How to Design a “WOW!” Trade Show Booth without Spending a ... · trade show trends, the...

How to Design a

“WOW!” Trade Show Booth without

Spending a Fortune

by Steve Miller

with Robert Sjoquist

©2002 All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without the written permission of the authors or the publisher

Steve Miller & Robert Sjoquist

http://www.theadventure.com/

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How to Design a “WOW!” Trade Show Booth without Spending a Fortune™ is a trademark of The Adventure LLC, and Steve Miller, denoting a series of products and services, including consulting, training, audio, and video-based educational systems, books, newsletters, electronic media, intranets, Internet, and other informational products.

Published by:

HiKelly Productions, Inc. A subsidiary of

The Adventure LLC 32706 39th Ave. SW

Federal Way, WA 98023

Order Information: To order more copies of this book, to get quantity discount information, or to get information about Steve Miller’s other products and services, contact:

The Adventure LLC

T 253-874-9665 F 253-874-9666

E [email protected] WWW http://www.theadventure.com

How to Design a “WOW!” Trade Show Booth without Spending a Fortune


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Other Books by Steve Miller

How to Get the Most Out of Trade Shows

Over 88 Tips & Tips to Supercharge Your Exhibit Sales

Over 66 Tips & Tricks to Supercharge Your Trade Show Promotions



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Chapter One

Why is booth design important? According to the 2002 Tradeshow Week Data Book, there are 4,342 trade and consumer expositions with at least 5000 net square feet being held in North America. These expositions host a total of 1.4 million exhibiting companies and draw 55.8 million attendees. This means the average exposition covers 153,209 net square feet, will feature 404 exhibitors and draw 9,697 attendees. Put yourself in the attendees’ shoes. He or she only has a limited amount of time to walk the floor of an exposition. According to Exhibit Surveys, Inc. annual study of trade show trends, the average attendee spent 9.6 total hours on the floor of a trade show. That’s only trade shows, and doesn’t include consumer events, where we have to assume the average attendee spends much less than 9.6 hours! In fact, one survey of consumer shows indicated no more than 3.5 hours as an average length of stay for an attendee! How many exhibitors can the average attendee spend quality time with during that time? We’re not talking about the “hit-and-runs” where an attendee slips in, grabs a brochure or giveaway, and speeds off. We’re talking about those conversations between attendee and exhibitor where each person has the possibility to accomplish something as a result of that encounter. Be realistic. Many staffers we’ve worked with will tell us they can have a quality encounter in 3 minutes. A quality encounter in 3 minutes! We don’t think so. That’s just not true for the vast majority of exhibitors. In fact, according to surveys of attendees, their perception of the length of an average quality encounter is over 15 minutes! There’s major disconnect between what the exhibitor and attendee is saying. Who’s right? Our feeling is it’s a matter of expectation. As an exhibitor, we approach our encounters with a certain level of expectation. If we expect the encounter to last only three minutes, that’s the mindset we take into it, and our behavior reflects that. On the other hand, an attendee is saying, “You give me a reason to stay and I’ll give you the time.” Who should be right?



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As an exhibitor, your primary objective should be to maximize the number of quality encounters you have. But, as we pointed out, that will most likely take more than three minutes per encounter! For arguments sake, let’s go with the attendee’s perception of 15-minute encounters. If that attendee spends 9.6 hours on the show floor, AND if that attendee is 100% efficient (in other words, zero time between encounters), he or she will have a total of 38 quality conversations. That’s it! Out of an average of 252 exhibitors, that attendee can only meet with 38 people – only 15% of all exhibitors! Of course, no attendee is going to be 100% efficient. They need time to walk the aisles, check out the exhibits, and choose who they’re going to stop and visit. A robot may be 100% efficient, but trade show attendees certainly are not. Between food and restroom breaks, cell phone conversations, general kibitzing in the aisles, reading show programs, looking at live demos, standing in registration lines, etc., we doubt the average attendee is 60% efficient. Consumer shows can be even more inefficient – most of these shows are intentionally designed with features (model homes, stage presentations, interactive stuff) to make attendees stop, look and listen to something other than paid exhibit space. And there’s the rub. Attendees are going to choose whom to stop and visit based on a couple of things. First, is the list of exhibitors they already have on their agenda before they even arrive at the show. That list may represent as many as half of the total exhibitors they’re going to visit during the show. In our example, that means they’ve already got 19 out of the 38 picked out! This list is compiled based on what they anticipate their needs will be, and on preshow communications and promotions they receive before the show. (For more on preshow promotions, check out Steve’s book, Over 66 Tips and Tricks to Supercharge Your Trade Show Promotions. Details on how to order are at the back of the book). 19 out of 38. That means the attendee is going to choose the other 19 companies they visit out of the remaining 233 exhibitors (252-19=233). Why is booth design important?



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Again, put yourself in the attendee’s shoes. He or she needs to walk the show floor, looking side-to-side, giving each exhibitor only a few seconds of attention. And, in that few seconds, decide whether to give an exhibitor some of their precious time. Will that exhibitor be you? We like to refer to booth design as the icing on a well-baked cake. It won’t make the cake, but it definitely makes the cake stand out and makes the cake look appetizing to the cake-eater who comes to the Show. The booth is the first visual as to who you are, what you do, and why it matters. The first and foremost purpose of your booth is to get the Right Attendee to STOP. You must assume that you are not on everybody’s list before they go to a show. Knowing this, you must look at your booth as the Attention-Grabber. This happens through a couple of very quick steps: First, your exhibit must ATTRACT the eye and the attention of the attendee. This might seem like a no-brainer, but the fact is that many exhibitors forget it. Stand at the end of any aisle at any show. Look down that aisle and see how many exhibits truly attract your attention. Not many. In fact, most exhibitors tend to blend in with the crowd. They get caught in the trap of “We’ve got to have a ‘corporate’ look.” This is a huge mistake. If the attendee doesn’t see you, that attendee won’t be able to make the decision of whether to stop or not. This is not the time to be shy. We are often hired to judge exhibits at trade shows. When there are hundreds of exhibiting companies, this should take a lot more time than it does. Why? Because we go through the shows as an attendee would. Attendees typically do what we call “Walk the show. Work the show.” That means they make a first pass through each aisle, making note of those exhibitors who catch their eye. Guess what? Not many do! That first pass through the show actually eliminates the vast majority of exhibitors simply because they didn’t do anything to stand out from the crowd. If I were designing a booth I'd want to put myself in the shoes of an attendee (or judge) -- I'd desperately want to make that first cut.



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Think about your booth like a billboard on the side of an interstate highway. Before you take the time to read it, you must first see it. How many billboards do you drive by and pay zero attention to? Second, your exhibit must talk directly to your targeted prospect. They’ve got to GET IT right away. Remember, your objective is to maximize the number of quality encounters during the show. You don’t want everybody to stop, just the right ones. Your products may clearly show what your company produces, but it’s amazing how often we’ve stood in front of an exhibitor and could not figure out what they were selling! This is a very common complaint from attendees. Remember this – you know what you do. You know what you make or produce. You know what you are selling. To you, it’s obvious. You GET IT. The problem is that we’re all so close to our own company and products that we think everybody gets it. We should never assume that others GET IT, because in many cases, they don’t. The third thing your exhibit must do is give the attendee a REASON to stop. What makes you superior to every other competitor at the show? Why do people do business with you? What is the Unique Selling Proposition that offers the highest benefit to that attendee? Make sure everything in your booth walks the talk. When an attendee looks at your exhibit, they must be able to understand who you are and what you do IMMEDIATELY – within just a few short seconds. If you insist on making them figure it out … well, they simply won’t take the time. They just walk away. There are plenty of other exhibitors for them to focus on! Of course, that’s exactly what you want non-qualified prospects to do. You want those people to look at your booth and see very quickly that what you are selling is not for them. They cull themselves out and allow you the freedom to talk with a higher percentage of qualified prospects. Some people will argue that their goal at a trade show is to enhance their company’s image, so it’s important for them to attract as many people as possible.



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Our opinion is clear. We believe that trade shows are sales and marketing tools. We have never been able to cash a check on image. We have only been able to cash checks from real, live, flesh-and-blood customers. Because of this, we believe that all sales and marketing tools must be accountable. They must all stand on trial for their lives. Peter Drucker says the purpose of business is to create a customer. We would add that it would also be to keep a customer. Trade shows can and should support one or both of those. That said, the only way for a trade show to be accountable is to design and implement an approach that helps you to measurably create and/or maintain a relationship. Attracting every attendee at a show just for the sake of “enhancing your image” will not accomplish either of those. David Ogilvy, founder of Ogilvy & Mather Advertising Agency, maintained the only purpose of marketing is to “persuade your prospect to action.” That’s why booth design is so important, and why it’s a lot more than just designing a pretty booth. Remember, your booth must first ATTRACT the eye of the attendee. It must next tell them WHO you are and WHAT you do. It must give them a REASON to want to share their precious time with you. In other words, it must PERSUADE them to want to stop and talk with you. Unfortunately, many exhibitors fail to recognize this important fact. Typically, they fall into one of three traps. The first trap is the Traffic Trap. This is where an exhibitor designs the booth and promotions to attract as many people as possible. These are companies who have no way of using trade shows to measure impact on creating or maintaining long-term customer relationships. If their booth is crowded, they MUST have had a successful show! The second trap is the Cost Trap. These companies see trade shows purely as a line item in their budget. They’re an expense. And the only way to make money off an



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expense is to cut it down or out. These companies strip their participation to the bare bones. Many small and first-time exhibitors fall into this trap. You see them with the 10X10 booth, a couple of tables and chairs, and very little signage. A third trap is the Me-Too Trap. Very few exhibitors are willing to “visually” take a chance. In fact, most exhibitors (especially the smaller ones) look to each other for design ideas. That’s not standing out. That’s being a lemming. As Gary Hamel, author of Competing in the Future puts it: most people in an industry are blind in the same way – they’re all paying attention to the same things and not paying attention to the same things. We’re not advocating spending a lot of money. The title of this book is “How to Create a WOW! Booth without Spending a Fortune,” remember? But we are saying you have to create a booth that helps you stand out from the crowd and attract your target market. A trade show is a three-dimensional representation of your company. You are there to create and maintain long-term customer relationships. Think about the display you had at your last show and ask yourself these questions:

• Did your booth visually attract your specific target market?

• Did your booth give the visual representation of your company that you want your market to have?

This book is designed to give you a good overview of those areas of booth design that are critical to your success. We’re going to share with you tips and tricks for designing and creating a booth that will help you be successful, and that you’ll be proud of. We’ll talk about design criteria, budgets, how to choose a booth designer, staffers, promotions, and how to take care of your booth between shows. Why is booth design important? A trade show can be one of the most powerful marketing tools your company ever uses. You can exhibit at shows where hundreds, maybe thousands of your targeted prospects are looking for you! But first, they’ve got to find you.



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Chapter 2

What questions should you answer before starting a booth design project?

