What Do You Mean Hybrid Trade Show Display?

Perhaps no term is more hyped and less understood in the exhibit industry than “hybrid.”  Nearly every exhibit manufacturer and custom builder refers to their latest designs as portable hybrids, modular, hybrids, or even custom hybrids. Why the emphasis on this term? The answer is simple: Value. More than ever, exhibitors are demanding displays that do everything – assemble quickly, look custom, ship light, and reconfigure. Just a few years ago that would have been impossible, but not any more.

The Building Blocks

If you’ve walked a trade show recently, you’ve seen a profusion of aluminum structures and tension fabric graphics. Those are the building blocks of hybrid displays. Aluminum is attractive, structural, and lightweight. Tension fabric is vibrant, durable, and cost-effective. Together they serve as the creative foundation for displays priced from $3,000 to $250,000.

But what makes them hybrids. For the past 30 years, the exhibit world was divided into two worlds: portable/modular displays or custom exhibits. Portable/modular displays have been dominated by pop ups, panel displays, and modular laminate exhibits. These “systems” have well-defined configurations, components, and accessories, but limited design flexibility. Custom exhibits, built primarily from wood, have offered exhibitors endless design possibilities but are rarely portable or modular.

Hybrid Exhibit Systems

Hybrid exhibits merge those two worlds. Hybrids start with tension fabric and aluminum extrusion systems (such as MODUL). Beyond that, the design can be anything and can include anything. There are portable hybrids, such as Sacagawea or Magellan, consisting of an aluminum extrusion frame and tension fabric graphics, which pack in portable roto-molded cases. There are modular hybrids, like Euro LT, which add modular laminate components and pack in roto-molded tubs or small crates. And there are custom hybrids, such as Visionary Designs, which combine extrusion with just about anything else – metal, wood, plex, glass, and sometimes even portable or modular systems. As with all custom exhibits, the final design is whatever fulfills the marketing and budgetary requirements of the client.

Hybrids may not be the ideal for solution for everyone. For many exhibitors, a basic pop up or full custom makes more sense for their exhibit marketing goals. However, hybrid exhibits are here to stay. Only hybrids offer the lightweight strength of aluminum extrusion, the bold impact of tension fabric graphic, and the flexibility of unlimited design – all at a terrific value.

Guidelines

• Before deciding on any portable, modular, or custom display, the following guidelines and questions should apply:
• Know your exhibit goals. What are your immediate and long-term goals? A portable display should be viewed as a long-term investment rather than a short-term solution.
• Is your organization expecting to grow over the next couple of years? How does this effect your trade show needs?
• Do you need one product to accomplish multiple display requirements? Or, is it better to purchase different displays to accomplish your various trade show needs?
• View decisions about exhibit hardware, exhibit design, and exhibit graphics separately. It is too easy to be swayed by any one element. All three must work together.
• Consider shipping and drayage costs.
• Price is important, but price should never be the number one factor in your decision when purchasing a portable exhibit.
• Ask questions. Not all portable displays are created equal. Each has its unique strengths and weaknesses.

Source:  Mel White, Classic Exhibits

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Learn more about ESP (Extraordinary Show Productions Ltd), 619-222-8813, esp@espexhibits.com

How to be a Trade Show Tightwad

With tight budgets in an uncertain economy, exhibit managers must find ways to minimize costs. Below are a few tips drawn from an article published in 2003 that still apply.

1. Negotiate Booth Space Discounts

Bypass the salesperson and call the show manager directly. Show management would rather make less money on an occupied booth space than no money on an empty booth space.

2. Trade Your Stuff

Is your product or service something that show management or exhibitors can use during the show? Can your CEO give a speech? Trade for free booth space.

3. Partner-Up

Get a partner to pay for the booth space in exchange for doing all the show preparation.

4. Staff Your Booth with Local Drama Students

Students can quickly learn enough about the product to pull attendees into your both and turn them over to an experienced sales person. This saves employee travel expenses or the cost of high-priced actors.

5. Record all Vendor Mistakes

Don’t request a fix, negotiate a discount instead.

6. Never use the Official Show Freight Carrier

At the very least, get quotes and compare to other carriers. If your booth can be shipped FedEx or UPS, do it. And send it to your hotel rather than to show site. Wheeling your display into the show hall yourself will save drayage charges.

