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Business.com Guide to Trade Show Displays

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Contents

Overview of Trade Show Displays 4

Types of Trade Show Displays 6

Elements of a Trade Show Display 10

Trends in Trade Show Displays 12

Staff and Space Requirements for Trade Show Displays 14

Trade Show Display Pricing 17

Renting vs. Buying Trade Show Displays 19

Business.com Trade Show Comparison Checklist 21

Glossary of Trade Show Display Terms 23

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Overview of Trade Show Displays

We’ve all seen them, whether walking through an airport or a street fair or a conference or a trade show: Individual booths or booth-like spaces, usually with some backdrop and enough room for a

couple people to talk “inside the booth.” Many of us got our first experience with trade show booths at the school science fair. While the motive has not changed -- trying to look good and stand out -- trade show booths have come a long way from the hinged poster board of school days.

A trade show display (also called a trade show exhibit) presents a visual representation of a company’s brand and its products/services. As the name implies, these displays are constructed and deployed primarily for use at trade shows, conventions, conferences, or similar industry events. A trade show booth is essentially a form of advertising designed to attract interest, convey information, distribute sales collateral, and collect potential prospects.

A trade show display (also called a trade show exhibit) presents a visual representation of a company’s brand and its products/services.

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Trade show displays come in a variety of shapes, styles and functionalities. Some are small and easily portable, others are large temporary structures that require extensive on-site erection. Some cost a few hundred dollars, others can cost tens of thousands of dollars. There are modular off-the-shelf displays configured to fit a given exhibitor’s needs, and there are custom displays built for a single specific purpose. Most trade show display vendors offer both standardized and custom configurations for rent or purchase.

Which you’ll need depends on your budget, the trade show you’re attending, your marketing objectives, and your creative preferences. Let’s take a look at some of the options you have to choose from.

Trade show displays come in a variety of shapes, styles and functionalities. Some are small and easily portable, others are large temporary structures that require extensive on-site erection.

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Types of Trade Show Displays

¾ Table Tops. A foldable frame is used to display graphics that are attached to the frame with metal fasteners, magnets or Velcro. Table tops are two- to three-feet high. When put on top of a table, the total height of the display is roughly five feet tall. Table top displays are easy to set up. Standard table top frames are sometimes provided by the trade show for exhibitors to attach their own graphic presentations to.

¾ Table Covers. Also called “throw covers,” these are customized graphics that drape over a table. They are usually designed for industry-standard 96” long by 30” wide by 30” high folding tables. The company’s message or brand is printed on the front of the cover, turning the front of the table into an eight-foot by two-foot billboard for the company.

Table top displays are easy to set up. Standard table top frames are sometimes provided by the trade show for exhibitors to attach their own graphics to.

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¾ Pipe and Drape. Booths are formed using hollow metal tubes (“pipe”), connected at the corners and supported by upright bases. Basically, the pipe connects to make an outline of your booth space, then fabric drape is hung along the pipe to provide for a visual barrier between booths. Many trade show vendors will set up their own trade show display inside of the pipe-and-drape confines of the booth. Other vendors will use the pipe-and-drape as their booth, and attach display materials right to the pipe or drapes.

¾ Pop Ups. A pop-up display employs a flexible graphic panel stored in a spring-loaded roller. To set up the display, the framework is extended and then the graphic is unrolled and secured to the frame to hold the graphic taut and in place. Pop ups come in many different sizes. Display panels can be flat or curved. Graphics can be custom-printed on the panel or separate graphics can be attached to the panel. Pop ups are light and easy to transport. They are frequently connected together in a “daisy chain” to display an interrelated series involving two or more displays.

¾ Banner Stands. Similar to pop ups, but comprise only a single large graphic supported in a standing frame. Stand varieties include retractable, tension, motorized scrolling, cable, and telescoping for indoor and outdoor use. Heavy-duty stands are used increasingly to hold TVs or LED screens.

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¾ Panel and Frame. Perhaps the most common type of trade show display, this is a series of interconnected panels joined together to provide a complete freestanding room. Panel and frame exhibits require on-site construction, either by the exhibitor’s employees or by an approved contractor working the show.

¾ Modular. A hybrid between a pop-up display and a panel and frame exhibit, modular employs a series of lightweight frames and displays to create an exhibition space. Weighing at least half as much as panel and frame displays, modular displays are reusable and reconfigurable, allowing for an almost infinite variety of display heights, widths, and lengths. They can be easily transported and erected on-site by exhibitor personnel.

