At MODdisplays, we believe that we have found the ideal balance between custom exhibits and stocked exhibits. Using only stocked hardware, every trade show display we sell can be packaged and shipped in a matter of days, but our flexible modular exhibit lines allow for virtually limitless customization. With MODdisplays, you get the convenience and rapid turnaround times of a portable exhibit retailer with the flexibility and versatility of a custom exhibit house.

Because we can create custom-looking trade show displays from stocked exhibit hardware, we are able to keep our costs down and streamline the process of ordering exhibits online. Our catalog of stocked components is enormous, and it never stops growing. Whether you need literature shelves, monitor mounts, counter systems, light fixtures, or product shelves, we can meet your needs at affordable prices with lightning quick turnaround times.

You’re probably as tired as we are of the endless bickering between exhibit houses about whether custom exhibits or stocked exhibits are better, so why not experience the best of both worlds by purchasing your next trade show booth from MODdisplays? Call 877.MOD.EXPO or email sales@moddisplays.com for more details.

Recent studies show that exhibitors have less than 7 seconds to grab the attention of attendees at a trade show. In order to catch their eye, your marketing copy must be clear and concise. Using the active voice instead of the passive voice in your marketing copy is a great way to avoid some common mistakes in promotional language. The following sentences illustrate the difference between the active voice and the passive voice:

• Active Voice: The dog bit my hand.
• Passive Voice: My hand was bitten by the dog.

As you can see, using the active voice will keep your sentences short and to the point, while the passive voice will take your readers in a long circle before finally bringing them around to your meaning. With only seconds to grab the attention of attendees, the active voice is the obvious choice.

MODdisplays now offers three additional styles of our soft wood flooring. In addition to light oak and dark oak flooring, we now offer our soft flooring in walnut, cherry, and red oak. Soft wood flooring is our most popular flooring solution, and these new colors are a great complement to our selection.

All of our soft wood flooring is 5/8″ thick, which provides exhibitors and attendees with plenty of cushioning during the show. Each 2′ x 2′ section of flooring comes with its own set of end and corner pieces (as pictured), which means you can make a variety of shapes with your flooring beyond just a simple 10′ x 10′ square. Unlike with large sections of roll flooring, if your tiles ever become dirty or damaged, you can replace them individually.

We are very excited about offering these new colors, as we have received many requests for better flooring selection in the past. If you have any questions or comments about our trade show flooring section, let us know! To order your own section of exhibit flooring, call 877.663.3976 or email sales@moddisplays for details.

If your booth staffers are not driven to succeed, even the best trade show marketing strategy in the world cannot save your company from a disastrous exhibiting experience. At business to business trade shows, the people who man your booth will be the single most important factor in determining the overall success of your marketing program. Booth staffers should be outgoing, friendly, and professional, but never pushy or long-winded. They should recognize that everything about their appearance, demeanor, speech, and body language will reflect directly on your company’s image, and that creating a great image is what trade shows are all about. So what can you do to motivate your booth staffers to be top-notch exhibitors?

1-  Take care of their most basic needs. Nothing breeds frustration among employees more quickly than being undercompensated on their trip. If you put your employees in a cheap hotel room and give them a meager stipend for food, they will be less likely to perform at their highest capacity on the trade show floor.

2- Offer incentives for gathering leads and making sales on the trade show floor. It is always much easier for people to work hard for their own benefit than for the benefit of their company, so offering incentives is an easy way to improve the performance of your booth staffers.

3- Take care to pick the right booth staffers in the first place. Although senior members of your sales staff may love to travel and exhibit at trade shows, they may be less motivated to do well than a young, ambitious sales person who works hard to impress. In addition to the fact that younger, more ambitious sales staff usually do better at trade shows, it will cost your company less money to send employees who earn less per hour.

4- Allow your booth staffers to be a part of the exhibiting process from the beginning. They will be much more comfortable working within the confines of your trade show exhibit if they played a role in the planning and development process. Who would want to be a part of a marketing campaign that they don’t believe in?