Right out of the box, let’s make one thing clear: there is no one-size-fits-all booth design solution. Your booth will be a reflection of your company, and just like there are no two companies exactly alike; there are no two booth design solutions exactly alike. Ideally, you should allow enough preparation time for a thorough planning process. There are essentially four parts to this process:

1. Who is on your Design Team? 2. Who is your target market? 3. What is your objective at the show? 4. What is your budget and timeframe?

Your Design Team It’s far too common for a corporation to simply assign somebody with the task of designing and building a booth. The fact is, there are many people who can and should be involved. A trade show can be a major industry event. This is your showcase! The way you approach this event, and the way industry stakeholders ultimately perceive your company, can be heavily influenced by what they see at that show. Corporations can spend thousands, even millions of dollars to participate in a national or international event. Exhibits can range from the small ten-by-ten display to one of the mammoth, two-story, mega-booths covering thousands of square feet! In both cases, the budget can be a significant investment for that company. And that’s not including any costs for promotions, staff travel, and entertainment! Steve has worked with major Fortune 500 corporations where the CEO was involved in the initial planning stages because that CEO saw the importance of a major event to the future of their company.



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Think about who in your company will be affected by this show. We’ve already mentioned the CEO as a possibility. It makes perfect sense for the sales and marketing departments to be in the planning, but what about production, or customer service? If they will be impacted, it might be a good idea for them to be on the initial planning team. One group of people that absolutely should be on the Design Team: the staffers who will be working the show. We’ve seen far too many companies design multi-million dollar exhibit plans without including the staffers. Most of the time, of course, we’re talking about salespeople staffing the booth. And how are they prepared? The company sends them an airplane ticket in the mail with their hotel information and booth schedule. The salesperson is then asked to just show up and “do a great job!” People who are involved in the planning process are going to be much more likely to actually implement that plan! How many times have you walked by a beautiful, obviously very expensive display, only to see the exhibit staffers standing or sitting around, not doing much? Far too often, in our book. Choose your team carefully. Your target market According to Exhibit Surveys, Inc., of Red bank, NJ, the average corporation only has about 16% of a trade show attendee base as potential customers. This is important to know. Not everybody walking through the front door of the convention center is your target market. Your design plan needs to keep this in mind. You don’t want to design an exhibit that attracts everybody. You want your exhibit to attract all the right people, and you want it to help the wrong people keep walking by! We often see exhibits with messages, promotions, entertainment, and attractions designed to attract as many people into the booth as possible. This is stupid marketing. A booth packed shoulder-to shoulder with unqualified attendees has absolutely nothing to do with your company’s ultimate success. Clearly identify who your target market is before you create your plan. Answer these questions:



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• Who are the ideal attendees that would make your staffers’ time highly effective?

• What types of companies do they work for? • What size companies do they work for? • Which people in those companies are in the decision-making loop, including

heavy influencers and specifiers? • What problem or need does your product or service solve for them?

Try to get a clear picture of your targeted prospect. Then, as best as you can, determine how many of those people might be attending the show. Ask show management for those numbers. If it’s not possible to accurately determine the potential audience size, use the 16% figure determined by Exhibit Surveys, Inc. Make sure you’re basing this on the Professional Attendance at the event, not the total attendance. Whether it’s right or not, many shows publicize the total attendance for the press to use. But these numbers can include exhibitor personnel, media, students, guests, bus drivers, shoe shine people, and anybody who can fog a mirror and get a badge. You are only interested in the Professional Attendance … period. So, for example, let’s say a show has 12,000 professional attendees and you use the 16% as your number. That means there is a potential target audience of 1920 people walking through the show. This is important to know in the planning process, and we’ll explain further in a moment. Your Objectives This bears repeating: A trade show is a sales and marketing tool. Its purpose is to help you create and/or maintain long-term customer relationships. That means that it must be held accountable for clear and specific results. In addition to consulting and training, Steve’s company, The Adventure LLC, also provides research capabilities to many trade shows and corporations. In one project in 2001, they asked 333 exhibitors what their primary objectives were at trade shows. 64% rated Image as the #1 reason why they exhibited. This is ludicrous. Image is not something created from a three-minute encounter at a trade show. It’s the result of everything you do for your customers over the long haul. Look at this way: if the major airlines – American, Delta, United, and Northwest – created fabulous exhibits with mind-boggling promotions at a travel show, would that impact their image? Would an encounter with Delta at a trade



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show make either of us stop flying American Airlines? We don’t think so. Our image of airlines has been developed by our interactions with their agents, pilots, and flight attendants over the many flights we’ve been on. You can be VISIBLE to a lot of people at a trade show, but you can’t impact much as far as image goes. All that said, the main purpose of our participation at trade shows must relate directly back to the overall objectives of our company. Some examples of these objectives might be:

• Generate leads • Write orders • Perform one-on-one demonstrations • Gather competitive information • Set up appointments • Do product research • Launch a new product

Each of these examples lends itself to accurate measurement of results. Make sure you determine well in advance exactly how many new leads you want; how many orders you expect, how many demonstrations your staff will perform. It’s critically important to set specific, measurable objectives for the event, otherwise it will continue to be impossible for you to determine your R.O.I. afterwards. Your Budget and Timeframe First, let’s talk about your timeframe. One of the most egregious mistakes corporations make is to wait too late to start planning their exhibit. They’ll procrastinate until it’s only a few weeks before a show, then call an exhibit house or designer and say “We need an exhibit for this show!” This causes huge problems for everybody. Because of time pressures, the company’s choices are severely limited. On top of that, the tardy start often causes late charges to be added to the bill that can take major chunks out of your budget. Our recommendation is that you start the planning process no later than six months before the show, and have selected your Booth designer within 2-3 weeks after



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that. This is important, because your booth designer should also be in on the Design Team planning. That way, the designer can help the team get the best booth possible for the objectives and budget set down. Now, let’s talk about how to determine your budget. There are basically two different approaches. One is to create the budget first, then develop the plan around that. The second is just the opposite. You determine the objectives for the show and then work backwards to develop a budget to fit those objectives. In the first case, you should start with a budget form and break down the separate expense categories. The general categories can include:

• Space Rental • Exhibit Expenses • Shipping and Storing • Show Services • Advertising and Promotion • Travel and Entertainment

Obviously, the actual cost of the design and construction of the booth is only a percentage of the total budget. But how is that dollar split up among those categories? According to the results of a survey published in the September 2001 issue of Exhibitor magazine, the breakdown works like this:

• Space Rental – 33% • Exhibit Expenses – 15% • Shipping and Storing – 9% • Show Services – 12% • Advertising and Promotion – 8% • Travel and Entertainment – 18% • Other – 5%

Now, a few words about determining staff size. We’ll be covering this more in-depth in Chapter 7, but it’s important to think about in the beginning, when you’re first making plans.The fact is, the number of staffers you can have working at any one time is actually determined by the size of your booth! There’s an industry rule of thumb that says you can have one exhibit staffer for every 40-50 square feet of available space in your booth. Available space is what’s left after the space taken up by products, the exhibit, tables, chairs, kiosks, et al, is subtracted.



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Remember our example of the show where you might have 1920 possible targets among the attendee base? If we use that example as our starting point, we can work backwards to determine the size of our booth. In Chapter One we stated that a 100% efficient attendee is able to have quality encounters with roughly 38 exhibitors over a 9.6 hour span. In reality, we believe an average attendee is only about 60% efficient, which lowers the total number of quality encounters to about 23 exhibitors, or 2.4 per hour. If your staff is 100% efficient in finding 1920 targets during the show at four per hour, you would need 480 staff hours (1920 ÷ 4). If the show is open for a total of 24 hours, you’d need 20 staffers working the booth at all times (480 ÷ 24). Let’s see … 20 x 40 net square feet equals 800 square feet needed for staffers. If your display takes up 400 square feet, you would need a 1200 square foot booth. Of course, getting a new exhibit can cost you. The average custom built booth for a 1200 square foot booth is pushing $100,000. A modular system would be about $20-30,000. Because it’s difficult to give accurate numbers for what a new booth can cost, it’s very important that you start your planning well in advance. If you’re going to spend thousands of dollars on a new exhibit, you want to make very sure you’re getting the most bang for your buck. What about used displays? More and more companies are recognizing the fact that there are some great opportunities to buy somebody else’s display rather than invest big bucks in a new one. There are several websites dedicated to brokering used displays. Some of those websites include: www.used-trade-show-booths.com www.used-displays.com www.tradeshowshop.com



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Chapter 3

How to Choose an Exhibit Designer/Producer Your exhibit designer/producer is one of the most important members of your Design Team. This company is responsible for translating the Design Plan into a full-blown, three-dimensional environment that represents your company, reinforces your brand, and aids the staffers to accomplish the objectives set in advance. That’s a tough assignment, to be sure. So it’s important you go through the selection process carefully. Before we get into the discussion of how to find a designer/producer, we need to address those of you who are saying, “Hey, we can do this ourselves and save a ton of money!” The harsh reality is that the actual number of companies who are capable of doing this is extremely small. Designing and building an effective display requires skill and experience that few of us have. There are many factors involved in creating a successful display, and it’s a much bigger task than most people think. Before you take on this high-risk project, think about these questions:

• Do you really have the skill to DESIGN a display that represents your company, your brand, and clearly sets you apart from all the other exhibitors at the show?

• Do you really have the TIME necessary to design, build, and ship your exhibit?

• Do you really have the ability to design an exhibit that can be easily dismantled, shipped, and reconstructed on-site within the timeframe required by the event?

• Do you really have the ability to design and construct an exhibit that meets the exact criteria laid out by the rules and regulations of the event?

• Do you really have the ability to build a display that would pass inspection by the local fire marshal in the city you’re exhibiting in?

• Do you really have the ability to design and build shipping crates that will withstand the rigors of transcontinental shipping and handling for more than one show?



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• Do you really have the ability to design and build a display AND shipping crates that won’t be so heavy they cost an arm and a leg in shipping costs?

