Marshall Yard:

While the vast majority of Marshall-Yard.com readers look to us for advice on how to live a more virtuous lifestyle, hints on climbing the corporate ladder, and marital dispute resolutions, a precious few have higher expectations for the site and its content. Some readers expect unbelievably objective trade show exhibit information (it’s so unbiased I want to SCREAM!!!). Some come here for the pretty pictures. Some, after years decades of fervent reading, look to us for something more - they are left yearning even after their daily* fix of exhibit booth goodness.

Some Marshall-Yard.com readers expect us to predict the future. This post is for you.

On December 9th, 2008, I made a bold, unprecedented prediction that one of the “Great Trade Shows for 2009” would include the “Newspaper & Print Journalists Expo.” The post was written in soggy sarcasm (dripping with…). As of today, February 27th, 2009, IT has come to pass!

Headline: “Newspaper convention canceled amid industry woes“ [sic]

For those of you who have been yearning for bold predictions of future events, keep reading. We will continue to satiate the intellectual and emotional appetites of the hopeless, confused masses - but you can now count on us to predict any, and all, future events of even the slightest significance.

Go figure: a blog downplaying the importance of a negative event for print media. Hmmmmm…

*-marshall-yard.com shall not be held responsible for the “daily-ness” or objectiveness of blog postings.

It is said that what separates those who are good from those who are great is that great talents make their jobs look easy. Most of us remember how effortless Michael Jordan made the game of basketball look- tongue wagging and a smile on his face, he would sink fade away jump shots, or leap over the likes of Patrick Ewing or Charles Barkley in the final moments of regulation. For a moment we all felt like it was something we could do - just another day at the office for him, after all.

The “best of the best” of nearly every field can be attributed this trait. The best doctor makes a medical procedure simple and clear to a layperson; the best mechanic will explain why your car makes that noise, and leaves you at ease with his resolution; the best administrative assistant will keep the entire universe organized and make it seem like that’s how things were before their diligence took root. Yet all of these professionals take immense care and effort in their craft. It ISN’T easy, but they make it appear so.

With trade shows, I think the account manager shoulders a burden that is most relevant to this “rule” of greatness. A great account manager will guide an exhibitor from the execution of the contract through to the completion of the show, and they’ll do it with the grace that gives exhibitors confidence, comfort, and most importantly: Success. Behind the scenes, however, the account manager wears many hats. They are oft perceived as the thorn in a contractor’s side, and they keep hawkish attention on the real-time execution of even the most minute tasks. They represent both the interests of their exhibit company and the exhibitor client, and are highly responsible for the nurturing of long-lasting relationships with third party vendors (those very same aforementioned contractors). These relationships alone are key to a consistently positive experience for exhibiting companies.

Account managers are essentially the glue that holds together a project that is often 6-9 months in the making - and the best make that glue smell good, hold fast, and remain strong. Mmmmmm. Glue.

Trade shows are like a parade in reverse - you have about three seconds to capture an attendee’s attention. Your exhibit, ideally, should be an accurate - and aesthetically pleasing - representation of the quality your company embodies.

Getting Started

As you ponder the size, type and functionality, ask yourself the following questions:

• What are your marketing objectives for this show? 
• How is your organization perceived in the industry? Do you hope to change that perception?
• Will your marketing objectives change for each show?
• What’s your ideal marketing environment (ie. private meetings, demonstrations)?
• At how many events do you exhibit nationally?
• What type of exhibit space will you reserve (island, inline, etc.)?
• How much are you able (or willing) to invest in your display?
• What’s most important to you - design or cost?
• Who is your audience? Does it vary by show or region?

Choosing a Trade Show Exhibit Display Company

It’s vital that you research the exhibit houses with which you’re interested in partnering. What is their reputation? Do they offer a full range of services? Will you get a dedicated account management team? What does their Website look like? Believe it or not, a Website - like an exhibit - can be quite telling with regards to marketing expertise and overall quality.