¾ Freestanding Booths. These are small, easy to set up and transport freestanding units that may also be used in malls or outdoor festivals and trade shows. The standard booth size in North America is 10 ft. x 10 ft., but can be larger. Exhibitors usually rent space on the trade show floor based on multiples of this standard size. Booths come in several configurations:

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� Linear (In Line): Booths are lined up next to each other, with a barrier like pipe-and-drape between them and behind them.

� Peninsula: A booth space with aisles on three sides. These are also called “end caps,” and often require purchase of a double booth (10 ft. x 20 ft. or larger).

� Split-Island: A peninsula booth that shares a common back wall with another peninsula booth. The two booths together make an island, surrounded by aisles on all four sides.

� Island: Exposed to aisles and foot traffic on all four sides. These booths are almost always 20 ft. x 20 ft. or larger.

¾ Custom. These are large rented or purchased exhibits fabricated from a variety of materials, often incorporating hard wall panels to create separated spaces and stages. Custom displays are usually shipped to the trade show for on-site assembly and disassembly by a specialized contractor. Some custom exhibits are as big as a city block.

Custom displays are usually shipped to the trade show for on-site assembly and disassembly by a specialized contractor.

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Elements of a Trade Show Display

Regardless of what kind of show you’re attending -- indoors or outdoors -- formal or informal, your trade show display will have some very common elements with others. Review these elements when renting

or purchasing trade show space and displays.

¾ Walls. Usually there are some walls to provide a visual and physical divider between your display and those around you. Walls are often pipe-and-drape, but can also be tent sides or panels. Walls are usually 10-feet wide and seven feet tall. Since most trade show “walls” are little more than fabric, don’t plan on leaning anything against them or hanging things from them.

¾ Flooring. Standing around a trade show booth all day can be tiring on the feet. Studies show that adding a little carpet and padding to the booth floor gets people to spend more time in your booth. You might want to consider everything from building a floor (or riser), to mats, carpet, padding, or other floor coverings.

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¾ Displays. Trade show displays can go in the booth, on the booth, or stand on their own. Most displays involve custom-printed advertising materials attached to lightweight, collapsible frames. Displays tend to come in standard dimensions, such as multiples of two feet in width, and from three feet to seven feet tall.

¾ Lighting. The lighting at trade shows is unpredictable, so vendors are used to bringing their own lighting setup with them. Almost all trade shows require the additional purchase of electrical service at your booth, and may have severe limits on how many watts of energy you are allowed to pull. A common restriction is no more than 300 watts total per 10-foot by 10-foot space. That’s five 60-watt lightbulbs. Depending on the show host’s rules, you may have to find ingenious ways of using low-wattage light fixtures. And you might have to provide your own electricity to power lights with a generator or batteries.

¾ Furniture. Most booths need some furniture, such as round tables for holding meetings, or display tables for literature. You may need “spinners” or other literature racks. You may want counters capable of holding computers. You should consider chairs for booth workers and booth visitors. Then there are little things like a lockable storage unit, a trash can, and maybe even a refrigerator.

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Trends in Trade Show Displays

¾ Smartphones. Everybody’s talking, or texting or emailing or playing Angry Birds on their smartphones. So why not take advantage of it? Cutting-edge displays incorporate either a mobile app, scanable QR codes, or some way to interact with smartphones to transmit information about your company, your products, or whatever else you’re promoting. It not only makes you look “in-touch” with the latest technology, it lessens the workload for your staff. Also, sending your product info to a smartphone involves a lot less cost than printing up a bunch of glossy brochures, many of which you pay to ship back to the home office.

¾ Interactive Functionalities. Similarly, displays that allow visitors to touch and feel and select what they are interested in by themselves and at their own pace not only makes it easier on your staff, it’s a way to qualify interest. If someone works their way through an interactive display and starts talking to one of your staff, that’s someone who is more than a little interested. These days, when everyone is used to looking at a screen at work, an interactive screen is a familiar way to promote your company and its products/services.

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The digital trend has really seized the trade show business. Some vendors are building digital slideshows and videos right into the booth walls using flat-panel screens hooked together. These digital caves offer greater immersion for a lasting impression. Today, screens can even be programmed to recognize who is looking at them, and deliver a customized message based on such things as the age and gender of the viewer -- or the purchasing history of a customer.

¾ The Apple Store Design Ethos. Apple stores have perfected the idea of minimalist merchandising. Trade show displays are following suit. Uncluttered, clean design, without tons of product literature and meaningless gimmicks, is considered a more inviting way to attract interest. And, speaking of Apple, the use of iPads as well as other tablets is an increasingly used medium to display product information or just put on an interesting show to promote your company.

