea that crowding a trade show booth – no matter what size  - is never a good idea. In a small space, it’s even more important not to “crowd out” the audience. The first decision you should make is whether you can even fit a trade show display in the traditional sense. If you’re in a 10 foot wide space that’s shallow, a tower display might work. Or a telescoping banner. These don’t take up a lot of space and offer pretty good messaging capabilities.

Another idea is a series of retractable banner stands as a back-wall. You can have them designed together – mural style – or they can stand a lone (which is a safer way to go). But at only 6″ deep, they won’t take up space the way a regular display will.

If you don’t have a 10 foot wide space, think about a table top exhibit. These are available in a variety of shapes, sizes and styles. As the name suggests, they are designed to sit on top of a table. They’re not big, but you won’t be able to fit much else on the table. You can find portfolio styles, pop up styles. They come with headers, lights, etc. Very cool, very effective, very efficient.

If you’re getting a table top exhibit, you’ll need a table. You can buy a good folding table for $100 at Costco, Sam’s Club, Walmart, etc. But to make it look better, consider a table cover with your logo or messaging that complements your table top exhibit messaging. It’s a good look. And if it turns out you don’t have budget for a table top exhibit, a table and table cover is a low profile, useful, high impact display for a small space. It works great.

Lastly, consider a literature stand. Great for product info sheets, marketing collateral, etc. In a small space, it helps to be very organized.

Impact Displays has trade show displays, graphics and accessories for companies in all price ranges. Contact through our web page or give us a call at 877-217-2681 and let’s get started on your trade show display.

How to Improve Your Messaging and Increase Trade Show Traffic

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When companies get ready to go to a trade show and they think about their imaging, the brand, their message – they often have the basics covered. If your company uses  pop up display, you probably have a good full mural panel graphics. Or if you use a modular display system – a truss display or an aluminum system – you may have your fabric graphics all worked out.

The bad news is, so does every other company that’s going to the trade show. And if your company is doing what every other company is doing, it’s hard to stand out, get attention and pull in the attendees. There are a lot of things you can do to pull traffic – from giveaways, tchotchkes and raffles. For the most part, these will build traffic.  But none of them will get your message across any better, and none of them will get your company noticed for what it does.

What to do to get your message across? Simple: put your message in more places. Places you already have. And places you can easily add. Here are some ways to maximize your messaging opportunities.

Start with what you’re already paying for: your booth, your display, your trade show flooring or carpet. If you’re not using ALL of your pop up display area for graphics, you’re paying for space and leaving it blank. This never makes sense to us – there’s really no reason to have empty space on a pop up display. Even if you put your 800# or web address on the end caps (the curved part at the ends), that’s better than not having it there. What about your modular display or your truss display – do you have as many graphic panels as you can? If not, why? You’re paying a lot of money to be at the show – why try to save a few bucks when that can double traffic?

Second, what about the flooring or carpet? People stare at their feet for half the show – get your logi down with some adhesive graphics on carpet. Or get a custom dyed carpet for a smashing effect. Floor graphics are a great way to engage because (silly as this sounds) attendees aren’t expecting it, and they tend to participate more readily.

Lastly, what about an inexpensive secondary structure, like a tower display, or an accessory like a podium? A tower display has a small footprint but makes a big impact. And a counter or podium can give you 20-30 square feet of additional messaging space. If you have a podium and aren’t putting graphics on it, why not? If you don’t have a portable podium or counter, think about renting a podium – they’re fairly inexpensive and can add umph to your messaging! Also, consider adding some retractable banner stands – these can really add power to your imaging and brand without setting you back a lot.

Get creative when it comes to messaging – don’t what everybody else is doing (unless you don’t want to stand out and be recognized).

Impact Displays has trade show displays, graphics and accessories for companies in all price ranges. Contact through our web page or give us a call at 877-217-2681 and let’s get started on your trade show display.

How to Fix Trade Show Disasters

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So you had everything done just right. You planned early, rented the booth space. Updated your graphics. Did the team training. Did your pre-marketing and set up you meetings. You were doing great. Until disaster struck. At the trade show.

What’s a trade show disaster? Could be any number of things. Trade shows are an odd mix of performance art, improv and careful planning. Since so many things come together at once for just a short time, a lot of things can undo even the best planning. Luckily, there are ways to prepare for disaster and there are often easy fixes. If you want to learn how to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, read on.

Let’s start with the merely bad. Your trade show display graphics are banged up. It’s not the end of the world. We always tell customers to include two kinds of tape in their trade show disaster preparedness kit: duct tape and clear packing tape. These can work wonders – duct tape behind your graphics to hold things straight or together and the clear packing tape on the printed side if you need it. Life savers. For that matter, duct tape needs to get an award for getting more companies out of a trade show jam than any other tool. If your graphics have become creased, try a flat object with a heavy object on top – a lot of times you can diminish the crease or remove it altogether.

Next worst is that your display is damaged. Maybe it happened in transit, maybe it was that way. It doesn’t matter because the trade show is….NOW!. If you have a pop up display with a broken frame strut, duct tape a splint on. A pen works great. If it’s bent, use bags or other heavy objects to keep the frame straight. If you’re missing channel bars, clear plastic tape can get you through. If your banner stand pole is bent or broken, splint it with a rod – or see if you can use it at less than full height.

