Marshall Yard:

For those of you who don’t know Kevin - he is our Exhibit House Mascot - he helped me this weekend with the leaves, and we began our conversations about rakes and outdoor lawn equipment.

Well, after we got all done, we hit the internet and came across Orgill’s Dealer Market Trade Show.  What an interesting trade show this must be.  Anyone in the hardline industry that attended the Orgill Dealer Market Trade Show in the past, had rave reviews. 

Orgill’s Dealer Market Trade Show will be held in Orlando in February of 2008 - 2/21-23rd.  From Farm & Ranch, Workwear, Lawn & Garden and seasonal items.  The possibilities of meeting new vendors and learning from the latest and greatest new programs from Orgill are phenominal.  Some of the heavy hitters that attend are Black & Decker, Dewalt, Valspar and Stanley, just to name a few. 

No matter what it is you are trying to acheive, in any business, you can learn from so many sources.  Educate yourself from the industry proffessionals, and take away what works for you and design your business structure with a solid foundation.  

In the business of exhibiting, we take the key four elements we feel will bring you the most impact and present to you a custom exhibit rental solution.   If you are planning on exhibiting at the Orgill Dealer Market Trade Show, you want to make sure not only your product’s make a statement but your entire exhibit will draw in the attention and the sales you are hoping to acquire in this market arena, following some of the basic trade show tips you can increase your performance on the trade show floor.   I read that the orders written at the last trade show, was up 11% from the previous year.   Defining your marketing objectives in advance, can as well help drive up your return on investment, and you will be well ahead of the competition and well ahead of your goals.

There are several reasons people give away promotional items in the trade show setting, usually at the top of the list is traffic and visitors.  Remember to keep in mind the type of visitors and traffic you are hoping to draw in.

First off, when trying to decide what types of items to “give-away” do some research first and get a reputable company.  You want your promotional item to be remembered, you want it to convey a message of what your company does and who you are in the market place. 

Does your trade show booth follow any sort of theme? Are you trying to give your booth visitor an education? Each one of those could support a different promotional item.   Do not forget your “brand awareness” in this process, and make sure that the item will send that message. 

Promotional items can be costly, make sure you plan well in advance for any given trade show and order early and follow a strategic plan in order to acquire the give-aways at the best cost, often times in bulk if you are planning on exhibiting at more than one trade show. 

In order to capture your prospective clients make it an item of desire, but do not hand them out freely, or just have them displayed somewhere so they are easy for the taking.  You want to be able to engage the prospective client in conversation so that you can establish a relationship and further the process from prospect to client. 

If the convention center offers any sort of pre-show advertising, this may be a great chance to include a stop at our booth with this certificate.  That way you will get them engaged in a more detailed conversation of your product and services.

I continue the series with the third step in exhibit display design and the complete process of which it takes to make your exhibit experience a success.

Elements, Priority and now onto Grammar.  Grammar is the study of rules governing the use of language.  “Grammar”is one of the words our designer’s use to describe the language of exhibits.  For example,  a “radial” design, a “rectilinear” design, an “organic” design, an “open or closed” design, etc.  It has to do with the natural, pleasing and/or effective object design for a given objective. 

You will notice this is quite far along in the process.  A “grammar” is applied to prioritized elements.

PMA  ‘08 hits Las Vegas Convention Center on January 31st, 2008 and continues to February 2nd, 2008.  This is an ensemble cast of “memory makers,” from photographers, retailers and even those in the scrapbooking industries.  Gathering together over 20,000 industry professionals and 200 sessions at this convention, there is an abundance of information to be had.

From local merchants to large mutlinational business, you will find sports and event photography, wireless imaging, this is a broad spectrum trade show, housing exhibitors from with an array of products associated with the photography industries.  Attracting top level management teams who are continually trying to stay ahead of the digital imaging industry, and seeking the latest in technology.  Over 95% of the attendees have the buying influence, and are key decision makers. 

Exhibiting in the world our digital era can create your ”memory” on your products and services.  Think of the amount of time we spend in the digital world, emailing photo’s, scanning documents, sending wireless pictures via text messages.  A report from PMA’ 07 states that the average person spends 36 hours a week in the digital world we have created. 

As in any world, what is it we are looking for? Sharp, Better Quality, Ease of Use.  When you are expanding your business in the tradeshow market, these are qualities that your exhibit’s should convey.  