We’ve certainly seen homemade exhibits that were well-designed and well-built. But for every one of these, we’ve seen ten homemade exhibits that didn’t cut it. The absolute worst thing you can hear at a trade show is: “Did you build this display yourself?” Just as there are a myriad of types and sizes of displays at trade shows, there are many different exhibit designer/producers in the country. These companies vary in size and capabilities from small, mom-and-pop companies with a handful of employees, to the large, multi-location firms with hundreds of employees. Services provided cover the gamut from simple designer or exhibit builder all the way to the full-blown total trade show marketing firms, who offer everything from exhibit design to post-show evaluation. The first question you want to ask yourself is: custom, modular, or popup? As we pointed out in the previous chapter, there’s a huge different in cost between a custom display and a modular display. Your budget may preclude you from even considering a custom display, and that’s okay. Manufacturing technology, construction materials, graphics production capabilities, and computer-aided design (CAD) have advanced rapidly in recent years. It used to be easy to spot all the modular and popup displays because they all had the same look and feel. Today, the line between custom and modular/popup has gotten thinner. Even the phrase “custom modular” has gained acceptance, and for good reason. A well-designed modular display can have a very custom look to it. Still, there are advantages to having a custom-built display. You may be motivated to go that direction for any number of reasons. A custom display can really stand out from the crowd, with a distinct look and feel created to accentuate your company’s brand and positioning in the marketplace. A custom-designed display can create a competitive marketing advantage that clearly differentiates you from your competitors. The bottom line is, a custom display is truly different from everybody else’s. On the flip side, there are many reasons besides cost for going the modular route, too. You may want a modular exhibit that offers you flexibility, and can be used in various size spaces. For some shows you may want to go the inline route, and for others you may want a peninsular or island space. You may want to have a



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presence at multiple shows at one time. You may want the ability to put up and tear down your own booth without hiring outside labor (in Right-to-Work states, of course). Whether you go the custom or modular/popup route, you can certainly find a display that fits your corporate objectives and budget! Types of Exhibit Designers/Producers As we discussed, there are many different types of companies who can help you design and build your exhibit. The Exhibit Designer & Producers Association (http://www.edpa.com) lists seven on their website: Total Trade Show Marketing Firm These firms offer their clients everything from exhibit design to post-show evaluation. They feature total production facilities, including graphics refurbishing and storage. They will coordinate show services such as shipping, drayage and set-up. They also have a staff to assist their clients with marketing services, such as staff training, lead management, literature fulfillment, public relations support and various other services. Full-Service Designer/Producer These firms offer all the services mentioned above, except marketing services. They feature total production and graphic facilities and can coordinate show services. Exhibit Builder An exhibit builder generally doesn’t get involved beyond the design and construction of the exhibit. All other services may be coordinated by the client or subcontracted. Systems Marketer These companies sell, rent and market pre-manufactured modular and portable system lines. Some have the capabilities to generate graphics. Some systems marketers also offer marketing programs to assist their clients, similar to total trade show marketing firms. Independent Design Firm This group, which includes exhibit designers, graphic designers, industrial designers and architects, create the exhibit concept and design. Production is



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usually subcontracted to an exhibit builder. Some independent designers take the client through the design stage and serve as a consultant to the builder. Others follow the project only though the design stage. Some independent designers also coordinate show services and assist with marketing programs. Marketing Communications Agency These agencies develop a marketing plan for their clients, which may include a trade show marketing program. They may help them select shows and develop an overall theme for the exhibit. They generally do not get directly involved with the design or production of the exhibit , but often will refer you to those sources. Advertising Agency Some advertising agencies create marketing campaigns for their clients, which sometimes include exhibits. Exhibit design is not typically an in-house capability of advertising agencies. Agencies usually bring a designer/producer in as a part of their team to design and implement the program. (Source: “Selecting Your Exhibit Designer/Producer,” Exhibit Designer & Producers Association) Selecting an Exhibit Designer/Producer So how exactly do you go about finding the right exhibit designer/producer for your company? There are several ways to do this: The Yellow Pages Look under Designers and Producers, and depending on the size of your city, you’ll find all the local companies. In Seattle alone, there are 76 listed! It might initially appear overwhelming, but those include everybody - the custom houses, as well as the modular and portable display distributors. The Internet Go to a search engine, like Google (http:///www.google.com) or Metor (http://www.metor.com) and do a search. Make sure you also include the geographical area you’re in, otherwise you’ll get thousands of results! Ask your peers Call people you know who also exhibit at shows and ask them for references. Be sure to also ask them about how their references have been to work with!



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Walk trade shows As you walk shows you are already exhibiting in or attending, be sure to keep your eyes open for displays you really like. Make sure they would also be appropriate for your company. Then walk in and ask who their designer/producer is. What should you ask in the search process? First, you’re better off keeping your search down to a manageable number of potential suppliers. We don’t recommend asking more than three to five companies to submit proposals, otherwise it gets too ponderous for you to handle. When you initially contact some possible partners (and they WILL be your partner), it’s important for you to provide them with enough information to effectively respond to your request:

• Give them a background of your company – history, positioning statement, brand, industry, etc.

• Provide any marketing materials you have for your company and products. • Describe the products that you would like to display. • Provide a brief overview of the show or shows you plan to exhibit in. • List the objectives for these shows. • List the requirements you have for the exhibit: custom or modular or

portable, size, labor considerations, audio/visual ideas. • Describe your Design Team’s thoughts on the look-and-feel for the exhibit:

a rich, corporate look, a high-tech look, a whimsical, fun look? • Offer an idea of what the budget will be. (Yes, you should do this! It saves a

lot of time for both you and the designers.) • Timelines and expectations. When do you expect to have this done? How

will you plan to make the decision? Do you expect a three-dimensional model or will a computer-generated rendering work?

When you’re creating an initial list of potential suppliers, be sure to keep these questions in mind:

• Where are they located? Are they going to be convenient to work with? Will you need to go to their site very often or have them visit you?

• Do they have an understanding of your industry, its current economic situation, future potential, etc.?



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• Are they working with any of your competitors? • How do they work with an account? Will the salesperson also be the account

executive during and after the exhibit design process, or will they hand you off to someone else?

• How long have they been in business? • Can you get a list of current clients and phone numbers to call?

The process of choosing an exhibit designer/producer can be daunting. Too often companies don’t go through a thorough planning process before selecting their supplier, and the results can be disastrous. Yes, it takes time to go through all this, but the final outcome can be a lot less stressful and a lot more successful!



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Chapter 4

Visual: What They See is What You Get As we discussed in the first chapter, the first and foremost purpose of your exhibit is to get the exact right, targeted attendee to STOP in your booth. You don’t want everybody to stop. You want to the right people to stop. Getting people to stop is easy. Just stand in your booth and hand out twenty dollar bills. You do that, and every single person who walks through the front door of the convention center will find your booth. But, so what? Who cares if your booth is crowded with attendees? If the 16% Rule holds, then all you’ve done is create a very difficult situation for your staffers. Imaginee the example we’ve been using. Instead of 1920 targets, you attract 12,000! What are you going to do with them? Have quality encounters? Capture all those for your database and follow-up afterwards? Not on your life! In order to have quality encounters, you now need a staff of 125 with a 7500 square foot booth. Not many companies are big enough to have a booth and a staff that large. Even fewer have the capability of following up with that many names afterwards. And, let’s make sure we get the term “prospect” correct. Unless you have taken an attendee through a series of qualifying questions, they are a suspect, just a name. They are not a prospect. So, if the first and foremost objective of your exhibit is to get attendees to stop, there’s something that has to happen just before that. Before an attendee decides to stop in your exhibit, they’ve got to SEE your exhibit. The problem is with a lot of major shows is that there’s sensory overload. The average trade show has over 400 exhibiting companies, all visually and audibly shouting to get your attention. Imagine yourself as an attendee walking down an aisle. You’re walking at an even pace, looking side-to-side. This means two things. First, by having to look from side-to-side, you may miss some exhibitors when you’re gazing to one side. It also means it takes roughly 3-5 seconds to walk past a 10x10 display. In order to get an attendee to stop, your exhibit must first break out of the visual clutter and get them LOOK at you. We have two terms for this. Robert calls it being a “Visual Speedbump.” Steve calls it a “Visual Trainwreck.” Whatever you call it, you get the idea. You have to almost jolt the attendee out of the hypnotic



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“pace-and-gaze” they fall into after walking through a few aisles of similar-looking exhibits. Then, once you get their attention, you help that attendee decide whether they should stop in your booth. There are Five components to becoming a Visual Trainwreck:

• Color • Lighting • Motion • Sound • Smell

Color We both laugh about an apparent trend in trade show exhibits toward the “corporate” look. What does this mean? Somehow, many years ago, somebody decided that IBM’s “Big Blue” was THE corporate look. If you were going to be taken seriously by customers and competitors at a trade show, then you had to have that same rich blue color in your exhibit materials and fabrics. Besides, you can’t go wrong by picking the same colors as everybody else, right? It’s safe. So over the years, we’ve seen a lot of “Big Blue” wannabes at shows around the globe. In reality, all this does is make everybody look alike. That’s exactly the opposite of what you want! Every day you and your company work hard to SEPARATE your company and products from the competition. You beat your brains out to show that you’re superior and different in some form, right? So then why go to a trade show, where thousands of current and potential customers are wandering through the hall, and blend in with everybody else? It doesn’t make sense. When designing your exhibit, color can be one of the most powerful tools for standing out from the crowd. It can also be an important asset in reflecting the message you want to convey. The color of your exhibit is the first thing people see, so it’s an important part of getting their attention and setting a first impression. When thinking about the color, keep these facts in kind:



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Warm colors speed up our perception of time and produce feelings that are warm, cozy, and inviting. These colors are associated with happiness and comfort. They have the ability to bring text and images to the foreground. Pros: They are pleasantly inviting and inherently harmonious. Cons: They may be dull if there are no eye-catching color combinations. Warm Color Meanings: The color red is extremely dominating. Always use this color sparingly. It attracts the eye, but can also be too overpowering. Orange is the warmest, most stable and reassuring of the earth tones. As an accent, it’s great – think “Golden Arches.” Used too much and it can be seen as “cheap.” Pure yellow produces sensations of brightness and warmth. It is a spiritual color that is the symbol of radiant goodness. Dingy yellow represents jealousy and duplicity. Brown is not a neutral color and can be seen as informal. It stands for strength, solidity, and maturity. Cool Colors slow down our perception of time. They appear slick and professional in presentations but may turn people off because of their coolness. These colors recede into the distance. They are more suitable for backgrounds. The color blue, especially retreats. Pros: The compositions that use cool colors seem professional. Cons: The coldness often turns people off, and without variety, the presentation seems dull. Cool Color Meanings: Blue stands for heaven, divinity, divine love. It is the symbol of wisdom and the color of hope and generosity. Blue is calming. Do you want a calm audience? Green is life and is indicative of nature, youth, vigor, hope, cheerfulness, money, and abundance.



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White is the purest of all colors and a symbol of purity and honesty. Black is two-headed. It can signify power, death, or criminal activities but when tempered with white signifies prudence and humility. Lighting Exhibit halls tend to have harsh overhead lighting, turned WAYYYYY up high. As a result, exhibits without any lighting of their own can wash out. When trying to attract attendees’ attention, think about lighting as a way to achieve that. It’s a form of stage lighting, much like in a live theater or even TV production. Lighting can accent specific areas of the stage, or the whole stage itself. Think about lighting your booth like a stage production. Have you ever been in the audience of a live TV show? You sit behind the cameras, in the dark, and then WHAM! The stage lights come on and it’s like the sun hits the actors. It’s very bright, and very powerful. We’ve seen exhibits at trade shows do much the same thing. Companies will set up light poles around the perimeter of the exhibit and blast the light throughout the booth. This creates a very eye-catching, visual speedbump. Attendees can’t help but see the booth, when every other exhibitor around them is depending on hall lighting. You can also use lighting strategically to spotlight individual products or sections of the exhibit. These bright sections can also do a great job of attracting attention. Flashing lights, used like a movie marquee, can surround a graphic or message that you want people to look at first. Motion A little utilized, but highly effective method for attracting attention is to use some type of motion in your display. Most exhibits are static, and the attendee’s eye becomes accustomed to this. Any motion that breaks the regular visual pattern down the aisle will make the attendee look that direction.



