Posts Tagged display booths

Booth Display Ideas for a New Trade Show Exhibitor

Posted by on Sunday, 16 May, 2010

If you have not participated in a trade show exhibition before, it can be a little daunting setting up your booth display so that you get maximum returns for the money invested into the exhibition. There is something to be said for having had prior experience with trade shows, as there are some tips and tricks that can help things to go more smoothly, which are not always that obvious to a casual observer. Following are some important details that will help your exhibition to be more successful.

Plan Well in Advance

You can never to be too prepared for a trade show. Preparation does not start one or two days, or even one or two weeks before the show either, if you want to be sufficiently prepared you should start planning months in advance. Research is important. If you think you would like to attend a specific trade show it is very helpful to attend a similar trade show as an attendee only, as you can learn a lot from looking at what other exhibitors are doing. You can also check out the demographics of who is attending so that you can plan your exhibits and your booth display with that section of the population in mind. If the show is open to the public for certain days, check out what section of society attends. Look at where the most popular booths are located.

When it comes to the actual trade show, one of the earliest things you should do is book your booth location. The earlier you are able to do this, the better location you will most likely be allocated. It is an investment to attend a trade fair, but do not over-extend yourself, or your budget. If it is your first trade show, start relatively small; do not invest more into the show than you can comfortably afford to lose without any returns. While everybody always hopes for some returns from attending a trade show, it does not always happen the first time. Go for a smaller sized booth in a good location.

Setting Up Your Trade Show Booth Displays

It is a great idea if you can plan the basic layout of your booth before you go to set it up. Decide how much table space you will need, what shelving is needed, whether you will have any audio-visual presentations and if so, where they will be located. You should also decide in advance where your posters and display stands would be placed. The more you can map these things out in advance, the easier it will be for you on the set-up days prior to the exhibition opening.

Decide on your color scheme for your booth and booth displays. Either have it revolve around the basic colors used in your logo and branding, or coordinate it around your products. Try to have a consistent color theme throughout all of your display stands, posters, table-covers and any other items on display. You should stick to using two or three main colors only, as too many colors can tend to look garish rather than professional.

You will also need to decide on whether you will have a table at the front of the booth, or if you will design your booth to be more open. If you are starting out with a smaller booth, you will want to provide easy access into and out of your booth. If you must have a table at the front of the booth, have it flush against one of the booth walls, as that will hopefully avoid a lot of traffic walking directly behind you. Try using round tables with chairs scattered around them, rather than a long table.

Rather than buying all the items needed for your display booths, you could consider either renting your trade show display booth or the shelving and tables you will use. You can often rent pop up display booths or portable display booths fairly cheaply, oftentimes from the people who are organizing the exhibition. A pop up display booth is very easy to set up, which is a real plus if you do not have a lot of time available for the actual set up. Renting trade show display booths is a good option if you are not sure how often you will be attending and exhibiting at a trade fair.

It is also possible to purchased used display booths that have all the items needed for relatively good prices. However, the downside of this is that sometimes they are not in very good condition. Before buying a used booth make sure to examine it carefully first. You may end up paying more for buying the used booth and making the needed repairs and redecorating than you would if you bought a brand new one.

Careful planning in advance should ensure that your first exhibition is not only a success, but an enjoyable experience as well.


How To Set Up Display Booths

Posted by on Sunday, 14 February, 2010

You have your first trade show to attend, and you are excited at the possibilities that are before you. You will most likely meet new customers, make new friends and form new business relationships.  You may even snag that big international sale.  However, many months of planning goes into attending a trade show, and one of the first considerations is negotiating a location and then paying for a display booth.

I have attended trade shows, and I know how important it is for your tradeshow display booth to be set in a good location. Here are some suggestions of good locations for booth displays:

* Corner booths –  Corner booths are great because you get traffic from two aisles at the same time. Double exposure really can be a big help.
* Facing incoming people — If you are fortunate enough to get a booth close to either an entrance to the trade show or an exit, you will enjoy a lot of people dropping by your booth.
* Beside other busy booths — Yes, that is right! People may target your competitors, but chances are if your booth is nearby, they will drop by your booth as they leave.
* Where you do not want to be! — At the very end of the hall, or on the very last aisle, or near a service entrance.

Sometimes there is not a lot you can do about your location, as in some instances you are simply assigned a location without being able to specify exactly where you would like to be. In other situations, you get what you pay for. If you want a top location, then you need to be willing to fork out top bucks for it.

Setting Up the Booth

You will need to set up your trade show display booth well in advance. Depending on the size of the actual trade show and the number of attendees, you will be given one or two days in advance of the opening of the show to set up your booth.  It can be a lot of fun setting up display booths, providing you have done all the needed work and preparation beforehand. One of the most stressful situations you can find yourself in is waiting at the trade show for either your display posters, or new display stands to arrive.  There will invariably be delays in getting things ready for the show, so give yourself plenty of time. Trade shows can be very exciting, but they are also a lot of hard work where you are often on your feet for over twelve hours at a time, sometimes longer. They can be stressful and tiring, so do yourself a favor and prepare well in advance.

The exact layout and design of trade show display booths depends on what is being showcased. Do you have products, or do you provide a service. Chances are, if you sell products you will have shelves and counter-tops displaying samples of your goods. If you are a service company, you may be more likely to have large poster displays, and audio visual presentations. One thing that is often overlooked for first time trade show attendees is having a table and chair set where you can sit down, on site, with respective clients. If someone comes to your booth, interested in what you have to offer, you will want to sit down with him or her right away, then and there.

Many different things can help make your life much easier when it comes to setting up your display. Purchasing a pop up display booth will greatly simplify the whole initial set up time, and you can buy additional accessories that match exactly with the display, which gives your how booth and display a very professional and coordinated touch.  This portable display booth is really a great idea if you are short on people to set up and man the booth too, as it is very simple and easy to put together.

If you want to cut costs, you can also quite often buy used display booths, quite often from the same companies that sell portable booths or who sell booth accessories.  If you shop around, it is possible to find used booths that are still in very good condition.

Generally, when setting up trade show booth displays it is a good idea to have bold, colorful large sized posters set around the back of the display booth. You also need to make sure that you have sufficient smaller display stands and decide if you need a floor display stand. Sometimes it is enough to have shelves, with one rotating display stand on the corner counter for example.  Layout is very important, you want to first have something that will immediately catch someone’s eye, and then lead him or her into your display area. A good way to do this is by using smaller photo displays, or a poster up with interesting text that people stop to read.