Moving onto and into the depths of exhibit display & design, we find that after the Elements of the display and design are set - we like to move onto Priority:

Whether you are planning on one trade show or several for the upcoming year, begin by focusing on the first trade show you are planning on exhibiting at.

Which products/messages are more important at this show?

Which messages are more and less important?

Which element is more or less important?

What is the “order” in which the story should be told? (It is important to see this before they see all of that.)

Flow

Priority is very, very important.  Without this, we are just guessing.

Each and every step in the begining process of trade show marketing is a vital one.  Without concentration on your products or messages, your exhibit booth is just a booth.  Companies begin trade show marketing because:

They want,  a ROI from the Trade Show.

They want,  best exhibit booth.

They want, different and exciting ways to set up a new product launch.

They want, to visually enhance current product lines.

Whether you are exhibiting at trade shows worldwide or locally, starting with the basics seems to be the best approach - Elements, Priority… next up is “Grammar”

Yesterday I took you through Marketing/Communications Strategy & Exhibit Display &  Design - touching on four key terms that are a great breakdown, I am going to break down the first section today, which is Elements, gathering the trade show event goals from a client starts the process of determining Elements.

Is the exhibit display for telling a complicated story to many people at once? (Element=Theatre)

Is the exhibit display for showcasing actual products? (Element=case goods/integrated display cases/walls)

Is media an important part of the exhibit display experience? (Element = integrate A/V and begin media concepts)

Is the exhibit display for promoting a product or brand identification/name? (Element = ID panels/kisoks, monoliths, banners)

Is the exhibit displayfor having meetings, closing deals, signing contracts, etc? (Element = Meeting Rooms/Double Deck/Etc. 

Starting with this breakdown can give the client as well as the exhibit designers & engineers a better foundation to start the exhibit display process. 

Next we will touch on the Priority…..

There was a time when exhibits were designed to “look cool” and any product or message would be pasted on it.  The process started with “style.” Customers picked a style they liked and then made it work somehow.  We believe that good exhibit design ought to begin with some sort of strategy. 

What is it that your clients want to do or say? An exhibit design should strat with a very solid understnading of the event-specific mission.  Take the steps further, break it down into elements, priority, “grammar” and style..in that order.

In the simplest terms, the process goes like this.  Look at the space, for every particular show.  What is the space? In-Line or Island? How big is it? Where is it? Determine Approach Type - Do you want the exhibit to be:

Marketing Type-being all about the product or brand ID?

Architectural Type-all about the structure?

Experience Type - all about what happens in the structure?

After making these educated decisions, then you can go onto the design phase.

By: Sue Kleiner

Satisfied customers as well as a quality product - is the bottom line to any business, when you are researching exhibiting at trade shows, you should be partnering with an exhibit house that handles every aspect of the production of your exhibit- from conception, to the return of the exhibit properties for storage until your next trade show. Product market strategy is an essential part of the entire exhibiting experience.

You do not get a second chance to make a first impression. It only takes that few seconds get the attention of a potential client as they walk past the parade of exhibits on the trade show floor. You want your exhibit to be a visual display of what your company is all about and bring attention to your services and products.

Trade Shows have become a highly competitive market place and the exhibit experience is all about the “wow factor”. Giving an exhibit curb appeal is one of the ways to get your company noticed. With striking graphics, you increase the chance of drawing in visitors to your booth. This is where the “wow factor” comes in. These trade show attendees will saunter by many, many exhibits; you want them to walk past those and enter your exhibit.

Designing exhibits can be thought of as a partnership of objects – combining the key elements within your exhibit space, making sure the striking graphics are properly lit and in a position where they will draw the most attention. It’s about making sure that the lighting is positioned so as to enhance products or services and making sure that the podium or counter of choice is aligned for the best possible traffic flow.

The fluidity of your trade show exhibit space should make it easy for attendees to browse through the new product launches or the improved products display. Whether you are using podiums or counters in your exhibit, they should form a marriage with all the other furniture within your booth space. Do not plan on giving them too much to focus on - this is actually ocular chaos for most people and it can the end of the conversation, but if the exhibit has a pleasant visual display the potential client will feel more comfortable’ entering and staying longer.

Keep conversation simple and informative once you have a potential client in front of you give them reasons why it would best serve them to do business with you. Explain to them about any new product launch and make sure you have a success story to back this up.