Trade Show Display
How to purchase one during rough times…
When times are tough you need to market tougher. That usually means cutting costs wherever possible but while doing so not damaging your trade show marketing effort. Reaching a “customer rich” environment has always been the purpose of attending trade shows. It is the best way to see the most potential customers in the shortest period of time. While the cost of attending shows has not gone down the cost of purchasing trade show booths probably has. The modular trade show displays of the past that were so expensive virtually no longer exist. The trade show booths of today usually consists of more inexpensive large format graphics, less hardware, and more functional exhibit components.
For instance you can now buy, for a 10 foot booth exhibit, a full sized 10 foot wide exhibit graphic complete with hardware for about $1300. 10 years ago and exhibit with this sized graphic incorporated into the booth hardware would have been at least five times as much. Display booths have become far more affordable, just as they have become far more portable.
Trade Show Truss Exhibits
Trade show truss exhibits, which offer some of the newest and most exciting hardware used to be prohibitively expensive. But today as your trade show booth choice they are modestly priced. Full 10 x 20 in line booth displays, or 20 x 20’ exhibits done in truss can cost as little as $5000 complete with lights, graphics, and an assortment of exhibit accessories. Truss exhibits are probably the most flexible design you can choose for trade shows. They are modular in that one trade show exhibit configuration can be changed into another with just the addition of a few parts. Electrical is not a problem as it is easy to manage cables running through the booth with simple nylon ties. Dye sub fabric graphics are easily mounted with either clips, Velcro or magnet. Truss is also become lighter and easier to assemble. You’ll longer have to arrive at your trade show booth Exhibit 6 hours prior to the show starting to put together. The new EZ6 box truss kits require no tools and set up is really quite easy. This makes truss displays very desirable because the drawbacks to selecting truss as your exhibit hardware choice have all but disappeared. They are now easy to assemble, lightweight, allow for easy graphic application, and as we stated earlier much more affordable as a trade show display hardware choice.
Popup Trade Show Displays
The pop-up displays have also become quite affordable. The 10 foot pop-up trade show exhibit with the fabric face used to cost as much as $4000 but can be purchased today for as little as $800. You could now cover your old 10 foot pop-up display with full photo mural exhibit graphics for as little as $1200. Add to this that the pop-up frame now has more utility is your trade show booth. Tensioned fabric graphics can be mounted to the front of this exhibit technology with the elimination of the old metal channel bars. This allows you to simply pop-up the booth and lock it with the graphic already in place. No assembly, no loss parts, lighter weight and less cost. These have also made the pop-up style booth more modern, maintaining it as a still popular booth exhibit option.
Hybrid Exhibit Displays
Hybrid exhibits now exist in quantity. If your tradeshow booth choice is not a pop-up, panel system, or truss these new hybrid looks are becoming very popular. Once again, not a particularly high price. The new Hyperlite semi-truss exhibits, the linear aluminum kits, the Alumalite display kits and the new Moss in line kits are all increasing in popularity. They have unusual stylish components combined with large format graphics bringing an ultra high tech look to your trade show booth. Yet costs for the 10 foot booth space even with these new kits many times can be less than $4000. Some of the new high-tech kits with modest accessories can be as low as $2500. They, like a lot of the pop-ups they have replaced our relatively easy to assemble. Not quite as simple as the panel or pop-up booth exhibit hardware, but set up may only be a few minutes longer for this kind of display. They also incorporate lightweight counter systems that blend in with the aesthetics of the other display booth hardware. Another unique aspect of some of the hybrid booth displays are “envelope” style graphics. These are in newer and more eye pleasing means of mounting large format graphics on lightweight exhibits. These work by making the graphic and envelope similar to a pillowcase that fits over the entire support structure. Not only is this type of graphic easier to apply to the booth hardware, but it is much more attractive to the eye. This envelope style graphic also allows visual access from more than one direction. As it is pivotal that booth traffic see your company graphics from a number of directions the envelope style graphics application is a true advantage.
Portability in Trade Show Booths
Years ago the only option the exhibit marketer had was a custom booth or some type of folding panel system. They were expensive, heavy and complicated to erect on-site. Today virtually all exhibit systems are now lightweight, less expensive and allow for the exhibit attendee to carry them in and set them up without involving show services which we all know is very expensive. In a brief survey of costs, comparing real dollars from year to year, the average 10 foot exhibit system has dropped in price nearly 20 to 30% over what they cost in the mid-1990s. Today you have choices in structure, graphics, hardware and accessorizing most of which did not even exist a decade ago.
It is now possible for a single individual to walk in to an exhibit Hall carrying his full photo mural 10 foot exhibit system in one hand, and ancillary retractable banner stand in the other hand and a portable counter/podium kit in a carryall over his/her shoulder. This individual can set up a full photo mural graphic spread behind him, with a retractable banner stand graphic flanking his booth to the left or right and stand behind a portable counter all of which he set up on his own in 10 minutes. All of this could cost as little, including all the graphics for as little as $2000.