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We’ve seen innovative exhibitors use several methods of catching attendee’s eyeballs:

• A swinging pendulum in a giant grandfather clock. • A moving conveyor belt stacked with bright yellow stuffed animals. • A video monitor or video wall showing the latest hot action movie and its

most popular scene. • Colorful streamers wildly flapping in the breeze of a fan from below. • Spinning wheels of chance.

Sound A frequently used, and often abused way of getting the attention of an attendee is through sound. Exhibitors have music playing, recordings of presentations, or even live entertainers. To be sure, sound is one of the easiest methods for attracting attention. Loud noises or blasting music will get anybody’s head to turn, but you may be getting more than you bargained for. The problem with sound is that it doesn’t just stay in your booth. It travels out and up and all over the place. Exhibitors on either side, across the aisle, and even behind your booth can be distracted and annoyed by loud sounds from a neighbor’s exhibit. At one major show, an exhibitor set up a stage in their 50x40 peninsula booth, and every 30 minutes featured a singing and dancing quartet doing Temptations impersonations. The stage took up the back half of the booth, so the music wasn’t a problem for the exhibitors across the aisle. It was a big problem for the exhibitor sharing the backwall, though. They had a terrible time having any type of a conversation during the performances. It became a huge battle with show management. At another show, there’s a long-time exhibitor who sells books. He insists on blowing an old animal-antler horn to get attention. It drives his surrounding neighbors and show management crazy. Throughout the hall, you hear this loud, bleating blast. Over the years, show management has penalized him in location, moving him farther to the perimeter. His next move will be out of the show completely.



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Most exhibitions have rules and regulations regarding sound. It falls under what’s known in the industry as the “Good Neighbor Rule.” If the sound emitting from your booth is distracting for your neighbors, or makes is difficult for them to have normal conversations, they can and should report violators to show management. There’s no reason for any exhibitor to feel they have a right to annoy or harm any other exhibitor or attendee. Sound can be used correctly, but the bottom line is it’s difficult to use without causing problems. Smell Have you ever walked by a bakery and smelled the fresh baked cookies or pies? It attracts you, doesn’t it? That’s why you often see exhibitors with popcorn machines in their exhibits. The smell of fresh-popped popcorn down the aisle can draw a lot of attention. The problem with popcorn in a booth is it’s stale. Not the popcorn. The idea. It’s old. It’s used by a lot of exhibitors, so it’s not unique. It rarely has anything to do with the objective for the exhibitor. And worst of all, it attracts everybody. But smell can be a great way to attract attention. At one show for meeting planners, we saw, or rather smelled, fresh oranges. Following the delightful aroma we arrived at an exhibit for Orlando, Florida. Makes sense, doesn’t it? In the end, remember the idea of the Visual Trainwreck is to get the attendee’s attention first. Once you get them looking at your exhibit, then you can help them decide whether they should stop and talk with you. But, keep in mind the mantra “Everything walks the talk.” Everything in your booth, including any and all visual attraction tricks, must support the purpose and objectives of the show for your company. At the International Housewares Show, Steve saw one exhibit filled with fine dinnerware. All the products were tastefully and elegantly displayed in beautiful glass cases, giving the impression they were expensive. Yet right in the front of the exhibit was a Las Vegas-style spin-the-wheel game being run by a hired temp dressed in a candy cane striped shirt and fake handle bar mustache. The wheel was



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a visual speedbump, for certain. It spun rapidly. It made the loud, clacking noise as it spun. And lights flashed until the wheel stopped. It caught everybody’s attention all right, but what the heck did it have to did with the rest of the exhibit?



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Chapter 5

Message Let’s go back to a very simple question: Why should a qualified attendee stop to talk with your company? In his consultations with corporations, Steve always asks that question and rarely gets a quick answer. Too often, exhibitors have relied upon “get the traffic in the booth” types of approaches, rather than, “get the right traffic” approach. As a result, it’s not unusual for a company to be unclear about why somebody should stop. In research studies done by Steve’s company, The Adventure LLC, we’ve learned what goes through the mind of an attendee as he or she is walking through the show. An attendee looks at a specific exhibitor once they’ve grabbed his or her attention, and asks these questions:

• Who are you? • What do you do? • Why should I stop?

Believe it or not, the vast majority of exhibitors do not answer all these questions. This is exacerbated by the time frame the questions are being asked in. You need to answer these questions to the attendee’s satisfaction in roughly only 3-5 seconds! Who are you? Okay, this should be a no-brainer. The surprising fact is that there are a number of exhibitors who simply don’t make it easy to find their company name. Most of the egregious examples are smaller exhibitors who don’t have their own signage, didn’t bring it, forgot it, or are too cheap to actually hire a sign making company to make it. What do you do? Again, this should be a no-brainer. Astoundingly, there are a LOT of exhibitors who don’t answer this question. Remember in Chapter One, when we talked about



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how YOU “get it?” Well, guess what? Not everybody else is going to “get it” at first glance. You MUST tell the attendees what you do. Believe it or not, this is one of the biggest complaints we hear from attendees in all industries. They share stories with us time after time about standing in front of an exhibit for several minutes, just staring, and wondering, “what the heck does that company DO?” So, what do you do? Can you say it in one sentence? Then be sure to do that in your booth signage. Why should I stop? Ah, here’s where the rubber meets the road. What compelling reason do you have that absolutely makes a qualified attendee want to give you a valuable chunk of his or her time? It’s in this short message that you really need to help separate the non-qualifieds from the qualifieds. The important thing to remember is this: the attendee is asking the question, “why should I stop?” But, what they’re really asking is, “what’s in it for me?” This is the big question all buyers have. One classic error is to state some type of generic pablum, like: “Best quality.” Or “Best Service.” Or “Best Prices.” Ho hum. Gee, do you think anybody else might think they could say that? A second classic error when creating this signage is to list the top features for your products or services. But, features are never a reason to stop. It’s the benefit that your customer will get from the feature that will make him or her stop.. Benefits are what’s in it for the customer. Benefits are what your customer is going to get as a result of using your product or service. We should point out that you can’t simply list a big series of bullet points why people should stop. You only have a few short seconds, so you’d better hit them with your best shot, in the fewest words possible.



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A good question to ask is, why do your customers do business with you? Oh, we all think we know why people do business with us, but the bottom line is: customers do business with us for their reasons, not ours. Our recommendation is that you pick up the phone, call a dozen of your best customers, and ask them why they do business with you. At first, you’ll get all the regular platitudes. You know, the ones that have to do with good prices, good quality, and good service. Once you hear those, keep asking. Or, if they say you have good quality, ask them what they mean by that. Can they give you one or more good examples? Dig deeper to get something a lot more meaningful than the generic quality, service, and price. Steve once took his own advice and called his top clients. “Why do you do business with me?” he asked. They started giving the type of answers he would expect. But digging deeper, Steve asked about the service part and found a surprising answer. “You’re the easiest professional speaker/consultant we’ve ever worked with.” That statement, or a form of it, came from several people. When he asked what they meant, a common theme came out. These people were tired of working with prima donna speakers at their conventions, ones who needed a limo to pick them up at the airport, a suite at the hotel, and all kinds of assistance onsite at the presentation. Steve takes taxis, never asks for a suite, and takes care of room set-up. He doesn’t even ask for an introducer. It never occurred to Steve or anyone in his office that being easy to work with would be important, but to the client, it was. As a result, Steve makes sure that his prospects know how easy it will be to work with him once under contract. But being easy to work with is a feature. The result of that feature is that clients don’t have to lose sleep over spending a lot of time coddling Steve. It saves them a tremendous amount of stress, and they’re able to focus their energy on other areas where they’re needed. That result is the benefit they get from working with him. As Peter Drucker says, “People never buy a product. They only buy solutions.”



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Your objective is to determine a quick, easy to understand, short statement that will help an attendee quickly answer the question, “Should I stop?” In addition to calling your customers for help on this, you can also approach it from another way. List all the defining features associated with your product or service. Now, put yourself in the shoes of your best customer. Go through that list and transform each feature into a benefit by asking these questions about each feature:

• Why should I care about this feature? • Why did you develop and add this feature? • What makes this feature important? • How does this feature make my life or day-to-day job easier? • Does the competition have this feature? If not, why not?

Once you’ve gone through this exercise, go back to your list of features/benefits and prioritize them – again from the customer’s perspective. Now look at your competition and go through the same exercise. You’ll end up with two lists. Study the two lists and go through each of your features/benefits carefully. If you and your competition have the same feature/benefit on your lists, cross them both out. If you or your competition have a group of features that equal something on the other’s list, then cross those out, too. When you’ve completed this exercise, you should end up with one or more feature/benefits that are both important to the customer, and not on your competitor’s list. This will be the big benefit for why people should stop. Now, take that big benefit and create a strong message that can be written in one short sentence and read in a couple of seconds AND understood. That’s the message that you put in big, bold copy in your exhibit. Famous advertising slogans have done this for years. Can you tell me who these slogans are for? Answers are below.

1. When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight. 2. Delivered hot to you in 30 minutes or its free. 3. Have it your way. 4. At 60 miles per hour, the only sound you’ll hear is the clock ticking. 5. You’re in good hands with __________. 6. Reach out and touch someone.



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7. Promise her anything, but give her _________. 8. The ultimate driving machine. 9. Please don’t squeeze the ___________. 10. Does she or doesn’t she? 11. Aren’t you glad you use ___________? Don’t you wish everybody did? 12. Finger lickin’ good.