The best place to begin researching suppliers is to visit a trade show and chat with exhibitors. Ask about their suppliers’ level of service and ability to materialize what the exhibitor hoped to communicate.

When you’ve chosen one - or a few - potential exhibit partners, make sure to provide all information necessary: budget, time line, decision-making process, marketing objectives, etc. Try to avoid sending a general RFP or another form of “stock” invitation to bid. You’ll get the best results from direct, personalized communication.

A frequent objection to renting exhibit booths is that they are too expensive - purchasing is supposedly less expensive in the long run, depending on how many shows an exhibitor goes to. And surely that’s sometimes true - we have studied the subject at length. Primarily, however, the opinion is based on comparing apples and oranges. An “erector set” style of exhibit booth, when purchased, will cost less than our custom designed rental exhibits. The difference is not in purchase versus rental, the difference is in VALUE. In the realm of trade show marketing, value is derived from marketing impact - how effectively you are at reaching your trade show objectives. If the erector set booth is inferior in accomplishing those objectives, then you’ll get more value from the custom designed and specially fabricated booth. In order to say rental is more expensive than purchase, or visa versa, you’ll need to compare apples to apples. That’s quite difficult to do in this business, but supposing we can, let’s start by introducing the items purchasers tend to underestimate:

-Storage
-Crates
-Inspection/Handling
-Damages / Repairs
-Redesign/Reconfigure
-Refurbishing

We’ve done a study of the subject in our corporate white papers, here, and in most cases, it becomes a break even [the document holds a vast number of assumptions, intentionally biased IN FAVOR OF purchase, just to prove the point of rental's economy]. Some scenarios reflect a slight advantage for rental, some reflect an advantage of combining rental and purchase, and some scenarios reflect an advantage for purchase.

 Typically, purchase programs that look cost effective on paper have a major hazard: overlapping shows. If you go to 10 or 15 shows each year, the ship/setup/show/dismantle/ship/inspect/repair/ship schedules overlap at some point. This neccessitates having at least two booths, and negating the cost advantage.

Let’s suppose, however, that purchase is always more cost effective. Surely if you only do one show each year, you would have to use the same booth, with the same graphics, for years on end, in order to save over rental. Why your company would bother exhibiting at all in that scenario escapes me (but we see it all the time), but yes you’ll be saving money. Instead of argueing that rental gives you greater flexibility, I’d like to offer an often neglected reason:

Because the exhibit booth is only a small aspect of your exhibit program - but it’s the one that sets you apart from your competition!

The exhibit booth itself construes roughly one third of the budget that a company might set for a given trade show. The show services are more and more often responsible for another third, and the cost of your booth space may, depending on the venue, equate to the remaining third. If you include the travel and lodging expenses of your sales and marketing people that are attending the show, and any technicians to install software or program a machine being showcased, the proportion of your trade show budget that the exhibit actually occupies shrinks even further.

Supposing that your exhibit booth is 1/4th of your total costs, why are you jeopardizing or sacrificing the marketing impact of your entire trade show endeavor over a slight projected advantage!?!?! Seems like a bad idea to this trade show guy. Give every show your best effort - RENT!

#1 Know your Audience:  If all trade show attendees were buyers, acquiring new business would be like shooting fish in a bucket. But we know this is hardly the case. This doesn’t mean, though, that you should throw in the towel. Offer giveaways only to attendees who will return your investment: potential clients who make an appointment to meet with you to discuss your product or service.

#2 Don’t just giveaway anything: Your secondary objective with giveaways should be to drive traffic into your space. Your PRIMARY objective should be to strengthen customer loyalty and promote your product or service. Essentially, steer clear of distributing any cheapo knick-knack, regardless of how it relates to your business: if you’re an electronics manufacturer, don’t give away rubber balls…try flash drives. If you’re a publisher, don’t bake cookies…give ‘em pens.

