May
31
2009
Tips On Buying A New Trade Show Booth
In the market for a new trade show booth? Purchasing a new custom display used to be easy. You would find a local custom trade show display builder, study a few designs and place the ordder. These displays were made of plywood, covered in laminate, and packed in crates.
Now there are many more options. It may even make more sense to work with an out-of-state company that operates closer to your shows. A big advantage of this approach is that if you live in a state with sales tax you won’t have to pay it. Even better is the fact that pricing on custom displays is still much lower than start from scratch plywood customs. The challenge, however, is for you to figure out how to get the most exhibit for your budget (hopefully you have one) that will be functional, aesthetically pleasing and well branded. This page is designed to provide some clues as to what is available and as to how you might start.
One of the most important starting places is to figure out a budget. What is it going to take to get noticed next to your competition? For this reason, some sample prices are included in this article. To be clear, all of the links lead to my company’s web site for two reasons; 1) Ours includes sample pricing and 2) Promotion. I admit that it is a little self serving. Please take this into consideration. I encourage you to also look at other web sites.
Trade Show Truss Displays Are Now More Portable: $6-7,000.00
An exhibit category that didn't exist only a few years ago are Trade Show Truss systems. They are available in a variety of kits that include lights, graphic production, and shipping cases. Custom designs can be done.
Think you may be interested in a truss? Truss provides an upgraded look from the less expensive Pop up displays, which has now been around for nearly 30 years. Truss is very functional, sturdy enough to hold large plasma screens and other products and at the same time display graphics very well. The pack out is not as convenient as a Pop up or simple panel system, but the more sophisticated your booth, the more likely it is that you are going to compromise the ease of shipping. A truss booth is modular so the components you buy now can later go into a larger island exhibit.
Upside of truss: Sturdy looking, a step up from what most starter companies purchase. Functional. Good with graphics. Good choice if you need plasmas. Downside: Set up is doable by one person but might be challenging. Shipping is more expensive than a pop because most truss displays are heavy and comparable in weight to the higher end customs.
The good news regarding truss is that a brand new, light-weight truss display was introduced at the recent Exhibitor Show in Las Vegas. It actually qualifies as a portable display in that the kits pack into standard clamshell cases as opposed to tubs too large to ship via UPS.
Pop Up Displays: Prices Have Dropped To Under $2000.00, But It Still Delivers $1200.00 to $2000.00.
Pop up displays remain very popular. They should be listed in wikipedia.com as a definition of the word “portable”. ship ship via UPS, they set up in under 30 minutes and, especially with mural graphic panels, they still excel at communicating a message. The popularity of the portable pop up display is also a down side. There will be a lot of them at a large show, making it more challenging to stand out in a crowd. Amazon uses them for smaller regional shows like those in hotels and smaller convention venues. Nonetheless, given that you can spend $1000.00 renting one from a show, they remain an excellent value if you are testing the trade show waters or building your business.
Portable displays: $5-10,000
Portable display design stagnated for many years starting in the late 1990’s. Some displays that were being referred to as portable wasn’t really because they couldn’t ship via FedEx. That has changed. Over the last two years several new portable kits have been introduced that have moved this genre forward.
This should provide you with an overview as to the different types of Exhibits that are available. Keep in mind that the prices given are for a 10 x 10′ space.
Tags: custom displays, pop up displays, portable display, trade show booth, truss displays