Lastly – the nuclear scenario – you have no trade show display. It got lost in transit. The person who is bringing it missed their flight. Whatever. First, check out the show organizer – they often have trade show display rentals. If they don’t have a suitable rental and you’re in a big town like Vegas, look outside the trade show organizer. You’ll probably find a trade show display company with a good truss display for rent. By the way, this is one reason that it often makes sense to ship your trade show graphics separately: you still have the graphics if the trade show display gets lost, and they’re a lot harder to replace on short notice!

Impact Displays has trade show displays, graphics and accessories for companies in all price ranges. Contact through our web page or give us a call at 877-217-2681 and let’s get started on your trade show display.

 

 

How to Choose the Right Banner Stand

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One of the most useful trade show displays is also the lightest, most compact and least expensive: the retractable banner stand. Banner stands have been around for a long time and although they are all very similar in what they do, there are differences in how they do it and how well they do it. It’s easy to make a bad decision on banner stands – the only good news is that as one of the least expensive types of trade show displays, that mistake is likely to be small. This guide will help you get what you need without paying for things you don’t.

The first difference is whether the banner stand actually retracts and is held in place by the tension of the roller mechanism or whether it’s simply a banner that’s on a frame. A standard banner stand is just a banner on a frame – often called an “X Banner” or an “L Banner” because of the shape of the frame are the least expensive types of banner stands – often less than $100. They’re good if (a) you will leave the banner up for a long time (in your lobby, for example), or (b) if you’re only going to use the banner once. Otherwise, they tend to be inconvenient to set up, pack and store safely.

The majority of banner stands are retractable – they have a case with a roller the banner wraps around when stored. The roller, which operates similarly to a window shade, allows the banner to be rolled out and attached to a rear support pole to hold it up. Because it’s stored in the case when not in use, retractable banners are well protected when not in use. They are also easy to set up and take down because of the roller, and most companies view them as the best type of banner stand.

There are many different types of retractable banner stand – most relate to the options and quality of the housing build. For the most part, they will all have a graphic print on vinyl, so there aren’t significant differences there. There are some slick fabric banner stands, but these operate more like a fabric display and less like a banner stand in the traditional sense. What you get if you pay more will generally be a heavier and more design conscious housing and more stable “feet.” Neither of these are really determinants of performance but many people like more expensive banner stand housings – they do look better.

If you spend more, you can also get a more reliable winding mechanism – it will last longer, be easier to fix and have a longer warranty. These may be valuable features if you plan to keep your banner stands for a few years – many companies update every year and investing in a better housing doesn’t make as much sense.

You can also get the ability to change the cassette (the roller and the graphic) in the field. This is great if you want to change your graphics during a trade show – or whenever you want to, because you can do it yourself. It’s a handy option that has fallen somewhat out of favor – banner stands are so inexpensive that companies are just throwing them away instead of reprinting the graphics. But it’s there if you need it.

Lastly, you can get a double sided banner stand – banners on each side. It’s a great option when you have foot-traffic approaching from two directions – on the corner of your trade show booth, for example. These are slightly bigger and about 50% more expensive than comparable single banner stands – but they’re pretty cool if you can take advantage of them.

Think carefully about what you need and what’s most important to you – there are a lot of options.

Impact Displays has trade show displays, graphics and accessories for companies in all price ranges. Contact through our web page or give us a call at 877-217-2681 and let’s get started on your trade show display.

 

Easter Tips for Trade Show Display Buying

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If the Easter Bunny was in the market for a trade show display there would be a variety of interesting and unique considerations – probably not unlike your company’s selection of a trade show display. In particular, the Easter Bunny will focus on:

Quality. Trade show displays needs to last – the represent important investments and quality is important. First and foremost, is the trade show display well designed? If it’s a pop up display, is the frame easy to set up and lock in place? Are the graphics easy to hang on the frame and will they stay up? Make sure the details are well thought out.

Flexibiity. The display should have some element of flexibility for it to be versatile. Can you add shelves? Can you add a monitor? If it’s a modular display can you easiy change the shape, size or other configuration details? You’ll have to spend a little more to get these features but flexibility is valuable.

Value. Trade show displays need to be good value – that’s one of the ways to manage your trade show investment return. So look for one that will last but doesn’t break your bank. If you are getting a new banner stand, look at the quality of the housing, the feet and the extension pole. Banner stands can be effective even if they’re lightweight, but they shouldn’t be flimsy.

Visibility. One of the most important consderations of your display is visibility – since this is one of our biggest challenges as a trade show exhibitor. The trade show floor is crowded, the attendees are distracted: how do you get visibility? One way is to have a display that stands tall and attracts attention, getting you above the crowd. That can be a hanging sign or a tower display. It can also be a header on a pop up display or a podium. All of these are good ways to get visibility and attract visitors.

Message Capability. How well does your display allow you to message? How many different ways and how effectively? Does your podium or counter give you space to put graphics up? What about your trade show floor – can you print on it or attach printed graphics to it easily? Remember, your entire trade show booth is real estate you paid for – using all of that real estate is a great way to improve your show.

Durability. Is your trade show display built to last? Can your truss display go 5 years? Ten years? Can your modular system hold up? You depend on your display to work and when it doesn’t, you lose. Make sure the display you get will stand up to the abuse of a trade show.

Impact Displays has trade show displays, graphics and accessories for companies (and the Easter Bunny) in all price ranges. Contact through our web page or give us a call at 877-217-2681 and let’s get started on your trade show display.