#3 Where are the giveaways?: If you’re able to solely target prospective clients with your giveaways, super! If you’re not (say, your exhibit environment wasn’t design to accommodate meetings), strategically position the giveaways somewhere in your space that doens’t lure passersby. Give them to each salesperson or keep them in an interior, yet easily accessable, cabinet.

#4 Price isn’t the only factor: A dollar per item, for instance, can buy a heck of a lot more than you might think…So USE it! That’s what budgets are for. Sacrificing quality for cost is the kiss of death in any business dealing. Remember to offer your giveaways to the right people for a near guaranteed ROI.

Is your company planning to purchase a new exhibit booth sometime in 2009 or 2010? The more and more I speak with trade show coordinators and marketing guru’s who have been charged with this responsibility, the more resolute I am as an ALL-OUT ADVOCATE for renting exhibit booths. Some companies go to 20 shows a year, some 12, some 5, and others 1 or 2. Heck, if you’re going to NPE this year, you might even go to a show once every 3 years! The rationale for each trade show exhibit program decision may be different, but here are a few “variations.”

There is a sort of “conventional wisdom” that I often hear:
 

1. We do the same thing at every show.
2. If you saw our booth, you would understand!(these exhibit are just TOO AWSOME for me to grasp, apparently)
3. Renting is just too expensive. (These conversations typically give me this eery feeling that I must be unknowingly scamming all of my faithful clients that would excitedly volunteer as references. Those “suckers.”)

1. My brain hurts! Since when was marketing about being predictably boring at every opportunity, with tens or hundreds of thousands of marketing dollars invested to achieve mediocrity? Find a better excuse please!
2. Custom rental with some custom built components can achieve unbelievable results, just as a custom purchase exhibit can. The rental approach will likely be lighter and allow you to do another creative and original exhibit at your next show - attendees will wonder just what you will come up with next!
3. Cost is a factor of quality or extravagence, not rental or purchase. The market for trade show exhibits is very efficient and rental and purchase prices are not grossly disproportionate from one another.

As I mentioned earlier - I am not quick to back off of my convictions that renting is just flat-out smarter. Display booths are not meant to be stale marketing pieces that you begrudgingly pull off of the shelf for your next show. They should not embarass you with outdated styling or graphics, poor refurbishing work, or damaged exhibit pieces.

Part 1 of 3 means I have more to say on this topic… Still think it makes sense to buy your exhibit booth? Please let me know why!

I’ve blogged ad nauseam regarding the effect that union-controlled show services has upon our industry - high prices that fly in the face of underlying costs and economic principles. I am fairly certain that my griping is exactly that - griping about a reality that will not change anytime soon. On that note, will it be getting worse soon?

That question struck me when I noted that the new executive administration ushered in a set of executive orders supporting/strengthening unions in America. The executive orders are aimed at hindering the efforts of non-unionized businesses trying to resist unionization of their labor force. Now when a business is working under federal contract they are no longer required to post a notice informing employees that they may opt-out of financially supporting a union; they will not be reimbursed for expenses associated with dissuading employees from unionizing; and they must offer new jobs to existing employees first.

I don’t proclaim to understand the finer points of how these orders affect practices currently in place for employers. I have gleaned that this clearly does not apply to every employer - just those working under federal contracts. Convention centers like McCormick Place in Chicago are actually funded and owned by the municipalities or states - is that outside of the grasp of the executive order? Is that an extension of executive orders or legislation yet to come?

In any business it’s important to keep ears open for lawmaker actions with effects on the economic environment. In this case, it may appear that my “sounding the alarm” about these orders is a bit of a stretch - but I think this is indirect linkage that will lead us to yet higher costs for show services. Am I sounding off prematurely? Will this have zero effect and I’m just paranoid?

How about a $800,000,000,000 stimulus package invested solely in trade show exhibit spending? Anyone in favor of that? Call your congressmen NOW!