We’ve deliberately used consumer product slogans here to show the point. You can take a feature, turn it into a benefit, and then turn that into a short statement summarizing the answer to the attendee’s question: “Why should I stop?” Answers to the slogan quiz:

1. Fedex 2. Domino’s Pizza 3. Burger King 4. Rolls Royce (If you knew that one, you’re showing your age!) 5. Allstate 6. AT&T 7. Arpege (Now you’re REALLY showing your age.) 8. BMW 9. Charmin 10. Clairol 11. Dial 12. KFC



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Chapter 6

Interactivity Have you ever heard the phrase, “People don’t like to be sold, but the love to buy?” A major problem we’ve seen at trade shows in every industry is the salesperson who is so eager to “sell.” An attendee stops in the booth, shows some interest in a particular product or service, and gets a five-minute “pitch.” “Well, I’m glad you’re interested in our new five-speed oscillating frammajammet – the BS901. It’s our latest and greatest! Why, this BS901 has been put through every test imaginable, just to prove how durable it is in winds up to 140 mph! You can see how the throptomometer attaches by way of a simple Nesoporin slanklebox. I know that’s important to you… Blah, blah, blah, blah…” Can you visualize the attendee’s eyes glazing over? The salesperson hardly takes a breath, and rarely asks a question about the needs of the attendee. Do you remember attending lectures in school? Too often the teacher or professor would drone on and on about some topic required for graduation. You had to sit there and just listen. It was tough to stay awake, much less learn anything. People don’t like to be lectured to. People prefer to be involved and interact. And exhibits that provide more interaction will have a leg up on those that don’t. Interactive exhibiting can quickly attract and keep the attention of your target audience on a fast-paced show floor. You might be saying, “Hey wait a minute you guys. Interactive exhibiting? Do you mean live stage shows? Multimedia? Computer kiosks? We don’t have the kind of budget to do that.” Not everybody has the budget of a Microsoft, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still get people involved in your exhibit. The simple definition of interaction is to participate, to have a mutually reciprocal relationship. It could be a simple as the dialogue a staffer has with an attendee, all the way to a live gameshow with a full stage, or anything in between. There are many different ways to create an interactive environment:



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Hands-on demonstrations Exhibits with product demonstrations score the highest memorability ratings from show attendees, according to an annual study by Exhibit Surveys, Inc. And the fact is, you can demonstrate anything. You can demonstrate a paper plate, a dog’s leash, a nail, a referral service, … anything. The main point of demoing, though, is to allow the attendee to participate in the demo. If you’re showing how strong your paper plates are, then give the attendee a paper plate to hold and start piling food on top. A great example of getting the prospect involved is at the REI, Inc. stores. REI is an international supplier of specialty outdoor gear with retail outlets in 60 different cities. They are firm believers in providing testing facilities in their stores. They’ve got climbing mountains, off-road bicycle paths, and camp stove demo tables. Our favorite interactive demonstration is the rain suit demo. You can test how waterproof a jacket or rain suit is by stepping into a glassed-in kiosk and turning on the rain! This is a great example of getting the prospect involved. It would be easy to have a salesperson place a rain jacket in a small box, or dunk it in a tank filled with water. But by actually allowing the customer to put the suit on, step into the demo room and turn the rain on, REI gets strong involvement. The same can apply to you and your product or service. Instead of having your products statically displayed, ask yourself how you can get the attendees’ hands on it. How can you let them actually use the product themselves? Contests & Games A favorite way of attracting attendees to an exhibit is to hold a contest or a game. Exhibitors will invite attendees to sign up for a chance to win a new TV or a trip to Hawaii. They’ll invite attendees to come in and “Putt for a Prize!” or shoot basketball hoops, or play simulated “Closest to the Hole” golf games. Contests and games are all well and good, but only if they reinforce and support the overall objective you have for your company. Too many exhibitors fall into the big trap of using these as “traffic builders,” rather than “qualified traffic builders.”



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If you’re going to have a contest, make sure you incorporate two important pieces. The first is to make an attendee go through the qualifying process before he or she can participate in the game. The second is to involve the product as part of the game. Two good examples involved Pepsi-Cola and DriPride Corporation. Do you remember the “AHA Girls” that Pepsi-Cola used in TV commercials with Ray Charles? Pepsi decided to have them at the Supermarket Industry Convention during the height of their popularity. When using celebrities at trade shows, most exhibitors simply set up a desk for the celebrity to stand and sign autographs, or have their photo taken with attendees. They’ll put the celebrity in a high traffic area and invite anybody and everybody to stop by. And, by attracting everybody, it often creates a huge traffic jam. This doesn’t exactly help the exhibitor or attendee get the most out of their interaction. Pepsi decided to make it a little tougher to get a picture taken with the AHA Girls, and at the same time, get the attendees involved. They set up a winding path through the exhibit, and there were three different stations the attendee had to go through before getting to the AHA Girls. At one station, the attendee was invited to do a taste test. At another station, they participated in a very brief survey. The last station gave them a quick, sit-down, live presentation of the upcoming Pepsi-Cola TV campaign, complete with computer keypads for providing feedback and opinions on the campaign. After the attendee went through all this, he or she was escorted to the stage with the AHA Girls for a photo. DriPride manufactured adult diapers. They were exhibiting at the American Health Care Association annual convention, and wanted to show the managers of health care facilities how absorbent their diapers were. They created a special contest at the show where attendees were invited to test the absorbency of the diaper. Small, samples of the DriPride product were produced and put in a large plastic container. Attendees were invited to pick a sample out of the container, and drop it in a large water-filled bowl. If the sample turned blue, they won a portable color TV on the spot. Before they could participate, the attendee had to fill out a short qualifying questionnaire. Nobody was turned away from participating at either the Pepsi-Cola or the DriPride exhibits. But by simply creating a more interactive environment, including the qualifying questionnaires, attendees who weren’t qualified tended not to join in.



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Surveys This is a great way to kill two birds with one stone. You can invite attendees to test-drive your product in some way, and then ask them to evaluate their experience via a survey. We wouldn’t suggest that you hand the attendee a detailed survey and expect him or her to spend valuable time filling it out. First, make the survey very short, less than ten questions. Make the questions multiple-choice, not all open-ended. People don’t want to be forced to do a lot of writing. You could arrange with a survey company to have temps doing the surveys, or even spend the big bucks on having electronic PDA’s for attendees to use. We don’t believe in spending a lot of money, but if you do want to electronically capture the survey, here’s a suggestion. Get an Internet line into your exhibit and set up a laptop display. Then, subscribe to one of the several online survey companies and let people fill one of those out in your booth. We use the following survey websites:

Zoomerang http://www.zoomerang.com OpinionLab http://www.opinionlab.com Perennial Surveys http://www.perennialsurvey.com Survey Monkey http://www.surveymonkey.com

Computer self-demos You don’t have to create expensive computer kiosks to have a self-running computer demo station. With today’s technology and software, you can easily develop your own interactive presentation.



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You can create a presentation of your product or service using Microsoft PowerPoint or Adobe Acrobat. In both cases, you can develop a page-by page presentation that attendees can click through on their own. PowerPoint can also create a self-running presentation that loops back to the beginning when it finishes. Comparison opportunities How does your product stack up to the competition? If you can clearly show the superiority of your product over the competition, why not do it in a hands-on demonstration at the show? Admittedly, this is a very aggressive tactic, especially if your competitor is also there. But if you can put your product into the hands of an attendee, and clearly demonstrate superiority, it can be a very powerful argument. Live presenters Last summer, Steve was walking through the Washington State Fair with his family, and saw one of those in-booth demonstrators selling a kitchen doohicky. This doohicky chopped lettuce, tomatoes, celery, steak, chicken, small rodents, and ten-penny nails! Well, maybe not ten-penny nails, but it seemed to chop everything else. And this guy was selling a lot of doohickys. Steve walked by this particular exhibit several times during the day, and noticed it was crowded with an audience all the time. Curious, Steve stood off to the side and watched this guy go through his entire presentation. After one presentation ended and the guy had pocketed his sales, people moved away from the booth. The guy stood there for a couple of minutes, then reached under his counter and pulled out a bright orange piece of cloth about the size of a hand towel. He watched a couple as they came walking down the aisle. The guy lifted the orange cloth above his head and dropped it in front of the couple. The bright orange color caught the eye of the couple. “Excuse me,” he said to the man. “Would you mind handing that to me?’ Of course, the man picked it up and handed it over. “Can I ask you to help me do something? I need to start a new demonstration, but I don’t want to start with nobody standing here. Would you mind just standing here while I start, and I’ll present to you? That way, people will hear me and see you, and feel okay about stopping.”



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The couple agreed and he launched into his pitch. Sure enough, within a few minutes he had a good crowd. As he demonstrated his product, he brought his “accomplice” up to participate in the presentation. He made the guy a star as he showed how easy it was to use. Live presenters don’t have to be as slick as our State Fair example. But they also shouldn’t be totally dry and one-directional. Make sure they talk with the audience, involving attendees whenever possible. Whether it’s through having the attendee actually get hands-on, or by asking the audience for questions, just get them involved. In-Booth Hospitality At European trade fairs, it’s very common for the exhibitor to provide food and drink in their exhibit during the event. And when we say “drink,” we mean “drink.” Exhibitors often have full bars with elaborate cafes and plenty of food. But, unlike the “dueling hors d’oeuvres” of typical American hospitality suites, these have three very big distinctions: They are in the stand (at European trade fairs, exhibits are called “stands,” not booths). And instead of waiting to hold a party in a hotel suite, they have the refreshments in the stand. This is not designed as a party atmosphere, either. It has serious purpose. It’s designed for multiple, longer visits. By creating a convivial atmosphere, the exhibitor in Europe hopes to get attendees to visit more than once during the fair. They can come back every day to get a bite to eat, have a drink, and rest their feet. They’ll often spend much more time with the exhibitor here, too, with 1-2 hour meetings not being unusual. This also keeps the attendee out of the competitor’s stand! This helps get business done. As we said, there is a serious purpose here. By getting important buyers to stop more often and for longer periods of time, the exhibitor is able to move the relationship-building process much farther down the road. Unlike American trade shows, where a fifteen-minute encounter is considered L-O-N-G, European exhibitors and attendees recognize the value in such a way of doing business.



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F2F While this is by no means a complete list of all the possible interactivities you can have in your booth, we can’t go without mentioning the simplest and most common – the face-to-face encounter. Though we started this chapter by describing the too-often observed exhibit staffer doing all the talking and very little listening, this can also be interactivity at its best. By effectively training your exhibit staffers in how to best approach and interact with an attendee, you will have the best results. You can read more thoroughly about the role of staffers, and how to help them be more effective, in Chapter 9.



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Chapter 7

Size: It Does Matter We talked briefly about exhibit size in Chapter Two, but let’s talk more about its role in your exhibiting success. Let’s be totally honest right out of the box. Of course, the size of your exhibit will impact whether people see it, stop in, and remember it! It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that a 10,000 square foot mega-booth will get a lot more attention than a little 100 square-footer. Most of us don’t have the budgets of those huge corporations who can throw several hundreds of thousands of dollars into exhibit design and construction. At the same time, many of these huge exhibits aren’t designed with specific objectives in mind. It’s not unusual for major competitors to get into a big p------- contest where ego has more to say about the size of their exhibits than any good business reasons. We know of one major multinational company who has a simple command for one major event –“ our booth will be at least one square foot bigger than our #1 competitor!” Most companies select their booth space without a lot of thinking about what size they should have. All that said, just how big a booth space should you get? There are several factors to take into consideration: How much space do you need for product displays? It’s a different situation when you’re selling small items, like advertising specialties, versus large capital goods, like packaging machinery. First, you need to ask which products you absolutely must have on display. Don’t think you have to show everything in your line! Remember that people never do business with products; they do business with people. The ultimate objective of your participation is to begin or extend a long-term relationship. We often see corporations jam their exhibits with as much product as possible, when all that does is create an impression of clutter and low-class merchandise. Why do exhibitors at boat and RV shows feel compelled to totally fill their exhibits with huge boats and RV’s? The main reason people buy one of these is because they have confidence in the manufacturer and dealer. If we were exhibiting in one of these shows, we’d do just the opposite of everybody else. We’d have one boat or



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RV in the middle of the exhibit, and use the rest for creating an impression of “you can trust us.” As you figure out which products you need to bring, calculate how much space they’ll take up in the exhibit. Be sure to include any safety spaces you might be required by show rules to have. Next, add in the amount of space you’ll want, if any, for meetings, kiosks, and storage areas. How much space will your exhibit display take? There’s no hard and fast rule for how much space this should be. This is entirely up to you. Keep in mind, though, that you’ve paid for each square foot of space. If your exhibit takes up 200 square feet, then it better be worth it! Finally, add in the amount of space you’ll need for the staffers to work. Remember to allow for 40-50 net square feet of space for each staffer. This allows space for the staffer and one attendee to work together comfortably. Don’t try to cut space below the minimum of 40 net square feet, or people will be far too crowded to converse effectively. So, let’s look at an example: Let’s say you’ve got machinery that requires an 8x5 footprint in your exhibit. That’s 40 square feet. You also want to have a small meeting area with a table that will seat six people. Including the space for chairs, that might be 10x10, or 100 square feet. And, you’d like to have a 4x4 storage space equaling 16 square feet. Totaling this gives us 156 square feet for everything except your staffers and exhibit space. For example’s sake, we’ll use the 200 square feet as exhibit space. That gives us a total of 356 square feet. Now, how many staffers should you have? This can be approached a couple of different ways. One way is to use the industry norm, which says that staffers take about 30% of an exhibit’s space. Using that formula, where the 356 equals 70% of your space, you would have a 508 square foot booth. We’ll round that down to 500 square feet, allowing 144 square feet for staffers. At 40,square feet per staffer, you could then have 3.6 staffers. Because it’s closer to four then three, I’ll allow you to round up and have four staffers working at any one time. You could also have three working most of the show, then add one during busy times.



