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The Frugal Exhibitor

Budget preservatives that will leave you saying “mmm-mmmmm”

Deadlines are important

Is Drayage Killing Tradeshows?

Make sure you don’t go to one of these tradeshows!

Saving $$$ on employee travel and meal expenses

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This entry was posted on Friday, May 15th, 2009 at 11:09 am and is filed under Advertising. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 Responses to “The Frugal Exhibitor”

  1. Jen McFarland Says:
    May 15th, 2009 at 12:25 pm

    I appreciate, particularly, your comment on drayage. And yes, I do believe it contributes to the decline in exhibitor patience and enthusiasm. I don’t agree, however, that people “don’t understand what it means.” It’s simply an archaic…rather ominous…word for Onsite Material Handling. You’re paying for (in most cases) a UNION to lug your crates around. These charges increase when A) you’re off target or B) your materials aren’t crated. So, watch this to keep your fees low…er. Can the tradeshow exist without drayage? Likely not. But could management “hide” the fees elsewhere so it’s not such a sticker shock? Maybe. Could they also charge a flat rate or bundle drayage with other services (like NPE is doing)?Absolutely. It can’t be eliminated, but it sure could stand a change.

  2. Colonel McCormick Says:
    May 18th, 2009 at 8:10 am

    Newbies do NOT understand drayage. It baffles them until they go to their first setup, and the whole gig becomes quite clear… I think the archaicness serves the purpose of letting us make up our own definitions. The meaning of the word drayage takes on such life as compared to the creative license that “material handling” offers.

    To me, drayage has a connotation of sloth, of outright grifting, and of a smug contempt for the productive businesses of the world. I sometimes remind myself that it’s ultimately a forklift ride for crates - at the expense of tens, sometimes hundreds, of thousands per exhibitor.

    I think the key is that convention halls could cut some of this nonsense out from their monopolistic pricing structure, and experience a resurgence in exhibiting AND overall show attendance.

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