Choosing used trade show displays

Used trade show exhibits

More and more companies are choosing Used Trade Show Displays to help meet their trade show  marketing objectives. While the cost of attending Trade Shows has increased, many budgets have not. By purchasing Used Trade Show Exhibits companies are saving on average 50-75%, in some cases up to 90%, over the cost of buying a new Trade Show Display. This effectively doubles a marketing budget. What could you do with a doubled marketing budget? Would you increase direct marketing or pre-show advertising? Would you spend it on hospitality events or in-booth promotions? Would you like to have more options?

Tips For Saving Money By Buying Trade Show Displays Used

Executive Summary by Ken Harrison
If you do any trade show marketing at all, you'll understand these two points:

First, exhibiting at trade shows can be a very effective way and targeted way to reach your specific audience. Second, exhibiting at trade shows can also be a very costly endeavor. In addition to the display booth costs are the travel expenses, marketing collateral like brochures and sales slicks, and any promotional products such as imprinted pens, mugs, and other freebie enticements.

So if you are able to reduce your trade show display costs, then there will be that much more money you can allocate to other areas of your marketing budget.

One way to reduce your exhibit costs is by using a previously owned -- i.e. "used" -- trade show booth display. If you shop around, you can save perhaps 50% off the retail booth costs with a used booth. And in some cases the trade show booth may still be under the manufacturer's warranty.

In addition to shopping directly for used trade show booths, you can also consider companies that redesign pre-owned booths. These exhibit display designers can often do more than just refurbish the product. Display redesign companies can repurpose booths and customize them to your specifications.

To see information about trade show booth designs, click here.

Designing a Trade Show Display

Executive Summary by Marc Mousseau

tradeshow booth design

Simplicity

Emerging trends in the industry are showing that “less is more”{ in tradeshow booth design. Trade show prospects should walk away from your display knowing who you are and what you do and have an understanding of how your company is important to their company.

Focus on Branding and Products

After all, branding and products represent who you are and what you do.

Focus on Lighting

Lighting is the most effective and underused trade show display accessory. Lighting makes your message or product “pop” as it directs the attendee’s eye exactly to where you want.

Scrapbook

Look on the Internet, in trade magazines, and walk the floor at trade shows you attend before deciding on your new display design. Often clients make the mistake of saying, “I like the XYZ display.” Remember, that design is taken, so be specific and ask yourself, “What elements of the XYZ display do I like?”

Avoid fads

Fads, such as colors or fixtures that are not expected to have the same life span as your display should be avoided.

Is the experience worth the effort?

Know your limits before embarking on this project and design accordingly. The success of your project should be dictated by the following criteria that you establish before embarking on the design project.

Avoid design by committee.

Design by committee is defined as allowing a large group of people such as a sales team, to have input into the entire design phase of your trade show display. This not only drives the cost UP, but also drives the creative process DOWN and usually results in a mediocre final product. Select a group of people whose ideas are important to determine items like functionality, budget, and staffing. Once these decisions are made, create a small team, perhaps just three people, to spearhead the effort to find possible designers and exhibit houses.

What do you want people to remember most about your company?

Attendees at any major trade show will have a visual overload of information. Do you want them to remember the people who work for your company, or do you want them to remember your products or services?

Power Point presentations are usually boring! You might also want to avoid certain colors, shapes, or product highlights.

Don’t let inexperienced people choose furniture and avoid rental furniture.

Two of the most underestimated items in a display are carpet and furniture. Carpet should be treated like shoes. Consider your display your best suit. People notice!

The most successful trade show displays have designer furniture and custom-made tables to accessorize the rest of the booth. Rental furniture is functional; however, you many consider allowing a designer to choose the right furniture to complement the design.

Your Product/Service is the hero.

Focus your attention on providing an outstanding product/service: this is your ultimate goal.

1.     The design office

2.     The client

3.     The criteria encompassing all of these areas will define your design boundaries.

Make value engineering a top priority.

Focus your budget on those items that will have an impact on your prospect. Then, work with the designer or exhibit builder to prioritize the elements you want most.

The lower the budget, the higher the design costs.

The more restrictive the budget that designers have to work within, the more limited their choices become. This means more “trial and error” occurs as a result of trying to create an effective design within the budget parameters.

Be creative and recycle.

When working with a designer or exhibit house, conduct an inventory of existing displays. You will be surprised to find that a new coat of paint with design or structural adjustments may be all you need to tweak existing displays. Voila! You have a usable component for your new design.