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A second approach is to simply decide how many staffers you want to have working. Maybe you’d like to have five staffers at all times. At the bare minimum of 40square feet per staffer,, you’d need 200 square feet dedicated to staffers. Added to 356, that would give you 556 total square feet. Since you can’t buy odd size spaces, you’d have to move up to 600 square feet. But this would allow plenty of space for the five staffers, plus one or two more during peak periods. Still another approach is to calculate the size of your booth by the potential audience attending the show. To do this, you’ll need to determine two numbers. The first is the percentage of people attending who visit at least two out of ten exhibits of interest to them. This is called the Audience Interest Factor (AIF). You should be able to get this number from show management. If you can’t, you can use the industry average of 52%. This is based on the net buyers attending the show, not total attendance. For example, if you’re exhibiting at a show with 22,000 professional buyers, you’d have an AIF of 11,440. The second number you need is the percentage of interested buyers who actually might have an interest in your product line. Again, see if the show has these numbers, but if they don’t, you can use the industry average of 16%. Multiply 11,440 by 16% and you get a potential audience of 1830. How many staffers would you need to uncover those 1830 buyers? Even if you have an outstanding preshow communications program, your staffers are still going to talk to a lot of unqualified attendees in order to uncover the 1830 you’re looking for. Maybe your staffers can identify three of these top qualifieds every hour on average. If the show has a total of 30 hours, you would divide 1830 by 3 and then by 30. The answer would be 20 staffers in the booth. At 40 square feet per staffer, plus the 356 for products, meeting space, etc., you’d end up with an 1156 square foot booth. Round up or down to the nearest 100. So basically what we’re saying in this example is that your range would from a minimum of a 500 square foot exhibit with four staffers, up to a 1200 square footer with 20 staffers. It’s your call, and your checkbook.



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Chapter 8

Promotions (Note: this chapter is excerpted from Steve’s book, Over 66 Tips and Tricks to Supercharge Your Trade Show Promotions.) Do you already use promotions? Odds are, you do. Do you send out a post card, or a personal letter inviting prospects and customers to see your company? Have you ever given away some type of gimmick (keychains, pens, nerf balls, etc.)? Have you ever had a magician or celebrity in your booth? These are all different types of promotions, and all can be great marketing tools. The purpose of doing all this is to attract a specific target market to your booth during the show. That’s why we’re briefly talking about both preshow and during-the-show promotions. Unfortunately, the majority of promotions used by exhibitors are both a waste of time and money. Let’s look at some reasons why corporations fail to use promotions effectively and profitably: • Can your promotion stand on trial for its life? Whenever we’re involved with a client in creating a new trade show plan, promotions are inevitably included. The problem arises when a promotional tool is thrown in that has no connection with the ultimate objective. Remember, you’re at a trade show to achieve objectives that will ultimately impact your corporate goals. Everything in your booth must clearly tie in to that objective. If it doesn’t, throw it out. • Spending the budget because it’s there. We’ve watched a lot of corporations spend money on promotions simply because it was included in the budget. Bad idea. If your goal for a show is to generate 100 highly qualified leads and you can do that by offering a $10 Swiss Army knife, then you don’t need to give out $75 binoculars. • Focusing on the many, rather than the few. As we’ve already indicated more than once, we’re not fans of traffic. We aren’t interested in a crowded booth. We don’t want everybody in our booth ...we want the right people in our booth. We want people who are highly qualified, based on



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specific criteria, and who are very likely to become customers within a projected time frame. That said, we will pull out all the stops to get those right people in our booth. If we know there are 50 Super Qualified Prospects attending an upcoming show, then why on earth would we create a promotion for the 10,000 attendees? We wouldn’t. We’d create a killer promotion for the 50. • Confusing busyness with effectiveness. We still laugh about the exhibit staffer who exclaimed at one of Steve’s training seminars, “Hey, We passed out 5000 brochures. We must have had a good show!” And we cringed when a major beverage company told us they measured success by counting the number of cups used to give out samples. While funny, this type of attitude is all too common at trade shows. The fact is, most corporations don’t know how to measure their success, and most exhibit staffers have never been trained on what to do at a show that will have any type of real impact on the company! Don’t fall into this trap! Don’t do stuff just to keep yourself and your staffers busy. Make sure that all efforts are directed towards effective and measurable objectives that have real impact on your company’s big goals. • Me-too, Me-too. A lot of times, an exhibitor gets a promotional idea from copying what someone else is doing. This is a big problem. Think about it for a moment. You watch another exhibitor. You decide they know what they’re doing because you see a ton of traffic in their booth. You ask yourself the question, “What are they doing to attract all that traffic?” Aha! The answer is “... they have a popcorn machine! That’s what we’re going to do next year!” What’s wrong with this picture? As a result, everybody at the show starts to look alike and act alike. That’s not standing out from the crowd. That’s blending in! And, it’s blending in with a promotional idea that probably does NOT have anything to do with attracting your targeted prospects, or the unique goals and objectives of your company. Remember, a promotion should support what makes you different from everybody else, not the same!



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• Same-old, same-old. Basically, this is the sin of never changing. You’ve had that same booth for five years now. Hey, you can squeeze one more year out of it! And you’ve been doing postcard mailings for thirteen years now. It’s a tradition! Yeah, well, guess what? Everybody knows that’s an old booth and an old tradition. You know it. Your competition knows it. Your customers know it. And anybody who has been to the last two or three shows knows it. If there’s one sin in marketing that will just kill any real results you may be looking for, it’s being boring. And using that same old exhibit and promotion year after year is boring. • Bulk mailed with labels. Think about this one real hard and fill in the blank. You go out to the mailbox. You pull out the pile of stuff, which is mostly _________ mail. Yes! You got it right - the correct word is “junk,” as in junk mail. And what do you do with junk mail? Do you:

a) Throw all that crap out without so much as opening it? b) Scan the envelopes, picking out those that seem to be a little bit interesting? or c) Sit down and carefully open and read every word of every one of those really exciting offers!

Okay, We’re being smart guys. But the fact is that very few of us really enjoy getting a load of junk mail, and even fewer of us actually read that stuff. Now what tells us, just by looking at it, that this piece of mail fits the category of “junk?” Basically, there are two criteria and sometimes three.



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1. Your name and address are on a computer-generated label stuck on the outside of the envelope. 2. There is some type of bulk mail stamp or imprint And sometimes: 3. There is a message printed on the outside in large letter saying something like, “OPEN IMMEDIATELY. IMPORTANT MESSAGE INSIDE.” Ummmmm. Let us ask you this: if YOU are bugged by those types of mailings and YOU don’t open them or read them, then why do you think trade show attendees who have no relationship with you would open one? At the Show Advertising specialties are the little giveaway items you see at every trade show, for which there are literally thousands of possible ideas. They can be one of the most powerful methods for creating brand awareness and name retention. At the same time, they are probably one of the most misunderstood and misused marketing tools available. The Advertising Specialty Institute was founded to help bring some semblance of order to a very confusing industry. An item must meet three qualifications with regard to function, printed message, and price before it is defined as an advertising specialty Function Those plastic bags given out by the millions at trade shows are a good example of an advertising specialty product. Their function is to hold things. They hold flyers, brochures, and other small giveaways. The problem with these bags is that they don't have a long life span. As soon as the stuff inside the bag is sorted through, the bag is tossed out. These have become increasingly popular in recent years, which means there are probably several exhibitors at your show already doing this. Don't copy, innovate. We don't recommend plastic bags. Imprinted with a Logo or Message Every advertising specialty product will have a corporate logo or advertising message imprinted somewhere on its surface. Ways to imprint include silk screening, engraving, hot stamping, and printing.



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Reasonable Cost An advertising specialty product is usually fairly inexpensive. It's not unusual for one to cost just a few pennies. If you are planning to give every attendee walking by your booth a gift and there are 65,000 attendees, you don't want to spend very much. If, however, you're planning to give a nice gift to your top 100 customers at the show, you might want to spend a little more. Reasons for Using a Giveaway You might ask why you should use a giveaway. Although we are not necessarily endorsing the use of advertising specialty products, we do feel there is a place for them in a marketing mix. And, quite possibly, the trade show is a good place for them. If you elect to use giveaways, select something that will stand out in the crowd, something that will help your prospect think of you. Literature This is a big, fat sacred cow in the trade show world, so we’re going to spend a little ink discussing this. Our advice on literature at trade shows is pretty simple.

DON’T TAKE ANY! DON’T TAKE ANY! DON’T TAKE ANY! NADA! ZIP! ZERO!

Let’s start with this. When an attendee takes your literature, where is the FIRST place they put it? (No, it’s not the wastebasket. That’s the SECOND place they put it.) Right away, they put your expensive brochure into their bag. What else is in that bag? That’s right. Everybody else’s literature!! Is that blending in with the crowd or standing out from the crowd? Duh! Next question. Who taught you to give out lots of literature? Ah yes, it was that guy across the aisle at your very first show!