¾ Go Green. More and more displays today are made of recyclable materials. It’s not only good for the planet, it’s good marketing and, in many cases, helps reduce your costs. The days of “build and burn” disposable trade show displays are quickly becoming “build and reuse.”

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Staff and Space Requirements for Trade Show Displays

Here are a couple tough questions: How much space should you rent at a show and how many people will you need to staff it? The answers are surprisingly easy to calculate.

First, you calculate the Audience Interest Factor. Start with the number of people expected to attend the show. Most shows have fairly good attendance records. Now, estimate the percentage that is likely to be interested in your products. The Audience Interest Factor says that 45% of those people will likely stop in your booth. So, let’s say 20,000 people are expected to attend and 10% of them are likely interested in your product. Your Audience Interest Factor is 900, or 20,000x10% = 2,000x45% = 900.

First, you calculate the Audience Interest Factor. Start with the number of people expected to attend the show. Most shows have fairly good attendance records.

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The Audience Interest Factor not only tells you how many people are going to see you, but can give you an estimate of how much staff and display space you’re going to need. Let’s say the trade show is for two days, and each day is 10 hours long, for a total of 20 hours.

Divide 900 by 20 (Audience Interest Factor ÷ by total show hours). The result is 45, which represents the number of visitors per hour. Assume each visitor takes about 10 minutes in interacting with a staff member at your display. That means one person can handle six visitors and hour. To handle 45 visitors/hour, you’ll need 45/6 = 7.5 people to staff your booth.

Let’s staff our example booth at seven people. The industry figures that a person needs 50 square feet to function comfortably. Seven people times 50 square feet means you need a minimum of 350 square feet (possibly more, depending on how much room your display uses up). The standard single booth size is 10’ x 10’, which means you’ll need the equivalent space of four booths to properly accommodate the expected traffic. You should plan for a display that is 10’ x 40’.

This is just one way to estimate how big your display area needs to be. It might also be the case that past experience has shown that, while many visitors spend 10 minutes in your booth, the average time of all visitors to the booth might only be five minutes. That would cut your staffing needs in half, and that would also cut the amount of booth space needed in half.

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In many cases, your staff will not be able to construct the booth themselves -- or may be legally prohibited from doing so. Many trade shows take place in unionized facilities where visitors are prohibited from doing certain tasks such as retrieving display materials from the receiving area, constructing a booth, or even running electrical cords. You might need to hire workers provided by the facility in order to operate your trade show booth.

Audience Interest Factor Calculator

Number of Attendees 20,000

% of Audience Interest in Product 10%

Calculation: 2,000

& of Audience Interested That Will Actually Stop By Booth 45%

Total Audience Estimated 900

Staffing Requirements

Hours of Show 20 hours

# of Visitors per Hour (Audience Interest Factor/Total hours) 45

# of Minutes per Visitor 10 minutes

# of Staff for Booth (# of visitors per hour/visitors per hour) 7.5 people to staff booth

In many cases, your staff will not be able to construct the booth themselves -- or may be legally prohibited from doing so.

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Trade Show Display Pricing

What you budget for trade show displays depends on the complexity of what you are trying to do, the size of the booth, the type of displays, the trade show itself and, even, local labor laws and

union regulations. You’re not just paying for the display, but the space at a trade show to exhibit the display.

An industry standard is that your total trade show cost is three times that of the exhibit space. So, if your exhibit space costs $2,000, set your budget at $6,000. That leaves you $4,000 to spend on travel, shipping, lodging, ground transport, electricity to the booth, and any labor charges to set up your display (if applicable).

Okay, but how much exhibit space do you need and how much should you spend on it? Obviously, there’s no pat answer for that. It depends on a wide variety of factors, including:

An industry standard is that your total trade show cost is three times that of the exhibit space. So, if your exhibit space costs $2,000, set your budget at $6,000.

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¾ The significance of the trade show in terms of the amount of attention you’re likely to draw.

¾ The significance of what you’re trying to sell or why you’re attending the show (i.e., a new product innovation should have a larger budget than just “we’re going because we attend every year”).

¾ The number of leads/sales that historically result from trade shows in comparison to other marketing channels.

¾ Your overall marketing budget.

¾ What your competitors have done in the past and what they are likely to do currently.

¾ How many people (potential customers) you think will stop at your booth.

While these are, for the most part, intangibles that are primarily your own judgment calls, there is a standard measurement the industry uses to calculate your potential audience.

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Renting vs. Buying Trade Show Displays

Historically, trade show displays were purchased. However, the growing trend is to rent displays more intricate than a simple table top or pop-up display.

Rentals may involve previously used properties built for another purpose, or they may be stock modular properties assembled as required that are augmented with new graphics, new finishes and other customizations.