Pencil sketches “or drawing a picture” is a great way for companies to exchange basic sketches and ideas to improve the booth design. At Moose Logistics, we start with pencil sketches to find a direction for the design before we begin charging for design time.

Narrow down what you want in your display.

·         A single sentence

·         A single phrase

·         A single word

Controlling the cost factor is important.

Are you designing for budget or budgeting for design?

At least 90% of most companies establish a budget and design accordingly. However, most of the top displays budget to the design. This is not to be considered a blank check, but rather an effective way to design a display.

When meeting with clients, a good designer should focus on the criteria, or “wish list,” of key components they would like to incorporate into the functionality of the display. It is NOT the designer’s position to choose which elements should be omitted. The designer is not part of the client’s day-to-day operations. The designer should design the display based on this criteria. This avoids surprises and allows for not only a design the client can be happy with, but also design elements that can be added to the display as future budgets allow.

Industry standards exist and should help you with the budgeting process.

Inline: $1,250.00 per lineal foot

Island: $175.00 per square foot $225.00 per square foot for a double decker

Budget allotment should follow a formula.

Design 20% of the budget Lighting 10% of the budget Structure, furniture, 70% of the budget graphics, and carpet

Decide the role of the exhibit house early.

1.        Provide the best price for a trade show display

2.        Provide an effective display for the clients marketing program

3.        Work with the client as a service provider after the exhibit is built

4.        Develop a long-term relationship and become a part of the marketing team

What is driving your decision?

·         Price

·         Service

·         Previous relationship with an exhibit house


Four Key Factors to Winning Tradeshow Booth Design

Executive Summary by Chris A. Harmen

One of the key factors to attracting trade show attendees to your booth is using professional graphic displays, lighting, and other artistic components. It is true that a colorful and eye-catching booth will attract visitors and thereby sales leads, while an inadequately constructed booth can set you up to fail. The following paragraphs detail four design tricks that can help you achieve a winning tradeshow booth design.

1 - Light Your Booth To Create Focus And Ambiance
Most exhibitors fail to realize how important lighting is to attracting attendees. You can create an ambiance by lighting your booth. Consider casting a warm light on your product to unconsciously direct your visitors to pay attention to your display. By using effective lighting in your tradeshow booth design, you can change a mediocre booth into a stand out.

2 - Motion Can Grab The Attention Of Attendees
It is human nature that movement attracts attention and this is especially true at trade shows. By using motion in your tradeshow booth design, you will grab the attention of attendees and send them flocking to your display.

3 - Keep Your Message Short
Attendees are usually inundated with slogans, displays, graphics, and sales pitches at trade shows. Only promote the most anticipated products predicted to be successful at the trade show instead of promoting every product in your line. 

4 - Color Can Set A Mood
Use color in your tradeshow booth design to set a mood and to visually attract attendees. 

Base Your Design On Your Goals
Base the design of your booth on the goals you want to achieve. If your booth overshadows your product and goals, you won't gain the qualified sales leads you hope for. If you need help designing a booth in any city, including Atlanta, Denver, or Chicago, trade show booth designers can give your booth an exciting and professional impression that will turn visitors into customers.


 

Personalized Trade Show Displays, Trade Show Booths and Tradeshow Exhibits Get Noticed

Executive Summary by Shaw, Joe

trade show exhibit booths

Be sure to choose a tradeshow booth design based on the event, theme or environment of the tradeshow or event you will be displaying at. Do your tradeshow exhibits and tradeshow booth present your products, services, and your company image that you want to communicate? Your portable tradeshow exhibit can be timely, political, or evoke current events or sports figures in vogue in the moment. With affordable printed graphics or custom vinyl decals from S2 imaging, custom messaging is quite within the realm of possibility.

If smaller venues or impromptu sales opportunities arise, S2 imaging has the right solution for your portable trade show booth and display booth styles. A tradeshow exhibit can be like a mobile office or portable show room. When you plan to attend a trade show, conference or convention, think of S2imaging as your first resource for portable trade show exhibit and affordable trade show booth displays.

Tradeshow booth displays should emphasis three graphic elements.
1.)The company name and logo,
2.) Your tagline or better yet, the call to action statement and
3.) A strong and memorable graphic visual element that represent your products and services.