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Let’s face it. It really isn’t that important to arbitrarily pass out brochures and catalogs at your shows. Rules for Effective Promotions • First, FOCUS all promotion efforts on your target market and your show objectives. Don’t fall into the trap of just getting a full list of registrants and sending blanket invitations. And don’t do something at the show that will attract everybody. You don’t want everybody in your booth; you want the right people in your booth. • Be CREATIVE. You can be innovative without spending a lot of money. Look for ways to make it fun, different, and exciting. • Try very hard to PERSONALIZE mailings. Avoid using mailing labels and bulk mail stamps. Even if you get labels from the show management, take the time to retype the names on the envelopes. It makes a huge difference in whether or not your target even opens and reads it. • It’s always better to plan for FREQUENT preshow contacts, rather than depend on a one-shot promotion. If a prospect receives a personal letter, a fax, and a postcard over a period of 3 or 4 weeks before the show, they’re much more likely to remember you and stop by. • Give them a compelling REASON to visit you. Do you have a show special they can take advantage of? Do you have a new product line or service? Make sure you say that in your promotions. The top complaint from attendees regarding promotions is the fact very few actually give a good reason to visit. • And make darn sure you send any preshow promotions out EARLY enough. It is truly distressing to hear over and over again from attendees about this. It’s far too common for an attendee to return from a trade show and find several invitations waiting in the pile of mail that arrived while they were AT THE SHOW! Send everything to ARRIVE at least ten days in advance. What a waste of promotional dollars when a preshow communication doesn’t get there before the show.



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Chapter 9

Staffers (Note: parts of this chapter are excerpted from Steve’s book, Over 88 Tips and Ideas to Supercharge Your Exhibit Sales.) Let’s be perfectly clear about one thing. Of all the factors involved in your company’s success at a trade show, the staffers working the booth are far and away the most important. You can have the greatest product, the best booth, the most effective preshow campaign, and a solid post-show plan; but if your staffers aren’t ready and willing to aggressively work the show and go after the objectives, then it’s all for naught. Yet, the sad reality is that most exhibit staffers don’t do a good job at shows. There are three primary reasons for this: 1. They're imitating the wrong behavior! Odds are you have worked trade shows before. Do you remember the very first show you ever worked? Think back to that time and ask yourself a simple question: who taught you how to work that first show? The answer is, most likely - no one. Well, the same can be said for your exhibit staffers. No one taught them how to prepare for that totally foreign environment. Nobody explained to them the major differences between working out in the field and working an exposition. Think about some of those differences now:

• Staffers have only a short amount of time to interact with attendees. An average quality encounter at a trade show lasts only 13 minutes, barely long enough to introduce yourself out in the field.

• You have hundreds, even thousands of strangers walking by your exhibit, with the competition right down the aisle. Hardly conducive to an ideal private meeting with an important, new prospect or long-time customer.

• The buyers come to you, which can be good news or bad news. The good news is that large numbers of legitimate buyers can be walking the aisles of the show, more than you could possibly ever see in a few days out in the field. The bad news is that those buyers may be hidden by an equally large, or larger, number of non-qualified buyers. You've got to go through the process of culling them out.



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While there are many more differences between working a trade shows versus selling the field, these are important to consider. But if no one taught your staffers these differences and no one taught them how to work the show, then how did they learn? Odds are they learned by watching others. Other exhibitors and other fellow staffers. Big question, though. Who taught them? Kind of makes you think doesn't it? The problem is that after a while, all the exhibit staffers start to look alike and act alike. We beat our brains out everyday to somehow separate ourselves, our company, and our products and services from the competition. We want our prospects and customers to somehow see us as superior in some form. And then we go to a trade show and blend in with the crowd. 2. Their previous interaction with others. The typical exhibit staffer falls into one of two categories. One thinks she is on vacation. "Oh goody, we're going to Chicago! I can't wait to see all my old friends, go out to Gino's East for pizza, and then hit Rush Street for some great dancing and music! It sure would be a lot easier if we didn't have all those attendees to have to work with!" A second type of staffer thinks he's been sentenced to prison. "Why did I get sent to Atlanta? What did I do wrong? Why didn't they send Bob instead? I've got a lot better things to be doing than standing around this stupid trade show! What a waste of my time!" 3. Staffers tend to confuse busyness with effectiveness. One major soft drink company called Steve in for some consulting work. When asked how they had measured success at previous shows, they replied, "If we pass out 10,000 samples, we know we've had a successful show." Unfortunately, this isn’t unusual. Staffers need to understand the importance of setting clear and measurable objectives, and then develop a plan of action to reach those objectives. You need to clearly explain what the corporate objectives are and what their individual role is in helping to accomplish those objectives. So, what should exhibitors be taught? Here are some simple tips you can share with your staffers that will make a big difference at your next event:



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TIME IS THEIR #1 ENEMY You don't want staffers to talk to everyone that comes along. They only have a limited about of time to spend with people, and even though an attendee might walk into your exhibit, they might not necessarily be a target. Remember how you defined a qualified attendee? (In fact, it’s a very good idea to have your exhibit staffers help with that definition.) You can only hope for staffers to talk with a small number of them each hour. It’s extremely important they understand the importance of time management. Every minute spent with an unqualified attendee is money out the window.

TIME MANAGEMENT TIP: Go to the office supply store and get a supply of those little colored dots in the label section. Have each of your staffers put one on the face of their watch as a reminder. It’s not something they’re used to seeing, so therefore it acts as a reminder (like tying a string around the finger) to ask themselves the question, "Is what I’m doing at this moment moving me closer to my objective, or farther away from my objective?" If they are moving farther away, this will help get them back on track.

THINK ABOUT STARTING THE CONVERSATION For some, the most paralyzing moment is when they have to talk to a stranger. Even for experienced sales veterans, this can be intimidating. Those exceptions are people who think it’s really fun to cold call! Robert likes to cold call. Steve thinks Robert is a very sick person. Remember that most people are out of their comfort zone at a trade show. Attendees feel like they are the hunted and exhibitors are the hunters. Exhibit staffers are nervous about being personally rejected by an intimidating attendee. The single most difficult moment can be simply opening your mouth and talking with a stranger. For some reason it is very hard for most people to begin a conversation. And this is very natural for something that is so unnatural. But if your company is at the show to generate new leads, that’s exactly what staffers have to do! We have a suggestion that can totally change the results you get. Follow this simple rule and instruct all your staffers to follow it, too. We call it the Speak-First-Ten-Foot-Rule.



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The new rule is: whenever someone comes within ten feet of you, you must open your mouth and speak to him or her. Once you open your mouth and start a conversation, you'll be fine. It’s just the starting that’s tough. One caveat, though. Don’t fall into the trap of classifying an attendee before qualifying. It’s much better to invest 2-3 minutes to start a conversation and ask a couple of qualifying questions. Attendees don’t have to dress up and attendees don’t have to impress you. Steve used to have major buyer who wore very casual clothing and jogging shoes, because she knew how hard a full day on a show floor could be. She had some exhibitors who wouldn’t take her seriously because of the way she dressed. The fact was, she had millions of dollars in buying power. Her attitude was: “If they don’t want to talk with me, that’s their problem!” GET RID OF THE LOOKIE LOOS Not everyone at a trade show is your prospect. This is a tough concept for many exhibitors. But it’s mandatory to the health and wealth of your trade show objectives. If it’s clear that you’re not having a conversation with a viable prospect, be polite, thank them for stopping by and move on. ATTIRE How should they dress? Many exhibitors these days are dressing casually, which is still okay. Don’t pay attention to any “surveys” that show people prefer you to dress up now. Most of those surveys are far from statistically accurate, anyway. But we’re not necessarily saying you should dress casually. The way your staff should dress is based on what your overall plan of attack is for the event. Our philosophy is “everything stands on trial for its life.” That means that everything you do at the show is congruent with the overall objectives, theme, and plan. If you have a Hawaiian theme in your booth, your graphics, your giveaways, your marketing materials, and your promotions … well, then staffers wearing suits wouldn’t make any sense. On the other hand, if you are striving to project a top-drawer professional image, and everything reflects that, of course you’d want staffers to look that way, too. It’s important to be congruent and consistent. The point of this chapter is to stress the importance of your staffers in your exhibiting success. If you’re interested in learning more about how you can train your staffers to succeed, you can check out Steve’s website (http://www.theadventure.com).



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Chapter 10

Shipping, I&D, Refurbishing (Note: the following chapter is a transcript of a taped conversation between Robert and Steve.) Steve: I, personally, don’t have the expertise to talk about shipping, I&D or anything like that, but I sure remember being an exhibitor and when it came time to do all this stuff, this was where I was just lost. So, let me kind of set the stage here and then you tell me where we’re going from here. I’ve designed a booth and ready to go to a show. I’ve done everything outlined in this book. It’s time to go. What’s next? All of a sudden I’m sitting there and I’ve got this booth and somebody says ‘well, how’re you going to ship it’? I know I must have looked like a deer caught in headlights when they asked me that question because I didn’t even think about that. So, shipping – there are different options. Right? Robert: Millions of options. Hopefully you selected a firm to work with that can help you in this regard because depending on how they design their packaging and transport materials, different shipping vendors are more or less efficient and effective. Most of the major freight companies out there have trade show specific shipping divisions these days. So, you’ve got a pretty good array of vendors to make sure your booth gets from wherever it’s stored to wherever it’s going to be set up, at least to the drayage yard where it’s going to be set up. From there you are at the mercy of the show decorating company, whoever they may be. Steve: What are the options for shipping? Robert: If you’ve got one of those portable, modular displays that fit within the confines of Fedex, UPS, and the various overnight carriers, you can use them, which have fantastic tracking. You know where your booth is at any time, but once it gets to that dock it’s just a number in a drayage facility or pre-show warehouse. Check with your show management and they’ll give you an at-show delivery window that’s very narrow generally speaking. Steve: I don’t recommend you try to aim for the at-show. Robert: Well, it depends. Once again, if you’ve got a smaller display and you can use a Fedex priority type of service, you’ll spend less money because you don’t have the storage in the freight warehouse, although a some of them are free, or pretty inexpensive. But, the stuff is delivered right to the site. Generally speaking



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it’s delivered pretty quickly because it’s on the dock and they want to get it in and out of the way. The overall theme of the bigger shows is they do them in quadrants. They’ll deliver all the displays for one portion of the show floor and get those people in and working on their booth. The carpet and electric guys are working on another quadrant of the show, then they bring the trucks and deliver those, and it’s general speaking a pretty efficient way of doing things. However, it is very expensive. It can cost more to ship a booth from a freight dock of McCormick Place in Chicago to your site in the hall then it did to ship it from Fort Lauderdale or Orlando at your last show all the way to Chicago. Steve: You’re talking about drayage. Robert: Drayage, the mystery fee. Steve: Essentially drayage is the cost of taking your shipped materials from the dock, or the pre-show warehouse, to your booth space and back out again at the end of the show. Robert: And storing crates during the show, if you have crates that need to be stored. That’s all part of the drayage quotient. Steve: So, we have multiple ways of shipping to the show. We can ship by UPS or FedEx. What else? Robert: Most shows have a freight carrier. Let’s say, for example, Yellow Freight is the carrier of choice. Shipments that come in Yellow Freight are going to have preferential treatment on the dock and are going to possibly be stored more efficiently. Yellow Freight people, as the preferred carrier, are going to make sure because they have representatives there. There’s also a ton of independents there who work with Yellow or an Airways or Emery, or whomever. Steve: Of course there is the option of bringing it yourself. Robert: Yeah. Limited options, though. If you can carry it in yourself in one trip without an outside cart or other carrying device, then they’ll allow you to bring it in. And, they’ll generally allow you half an hour to an hour to set it up without tools by yourself or with just the staff that’s going to be working in the booth. Steve: Let’s be very, very clear to the people who are reading this. If you are a small Exhibitor – 10-foot Exhibit – and you’re looking to cut costs to the bare



