Trade Show Marketing Blog

Multimedia is quickly becoming a more important part of trade show exhibiting. Many of the displays we sell at MODdisplays support monitor mounts, which means you can easily attach a large flat screen monitor to your display without having to purchase after-market hardware. Our Exhibit One displays and Alumalite displays both support monitor mounts (all Alumalite displays come with a free 19″ monitor with the purchase of your monitor mount).

Many companies need to use their trade show displays to show off a new website or piece of software. How is that possible with a traditional trade show display booth? Popup displays do not support monitor mounts without the addition of after-market hardware, and the monitor mounts that do work don’t give you the professional look you want from your trade show booth. Multimedia is quickly becoming a bigger part of exhibiting strategies, so be sure to stay on top of the trends.

Some of the biggest and most obvious exhibiting mistakes are made in the area of staffing. Companies will often send top executives to conventions instead of sales personnel or marketing specialists. The trip to the trade show is often presented as an executive perk instead of an important job.

When staffing your trade show display booth, you need to consider who will have the greatest impact on your ROI. Not only does it cost you more to send a top executive to a distant trade show, but top executives usually lack the skill set needed to broker deals and handle problem clients on the trade show floor. Trade shows should be viewed as an investment of time and money in the hopes of producing results, not as a pleasure ride for executives.

Choose young, athletic, energetic people to staff your exhibit booth. Trade shows are physically demanding, and you need people who can stand on their feet for eight hours or more in one day and not be exhausted. Choose motivated people that are excited about the products and/or services you are promoting at your trade show. Choose wisely, and your bottom line will thank you for it…

Recent studies show that there is a huge demand for eco-friendly trade show exhibits. The manufacturer of our Exhibit One line has decided to push the envelope in green exhibiting to an entirely new level.

The state of the art Exhibit One manufacturing center is powered by wind energy, which is one of the cleanest forms of energy available. Despite the added cost of operating on wind energy alone, the manufacturer truly strives to have a minimal impact on the environment.

In addition to the use of clean forms of energy, the entire Exhibit One display is recyclable, and all of the components are reusable in different Exhibit One configurations. This means you will never need to throw away an Exhibit One component. The structure of the display is made from aluminum, which is one of the most widely recycled materials in the world. The counter surfaces and canopies are made of wood that is renewable and grows quickly.

Most importantly, the commitment to eco-friendly exhibits is more than just a marketing scheme for MODdisplays and for the manufacturers of Exhibit One. We truly believe that protecting the environment is important.

Companies in the portable trade show display industry often pride themselves on “in-house production”. At MODdisplays, we pride ourselves on seeking out the best quality trade show material and providing it to our customers at an affordable price. Because our vendor warehouses are located all over the country, we can distribute trade show displays more quickly and cheaply than companies who are forced to distribute from a single location.

We believe that by seeking out the best vendors instead of trying to do it ourselves, we will provide you with the highest quality products. Would you rather buy your trade show graphics from a company who produces thousands of display systems each day, or a company that produces only a few? The company that produces thousands per day is more likely to have up to date equipment and well trained personnel, which largely eliminates error in printing and production.

Our stance is unique in the trade show display industry, but we think you will be pleased with the quality of our trade show products.

Before making the decision to attend a trade show, be sure to examine all the costs of trade show services, not simply the cost of registering your trade show booth space. Many shows offer relatively inexpensive booth space, but charge thousands of dollars for simple things like an internet connection or labor.

Before you register for any show, you should think carefully about what services you will need from the exhibit hall and ensure that the show coordinator will provide those services at a reasonable price. Some commonly requested show services include labor, internet connection, rigging, pre-show storage, and I&D (which stands for “installation and dismantle”). You may be billed for electricity for your trade show exhibit space as well.

The cost of exhibiting at a trade show can quickly add up to be much more than you expected, so make sure you are aware of every hidden fee before you attend the show. You don’t want to get caught off guard and ruin your ROI.

10. Forget to bring any trade show literature or giveaways. If you’re trying to be forgotten right after the show is over, this is the best way to accomplish that.

9. Pick the wrong show to exhibit. If you’re a company with a tiny budget, don’t try to blend in to a massive show where companies have million dollar trade show budgets. You’ll look out of your league.

8. Hire and misuse trade show models. While models usually work well to attract attention to your booth, using them poorly will scare away your legitimate customers.

7. Don’t bother planning before the show begins.

6. Allow your booth staffers to have conversations on their cell phones during the show. Exhibiting at a trade show needs to be your biggest chore, and even current client phone calls shouldn’t take presidence.

5. Design busy graphics. Trade show displays are not museum exhibits, and it is important to understand that no one will read anything at a trade show unless it takes less than three seconds.

4. Don’t pay careful attention to show regulations before you exhibit. Your entire booth may not qualify to exhibit at the show, and it is not uncommon for exhibitors to find this out at the show (after paying for flights and hotel rooms).

3. Over staff or under staff your trade show booth. Two workers per 10 x 10 will be sufficient to properly staff your booth.

2. Don’t collect or record any leads, just grab business cards from people you are interested in talking to again.

1. Don’t follow up after the show is over.

Table Toppers are the newest line of high-end tabletop displays. Made from durable aluminum extrusions, these displays will give your company a professional feel without sacrificing cost.

The entire setup packs and ships in a single case, and it is apparent that a lot of design time has been spent to make the case absolutely perfect.  Not only will the case be easy to prepare for shipping, but you can rest assured that your trade show display will arrive intact at your next show.

One of the most important factors in trade show marketing is consistency. Even the most potent marketing message can be diluted by a lack of consistency. Your trade show display, literature, promotional giveaways (if you feel the need to give anything away), and your booth accessories should all carry a common theme that is easy to identify and relate to.

Consistency is harder to achieve than many exhibitors realize. It requires a commitment to spend more and put forth more effort, because consistent components are often hard to come by. At MODdisplays, we work to create packages that help you execute a consistent marketing plan. Our Exhibit One packages, for example, are more than just trade show displays. Many come with complete counter systems, reception desks, or other accessories that exactly match the look and feel of your trade show booth as a whole.

When your potential clients leave the trade show, the only remnants of your company that they will carry with them is your literature and your trade show giveaways. Ensuring that your trade show promotional products are well thought out can drastically increase your ROI at your next trade show.

You want to give away products that directly relate to the products/services you sell. If you sell cars, perhaps you could give away a seat cover, air freshener, or perhaps a gift card to purchase gasoline for free. If you sell music players, you could hand out iTunes gift cards or classic albums. Your gift should be more generous than you are comfortable with, because this will help your image to stand out in the crowd.

Your trade show giveaways should also work well with the theme of your trade show display and the theme of your trade show literature. Your entire marketing package should be cohesive, leaving your potential clients with a good idea of who you are and what you represent.

Popup tabletop displays work exactly like full size popup displays, but they are designed to fit on the most standard trade show tables. Typically at a trade show where tables are provided, the tables will either be 6ft wide or 8ft wide (contact your exhibit hall for details), and we have tabletop displays that are designed to work in both spaces.

At MODdisplays, every popup display we sell carries a lifetime warranty on the frame. This kind of peace of mind allows you to feel comfortable with the fact that if your popup display ever breaks or becomes damaged, we will repair or replace it at no cost to you.

Popup tabletop displays take less than five minutes to set up, even if you have never seen the display before in your life. This simplicity has made popup displays a favorite in the trade show display industry for almost 30 years.