Rentals may involve previously used properties built for another purpose, or they may be stock modular properties assembled as required.

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Advantages of rentals Advantages of purchase

• Lower investment required. No upfront purchase costs, storage, insurance or maintenance costs.

• Reduce shipping costs by renting from a distributor in the immediate area of the trade show.

• Greater flexibility to update design and features, particularly if you don’t have the internal resources to modify and rebuild exhibit components.

• No capital depreciation.• If you are not exhibiting at

more than one or two trade shows a year, or you are a first-time exhibitor, rentals make more economic sense.

• More cost-effective if you need to set up displays at two trade shows simultaneously.

• Generally, an exhibit rental is about 25% to 30% the investment of an outright purchase.

• Greater ability to completely customize display and make “on-the-fly” changes.

• Better ROI if you attend multiple trade shows (more than two), and trade shows represent a significant marketing channel for your business.

• Purchase can be extended over several years of a capital budget.

• You have display materials whenever you need them; eliminates possibility that appropriate rentals may not be available for a show.

• Achieve a consistent look and brand identity at multiple trade shows.

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Business.com Trade Show Comparison Checklist

My Needs Vendor 1 Vendor 2

Display Type• Table Top• Table Cover• Pipe and Drape• Pop Up• Banner• Panel and Frame• Modular• Freestanding Booth• Custom

Sizing Considerations• Booth Dimensions (LxWxH)• Size of Display -- Assembled (LxWxH)• Size of Display - Packed (LxWxH)• Shipping Weight of Display

Staffing and Labor• Self-Assembly• Requires Hired Labor to Assemble• Time Required to Set Up• Time Required to Tear Down• Booth Staff Required

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Features• Floor Coverings• Lighting• Electrical Limit• Furniture & Seating• Interactive Display• A/V Presentation• Smartphone App/Communications

Estimated Cost• Trade Show Booth Purchase• Trade Show Booth Rentals• Charge for Electrical to Booth• Cost to Ship Display Booth & Materials• Labor Charges From Show Organizers• Other Amenities in Booth• Cost to Staff the Booth• Transportation Costs• Lodging Costs• Meal Costs

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Glossary of Trade Show Display Terms

Audience Interest Factor: Rule of thumb for estimating the number of people likely to visit your trade show booth. That number leads to guidelines for how large of a booth to get and how many people you will need to adequately staff it.

A/V: Audiovisual equipment, including computer monitors, televisions, flat-panel displays, DVD player, music player, etc.

Advance Rates: Discounts for paying exhibit service contractor in advance of the event.

Advance Receiving: Location where displays and other freight are sent for temporary storage prior to start of the trade show. Freight is then shipped to the trade show site a short time before the show starts.

Aisle Signs: Identify aisles by number or letter. Serve as “address” for individual booth locations. Aisle signs are typically suspended from the ceiling.

Backwall Exhibit: An exhibit back-to-back with another exhibit or against a building wall.

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Banner: Suspended panel, usually made of fabric or panel, that serves as a sign or decoration.

Build and Burn: Booth designed and built for one use only and then disposed of.

Cartage: Fee for moving display components over a short distance within the exhibit.

Corner Booth: Exhibit space with exposure on at least two aisles.

Cross-Aisle: An aisle at right angle to a main aisle.

Display Builder: Two-story trade show display.

Drayage: Movement of exhibit materials from shipping/receiving dock to exhibit setup location and back to dock for return shipment.

Exhibitor Appointed Contractor: Hired by an exhibitor to perform trade show services in lieu of exhibit contractors hired by trade show management.

Floor Marking: Indicates space allotted to set up an individual trade show display.

I&D: “Installation and Dismantle” of a trade show display; also called “set up and take down.”

K.D: Knock Down. A trade show display with multiple components that must be assembled on-site.

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Light Box: Enclosure housing lighting underneath a translucent facing material used to light up signage or graphics applied to the facing.

Press Kit: A collection of press releases, product announcements and other marketing materials for distribution to members of the media at the trade show.

Return Panels: Side panels joined perpendicular to a back wall.

Riser: Platform.

Scrim: Fabric that is opaque when lighted from the front, but transparent when lighted from the rear. Often used in displays.

Security Cage: Used to lock up stored materials.

Service Kit: Packet of show-related information and order forms provided to trade show exhibitors.

Show Break: Time when show ends and display dismantling begins.

Skirting: Decorative covering around bottom of tables or risers.

SWAG: Stuff We All Giveaway. Promotional items given away by exhibitors.

Teardown: Dismantling a trade show display.

Valance: Overhead banner that serves as a light baffle.