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bone, maybe you’re going to drive to the show or you’re going to fly in and you’re going to have your Exhibit checked with your luggage on the plane. When you get to the show, you need to be very clear about what you can and cannot do before you get to the show. Do not just assume that just because you can get it there yourself that you can get it into the hall and into your booth by yourself. Robert: That could very expensive assumptions. Steve: That’s right. You need to make sure you understand the regulations in advance, and if there are any questions, we are saying call the show Management office and ask them. Tell them: “I want to bring my booth myself. I want to carry it in. I want to set it up. Can I do that?” Robert: And get the name of the person who says yes. Steve: Do not assume in advance: “Oh, I can get away with this. I’m going to go there; they can’t stop me. It’s my own company.” Yes, they can stop you. Yes, they will stop you. It’s their job to stop you, and if you try to play around that union game that has been set up in advance, you’re playing with fire; and when you play with fire, you can get burned. Robert: When in Rome you must do things the Roman way, and that is, frankly, one of the real tragedies, I think, of the trade show Industry over the past ten years. A whole world of people are taking advantage of the fact that we are all nomads traveling around the country, not stopping in any one place for more than three or four days. Yet here are entrenched individuals in a city that are there year round that have the lobbying of the local politicos and they absolutely pillage and plunder the Trade show nomad community that comes into town. Steve: So let’s talk about I& D. Robert: Installation and Dismantle, a topic near and dear to all of our hearts. Steve: You get it to your booth. We already mentioned that if you have the ability to take it down in 30 minutes or less, a lot of Convention Centers allow that. But again, check your rules. Now, let’s say you’re not the little guy; your booth is a little bigger than that, so you’re going to need help. Robert: Or, you’re going to need electricity, because a lot of them won’t let you plug in your lights. A few options – fewer in places where there is more of a



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Union controlled work force. Where there is a Union work force, even there you are generally allowed a supervisor from your company or one you hired from the outside to come in. I strongly recommend the use of these people. They will, if nothing else, insure that the Union takes the hour and 15 minutes it’s supposed to take to set up the display in question and not four or five hours. Supervisors - Installation and dismantle supervisors are worth their weight in gold. They can’t participate because they’re not in the Union, but if they’re any good, they’ve learned to work with the local Union workers. Some of the better manufacturers have networks of Installation and Dismantle people all over the world - anywhere there’s a major Convention Center. If you have a bigger display that’s got some custom components done by one of the more custom exhibit houses, often part of their service base is to fly someone around to either act as a supervisor or do an Installation or Dismantle of the display. There are also independent I&D companies on the back of Exhibitor Magazine and Tradeshow Week, etc. Keep in mind that, unfortunately, all of the money you spend on this part of the Trade show experience still comes out of marketing. This is a cost of doing this event, of doing this particular type of marketing event. It should all be lumped in and you should be looking for a return on this entire investment. We work with a lot of clients who say ‘oh, no, that comes out of another budget. That comes out of our shipping budget for all our shipping around the world. It really shouldn’t, folks. When you make the decision to go to the show, every dime you spend on everything you do that you wouldn’t have had to do if you weren’t going to the show, should be in an overall grand umbrella show budget. Steve: So, you’ve got the options of checking out to see if you can do it yourself. You’ve got the option of hiring local labor through the general contractor of the show. You’ve got the option of hiring an independent I&D house. And the major Exhibit houses typically have their own staffs. So, there’s a whole range of these people. In most cases the show management of the trade show can help answer some of these questions for you. Or, certainly can put you in touch with people who can answer these questions for you regarding their show, regarding the Convention Center they’re going to, the city they’re going to, the rules and regulations, and everything like that. Robert: They say in real estate, the three most important things are location, location, and location`. When it comes to show services, the three most important



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things are references, references and references. Always get references and make sure they’re recent references because there’s a lot of turnovers in this Industry. And, make sure you get references from people who had similar needs to problems to what you have. If they can’t give you those, guess what? You’ve probably chosen the wrong vendor. By the way, a really good insurance policy, even for the biggest booths out there is to have someone in your company that’s going to the show who understand and has a grasp of how the thing goes together. The best insurance is self-insurance. Steve: Okay. We’ve built and designed the booth, gone to the show, done everything we were supposed to do at the show and the show is over, or is it? We’ve taken the booth down; we’re now shipping it back. What do we do now? What do I do with my booth? Robert: Take down and storage are the two places where booths get hurt the most. This is where the damage is done. This is where the refurbishing costs pile up. An improperly taken down and stored display is a destroyed display, so it’s very important that somewhere, somehow, somebody takes full control of your system following your show. Steve: It’s just as important to have somebody in charge of the dismantle. Robert: If not more so, because when you improperly store these things, you create stresses that the original designer never intended, and all sorts of problems happen. Steve: That’s a really good point and I think that’s what cost me so much money when I was an exhibitor. I don’t think I ever did that, and all always seemed they never did quite go back in the boxes right. Robert: If you’re in a hurry, you’re worn out, you’re tired, you want to go home, or your best client is waiting in a bar for a full stage presentation . . . Steve: And they sort of feel that it’s time to move on, when the fact of the matter is, is that the trade show job isn’t done yet. Robert: The end of the show is the start of your work. You were on stage and did your stage presentation, but now it’s time to go to work with what we learned and the information we got. The last day of the show set aside 45 minutes to sit down and write what worked and didn’t work in the booth, what was or wasn’t correctly



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working in terms of what was designed as well as what you would like to have seen: your demo-station a little bigger, it would be nice to have another storage area here. These are things we forget when we get on that plane to head back home again. Sit in your booth and think about what happened the last three days. What could have been done better, what could have been done worse? Look back through a couple quick little notes and write down sort of a strategic plan. If I ran the zoo, here’s what I would do to make the zoo better. How did Shelly work in the booth compared with Marvin? Who was our top person? How many leads did we get? While everybody else is breaking their necks to get out of there, you’re calmly recapping and evaluating how the show went while it’s still fresh in your mind. Steve: What about refurbishing your exhibit after you return from the show?. Robert: Like you do your furnace, or anything you use a lot and rely on, the booth is a product that needs to be looked at. It was designed in a relatively perfect environment, and it was originally set up with everything working. In extended use, things break. Steve: Every time it’s moved and every time it’s set up and something is taken down, something is wearing out. Robert: And, and at that fifth show when you really should have had those panels replaced because they were bent, well … you never get a second chance to make a first impression.



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In Conclusion

This book is not intended to be the be-all, end-all of exhibit design. The art and science of designing, constructing, shipping, I&D, and refurbishing an exhibit would take a lot more detail than we’ve included in this book (and probably a lot more than you’d want to read!). We hope we’ve provided you with a solid primer about the important aspects of good exhibit design, as well as offered advice to keep you from making the same expensive mistakes many exhibitors make at each show. Certainly we’ve made more than our own share of mistakes over the fifty plus years we’ve been actively involved in trade shows, as both exhibitors and service providers. If you have any questions about exhibit marketing and design, please contact us at: The Adventure LLC 32706 – 39th Ave. SW Federal Way, WA 98023 T 253-874-9665 F 253-874-9666 E [email protected] Our website is: http://www.theadventure.com



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About Steve Miller Steve Miller is a strategic marketing and innovation consultant specializing in the trade show industry. He works with show management to develop better shows and enhance their long-term relationships with exhibitors, as well as helping corporations more profitably exhibit at trade shows. Working his first trade show at age 16, Steve has since built a reputation for achieving exceptional results for his clients through innovative, results-driven techniques. His work with associations and show management companies includes speaking for and consulting directly with exposition staff, boards of directors, exhibitor advisory committees, strategic planning and adaption, internet strategies, branding strategies, attendee focus meetings, industry research, analysis, show valuation, recommendations, and exhibitor education. In some cases he has served as project manager to guide the entire process of reinvention. His clients include 8 of Tradeshow Week's current Top Ten association-owned expositions and Fortune 100 corporations - the Food Marketing Institute, the International Housewares Association, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, the National Association of Home Builders, the National Association of Broadcasters, Coca Cola, Dana Corporation, Volvo, and Philips Electronics, to name a few. Since founding The Adventure LLC in 1984, Steve has worked directly with international, national, and state organizations, as well as speaking to over 175,000 corporate executives around the world. His first book, How to Get the Most Out of Trade Shows, now in its third edition (hardback & paperback), has been published and distributed throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. His second book, Over 88 Tips Ideas to Supercharge Your Exhibit Sales, is the only book written specifically for exhibit staffers, and his third book, Over 66 Tips Tricks to Supercharge Trade Show Promotions, was published in early 2000. Steve has written for and has been featured in over 250 publications, including Fast Company, Business Week, Fortune, the Wall Street Journal, Sales Marketing Management, Success, Expo, Business Marketing, Washington CEO, ASAE's Association Management, the Trade Show Exhibitors Association's ideas, Exhibitor Magazine, ASTD's Training Development, and USAir Magazine. He is also a monthly columnist in PCMA's Convene magazine and has produced audio and video educational products for exhibitors and show management. For more information on Steve's consulting, speaking, and/or products, call or write:



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The Adventure LLC 32706 - 39th Ave. SW Federal Way, WA 98023 (253) 874-9665 phone (253) 874-9666 fax Email [email protected] Website http://www.theadventure.com



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About Robert Sjoquist

Robert Sjoquist has been involved in the sales and marketing of commercial and consumer products for his entire adult life. From his start, during his college years, as a door to door salesman of Fuller Brush Products and Kirby Vacuums (simultaneously and successfully) and on to selling the products of the Honda Motor Company where he won regional and national sales awards Robert has always been able to figure out why people buy certain goods and what sort of pricing and packaging works to sell them. Along the way Robert has started seven companies, managed dozens more and has held several patents and trademarks for products and intellectual property under his control. For the past eleven years Robert lived in the Seattle, Washington area where he started a distributorship under the Skyline Displays Inc. mantle. Robert grew his office from a one man operation to a company of twenty employees and annual sales of over $3,000,000. In August of 2001 Robert sold his distributorship and headed back to his homeland of southern California. He is designing for the second time in his life his family's new home on a hillside lot in Ventura, Ca. Between his home building project and the addition of a bouncing baby boy to the Sjoquist household Robert is staying pretty busy. Trade Shows have always held a fascination for Robert, first as an attendee for Honda Motor Corp., Suzuki Motors of America, Robert's own company Aerotow Industries and others. Then getting the behind the scenes perspective as a designer and manufacturer of Modular and Custom Displays for clients all over the world. His take on exhibit design and the business of trade show success is complete and well considered.

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