Trade Show Exhibit Booths At A Glance

trade show exhibit booths

Trade Show Exhibit Display Booths
Executive Summary by Eddie Tobey

A trade show exhibit booths are stalls where you display your products and make your demonstrations to potential buyers. They can be used to launch new products, highlight a brand, or create market recognition. The total cost of owning a tradeshow exhibit booth depends on the design, weight, construction, and operation of your booth. A well-presented, eye-catching exhibit booth will help you reach your goal. Thus, an effective booth design is important.

A well-designed booth filled with customer-dedicated staff will give your company a professional image. You can set down booth flooring and erect back walls inside your booth. Also, define carefully your exhibit space so you can set boundaries between yours and your neighbors' booths. Tradeshow exhibits today are becoming more glamorous, flashy, and bigger. Your exhibit booth doesn't need to be extravagant to match up. A high quality exhibit booth conveys that message. Thus, your tradeshow exhibit booth is a marketing opportunity that gives you the chance to grab potential customers' attention and make a quick good impression on them.





Exhibition Stands and Trade Show Booths
Executive Summary by Charles Ferrars 

Trade shows have long been established as a favored way to feature and display your companys products in front of buyers from existing, new and potential customers.

Exhibition stands come in all shapes, sizes and forms; from leaflet dispensers to pop up display stands and standing at around 2.2m high, a pop up exhibition stand can make an impressive feature in any display area.

Most good suppliers offer an in-house design and print service that will allow you to customize the exhibition stands to your own specifications. To further enhance the look and usability of your trade booth there are a wide range of exhibition stands, display boards and accessories available that combine both traditional and new, innovative materials. Plinths, podiums and workstations, with circular or square work tops, being some of the more popular accessories.

Things You Should Know about Trade Show Booth Designs

trade show booth designs

How to Design an Irresistible Tradeshow Booth
Executive Summary by Patty Stripes

Now you have to have a trade show booth! You already have the key to a compelling trade show booth: your company. RIGHT? Usually, companies will use the same colors and many of the same graphics they use in their marketing materials for the foundation of their trade show booth design. These are essential parts of a great trade show booth because you want the booth to stay within the overall branding of your company.

Now think color. If your logo is primarily red, then go all out and use a red and black color scheme. Bright, cheerful colors do well in trade show booth designs because they signify energy and class.
COLOR! COLOR! One of the most successful trade show booths ever for a Fortune 500 company was white and pale gray, with hints of red and black set against some gorgeous visuals.

Why? With small, some simple spotlights highlighting the visual panels of the booth and a little greenery carefully arranged in front of the trade show booth, along with a matching carpet of pale gray and a couple of folding directors' chairs, this trade show booth was a virtual oasis in a sea of color noise. Of course, once you reel people over to your killer trade show booth, you want to be sure they're compelled to stick around! Cheerful, up-beat people, who enjoy dealing with the public and who KNOW YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE, are essential to a successful trade show booth.



Mistakes Made With Tradeshow Booth Designs and Tips to Avoid Them
Executive Summary by Chris A. Harme

Profitable trade show booth designs are difficult to pinpoint, but there are certainly some obvious mistakes you'll want to avoid.

Tradeshow Booth Designs With Poor Usability
Trade show displays need to be easy for attendees to get in and out of while still being user friendly for your staff.

Misunderstood Trade Show Displays
You need to find a balance between your marketing message, attention, and comfort.

Creating Exhibits Without Goals In Place
It is virtually impossible to come up with the right tradeshow booth designs without having a purpose in mind. Trade show displays need to encourage your potential clients to buy into your marketing plan and the products and services you offer. Everything from the graphics and brochures to the activities and promotional items should be geared toward a particular customer base that has something specific to gain from your company.


Falling to Test It Before the Exhibition
To get a clear picture, have people at varying degrees of experience go through the display from the bottom up, including the floor plan, graphics, and usability for the attendees and staff. This should include experienced staff members, those with knowledge of the industry and not your company, and those with no knowledge of the topic at all.

Tradeshow booth designs take a large amount of careful planning and consideration before ever moving your plans into the production stage.

See also information about pop up trade show booth here!

Guide to Trade Show Table Covers

trade show table covers

Guide to Trade Show Table Covers
Executive Summary by  Jenni Simcoe

Trade show table covers can turn an ordinary eight by ten foot trade show booth into an extraordinary selling space. Custom imprinted table covers, including table runners, table throws and table skirts that don't blend in with all of the other drab table covers can give you and your booth a competitive edge.