7. Hurry Up and Wait Until the Last Minute

For shows you know you want to attend, start negotiating early for discounts on booth space to give show management time to consider your offer. Follow-up periodically. As the show gets closer, show management will be more interested in filling empty booth spaces (see no. 1).

By Sandy Flom/CEO, Extraordinary Show Productions Ltd. (ESP)

Find more trade show tips at http://www.espexhibits.com

Source: Secrets of a Trade Show Tightwad by Whitney Archibald, Exhibitor Magazine, September 2003

Renting Trade Show Exhibit Displays

In times of tight budgets and an uncertain economy, a rented trade show display makes sense by saving you money while still providing the image you need.

Benefits of renting a trade show exhibit display:

• Lower upfront cost helps you achieve trade show marketing goals when you don’t have the budget to buy what you need
• Meets one-time or limited use requirements such as overlapping or back-to-back trade shows, uncommon booth space sizes, exhibiting at a show you don’t often go to, or your existing display isn’t quite right for a particular trade show
• No long term storage, maintenance, or inventory management costs
• Test trade shows for a new trade show marketing program to establish the number of shows where you’ll exhibit and which provide the best ROI
• Helps determine the size of booth you need and if a particular booth layout will be effective for presenting your company and demonstrating your products or services
• Minimize or negate shipping costs by renting locally

Disadvantages of renting a trade show exhibit display

• The cost of a rented trade show display cannot be depreciated
• May not be available when needed without reserving well in advance (rental displays are usually on a first-come-first-serve basis)
• Graphics may not be reusable – particularly if produced to fit specific rental display components
• Challenge to maintain a consistent look from show to show unless you have a contract to rent the same display repeatedly

A good rental trade show display does not look like it is rented. There are many methods and materials to customize rental booth properties to present your company’s best side on the trade show floor. It simply takes a bit of creativity and an open mind.

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Burst Stretch Fabric Rental Display

Alumalite Rental Display 20ft wide

Color is Primary in Trade Show Booth Design

The importance of color in the design of a trade show booth and its graphics cannot be over-emphasized. Color appeals to emotion, creates feelings, and causes humans to react in certain ways – whether obviously or subliminally.

Here are some basic colors and how they affect us – and thus how they affect trade show attendees when they view your trade show booth and its design:

Red – an emotionally charged color that encourages fantasy; women are drawn to blue-based red while men prefer yellow-based red

Yellow – the number-one attention grabber that if over-used can cause viewer crankiness

Green – makes people comfortable in unfamiliar surroundings and is associated with nature and money

Blue – provides a calming effect and encourages fantasy; not good for a high-powered campaign that needs to generate energy

Black – represents power

White – portrays purity and honesty

Grey – encourages creativity but can be perceived as dirty

Brown – construed as informal

Silver and Gold – indicate top-of-the-line products

Capturing the Right Trade Show Visitor

Stop Spending Time with Every Trade Show Visitor!

Some exhibitors have a hard time understanding that every trade show visitor is not a good lead. There are three types of prospects and treating each one correctly can save you and them time.

1. Customer A. Ready-to-buy or order now.
   This is why you are exhibiting at the show, spend quality time with them.
    
2. Customer B. Have an interest, but need more information.
   You want to convert these people to Type A. Try to discover who they are. You will be able to do more with them than just giving them a product brochure that they won’t read later.
    
3. Customer C. Do not have an interest.
   They either do not want or need your product, or at least think they don’t. Don’t spend time with them – try to avoid them. An exception is if your booth is overstaffed and people need to look busy. If that’s the case – send someone home!

Start by attracting the right prospects into your booth.

1. Display good signs and/or graphics.
   Get their attention by providing clear descriptions of who will benefit and why. This gets people to ask themselves, “Is that me? Maybe I should talk to someone.”Avoid standing in the aisle dragging people into your booth – it rarely results in more sales.
    
2. Effective Presentations
   Good presentations in your booth will draw crowds. By sprinkling trivia about the industry or your product category within your presentation, your audience will come away feeling they’ve learned something in addition to your product details and benefits.Provide two important options at the end of the presentation, such as where they should go next: the order desk or to a company representative for more in-depth discussions.Customer C prospects viewing your presentation can usually determine what they may need from you. If they learn something during the presentation, it will leave them with a good feeling about your products and your company. Maybe offer them a small giveaway or company brochure. Avoid the urge to go after them. If they are going to become customers, you’ll get them later.

Get more trade show tips at www.espexhibits.com.