MODdisplays just released a number of new locking trade show counter systems to our ever-expanding line of trade show products. In addition to keeping your valuable components safe while you are exhibiting, these stylish units can attract attention to your trade show booth. Each of our new locking counters is equipped with aluminum standoffs that are designed to hold translucent plexi material or custom cut graphics.

Like all of our trade show counters, these new units can be assembled without the use of tools. Using thumb screws with pre-drilled holes and set screws, each locking counter can be set up in a matter of minutes. Each system comes in a variety of laminate colors, including fusion maple, designer white, black, graphite nebula, and metallic silver.

If you have any questions about our locking counter systems, please call 877.663.3976 or email sales@moddisplays.com.

Attendees will be drawn to your trade show booth if you consistently invest in improving your trade show marketing program year after year. Too often we find that companies are content with “just showing up”, and have all but given up on their exhibiting efforts. As a result, their exhibiting program performs more poorly each year until it is eventually removed from the company’s marketing budget. The lesson here is simple: showing up is not enough. It will be obvious to your attendees that you did not put in the effort needed to gain their interest, and your investment in trade show marketing will be worthless.

Successful exhibiting programs are usually operated by experts who understand the importance of consistency. Year after year, these companies find exciting ways to engage attendees, which keeps them coming back for more. Gimmicks and swag are not enough, you need to release new, substantive information each time you return to a show. Showing up year after year with the same product line, the same brochures, and the same ideas is a quick way to lose the interest of visitors. Each new year should maintain the overall branding message your company wants to send, but your exhibit graphics, trade show literature, and your general industry ideas should be new and fresh.

If you’re short on exhibiting ideas, one of the best ways to get your wheels turning is to attend events that are similar to the trade show where you will be exhibiting. Take special note of trade show displays that catch your eye, and try to isolate what specific features of the exhibits caught your attention. Look for ways to improve your existing booth without spending an arm and a leg. If you see graphics that catch your eye, would it be possible to re-skin your exhibit with new graphics? If a particularly well lit environment drew your attention, you could purchase additional trade show lights to spruce up your booth. Remember that the best improvements to your marketing program will be substantive improvements, not cosmetic improvements, so take particular note of exhibiting strategies or marketing programs that catch your eye, and try to glean what you can from them.

Are you having trouble distributing literature at trade shows? This may have something to do with the design of your literature, but more often than not exhibitors struggle with distribution because their literature is presented in an unattractive way. The Dash Literature Banner Stand combines traditional banner stands with literature stands to produce a unique and attractive alternative.

Each system has a large graphic banner with three literature pockets below. Each literature pocket can hold 8.5″ x 11″ brochures, and the banner graphic is 31.5″ wide x 44.5″ high. The graphic is placed under tension using a flexible aluminum pole.

If you have any questions about the Dash Literature Banner Stand or any of our other literature racks, please visit call 877.663.3976 or email sales@moddisplays.com.

Shopping for trade show displays and exhibit graphics has never been more affordable than it is right now. In addition to drastically reduced prices for 2009, MODdisplays is offering additional savings in the form of promotions that are valid through March 31, 2009. Taking advantage of these coupon codes and special savings can help you make the most of your exhibiting budget.

• Free shipping on hanging signs. When you purchase a hanging sign through our online store, use the coupon code “HS-SHIP” to receive ground shipping on your hanging sign at no cost to you.
• Free carry bag with any Xpressions tabletop display. When you purchase an Xpressions tabletop display, receive a free padded carrying bag for a limited time. Call 877.663.3976 to redeem this limited time offer.
• Free shipping on Entasi displays. Receive free shipping on any Entasi display by using the coupon code “ENTSHIP” at checkout.
• Free banner stand light with the purchase of any Expand banner stand. For a limited time only, receive a free banner stand light with the purchase of any Expand banner stand. Please call 877.663.3976 to take advantage of this special offer.

If you have questions about any of our promotional offers, feel free to call 877.663.3976 or email sales@moddisplays.com.