With custom trade show table covers, you can let people know exactly who you are, even from across a crowded convention center. Before you go out and buy trade show table covers, consider these factors:
1.    Choose a fabric for trade show table covers that won't wrinkle or stain.
2.    Determine what size table cover will be used at most shows, or buy a table cover in several standard sizes.
3.    Decide the quantity of table covers you'll need. You'll get a price break from most companies if you buy in quantity at one time.
4.    Think about the message that you want to display. If you have several trademarked phrases, you might want table covers that reflect each or you may just want your business logo.
5.    Figure out what style will work best for your needs. Some trade show table covers allow you to quickly cover a table, while others require pinning and tucking.

Action Steps
1.    Use table throws for your trade shows. Table throws are an easy option for quick set-up. You simply put the throw over the table and drape it like a tablecloth. That's all there is to it.
2.    Try trade show table covers that fit to a tee. Trade show table covers usually come in pleated or draped throws, but now there's a new type on the market that fits like your favorite T-shirt.
3.    Put your logo on table runners. Table runners are a good solution when you want to customize a table that is already set up or if you are traveling and want to save space. You simply place table runners over the middle of the table and your logo is displayed front and center..
4.    Table skirts can add pizazz to your booth. You can cover your table or put a t-shirt on it, but you can also dress it in traditional garb-table skirts.

Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide
1.    Make sure your logo will be legible on your trade show table covers before you imprint them. If it isn't, consider using your trademark phrase, product logo or company name.
2.    If your table covers will be transported frequently, ask your table cover supplier for custom travel cases that protect the table cover.
3.    Table covers that have a high blend of polyester will wrinkle less and won't require ironing.
4.    Though their main purpose is to draw people to your booth, trade show table covers also provide a hidden storage space for your products underneath the table.

Be a Trade Show Standout With Custom Table Covers
Executive Summary by Rachel Spohn 

Make the ultimate impression at your next event or trade show with custom table covers.

Why Table Covers Are Important
With your logo imprinted on your promotional table cover, you ensure that potential clients will remember your products and services.

Customizing Your Table Cover
Ensure that your cover will last trade show after trade show by opting for the finest quality materials. Luckily, good promotional product companies also offer budget table covers that are ideal for the up-and-coming business.

When planning for your next important trade show or event, consider the added effect a custom table cover would have on potential clients. Table covers are a surefire professional way to communicate the quality of your products and services.

Find more information about pop up trade show displays here!

Understanding Fabric Trade Show Display

fabric trade show display
Fabric Displays for Trade Shows
Executive Summary by Ron Adler 

Pop-up fabric displays have become increasingly popular among trade show exhibitors, as they solve several issues that exhibitors used to face at a trade show. Although pop-up frames have been around for quite some time, most pop-up booths pop up booths have, until recently, featured heavy vinyl graphic panels and carpeted panels. Panels are generally 6- to 8-feet high, and 2- to 3-feet wide and printed on heavy vinyl. 

If your booth was a full graphic (4 panels), your cost for updating it was therefore around $2400. Take the concept of the pop-up frame and add the lightweight nature of Lycra-type fabrics, and you have the pop-up fabric display. If your show is local, you can literally place the case in your trunk and be on your way. If it's out of town, you will probably still need to check the case as luggage at the airport, but the chances of misplacing one case vs. several cases is significantly reduced.

Additionally, the advances in printing process and equipment has enabled the industry to lower the cost of booth graphics by using fabric instead of heavy vinyl panels. Costs to replace fabric panels are far less than vinyl panels, and it is even possible to use fabric panels on your old booth. To find out, contact your local trade show booth vendor for information.

One fabric display frame can be purchased, along with several different fabric panels. Instead of purchasing several different booths for different shows, different audiences, different products or marketing messages, you simply purchase different fabric panels.

Fabric display panels cost less than the older vinyl graphic panels to produce as well, and are far less expensive to ship. 

Tension Fabric Trade Show Displays
 Executive Summary by Andy Keeler

Tension fabric trade show displays represent the newest trends in trade show marketing. Unlike traditional popup displays, tension fabric displays make use of a printing process called dye sublimation, which is the latest and greatest printing technology available. Graphics for these displays can be washed in a standard washing machine without fear of damaging the graphic, and most tension fabric graphics are guaranteed never to wrinkle or fade for as long as you own your trade show booth. Tension fabric graphics also take up far less space in shipping, because they can be folded up tightly, unlike rigid graphics which must be rolled or shipped flat.

You can also find information in pop up trade show displays here!