Trade show display marketing tips and advice

In the late 1970s one of my favorite television shows was the sitcom "WKRP in Cincinnati". The character I remember most was Herbert Ruggles (Herb) Tarlek Jr., played by actor Frank Bonner. Herb was the epitome of bad salesmanship, characterized by his boorish and tasteless approaches to clients. To complete his outgoing portrait, he wore loud plaid suits, with a belt that matched his white shoes. Herb was the man you would never knowingly join on an elevator to face the consequences of him talking your ear off with information that you would have trouble relating to. 

The Tradeshow Network Marketing Group expects to see corporations continue to invest in trade show exhibits in 2012 while demanding higher impact displays at lower costs. Although U.S. corporations have largely weathered the economic storm and trade show participation is returning, marketing budgets remain under pressure.

According to "The State of B2B Event Marketing," 58% of marketers see determining event ROI as the key benefit of marketing automation, with the ability to personalize communications (47%), integrate automatically with a CRM system (46%), and drive attendance prior to an event (46%) also viewed as major benefits. However, marketers generally are not well-equipped to measure event success after the fact or to take advantage of it.  So how are we going to change this for our trade show exhibitors in 2012?  

This is great news for all my trade show exhibit managers!! The overhaul of union work rules at McCormick Place is cutting exhibitors' labor costs by an average of 37 percent, according to the first independent audit conducted since the changes took hold.

The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, the state-city agency known as McPier that owns the convention center, presented the report at its monthly meeting late Tuesday afternoon.

The audit, by Crowe Horwath LLP, involved gathering information from a sampling of exhibitors who displayed their wares at the same major trade shows, in the same size booths, before and after the changes.

The shows were the International Manufacturing Technology Show, Graph Expo and the International Home and Housewares Show.

Of the pool of 107 exhibitors, 84 percent reported savings. Those exhibitors spent $1.8 million on labor after the rule changes, compared with $2.9 million under the old rules, according to Bert Nuehring, a partner at the accounting firm.

The findings represent just a sampling, but cannot be applied broadly to all exhibitors because there was inconsistency in the available information, the firm said.

The audit was required under the new law revamping McCormick Place operations. But the law lacked sufficient detail on what information needed to be provided and when, the auditor said.

The firm recommended tightening up that language in the law.

The law aimed to cut exhibitors' costs by allowing them to do their own booth work, and the audit found this change was adhered to.

The aim was to make Chicago more competitive with lower-cost rival cities.

McPier's Labor Advisory Council, which includes organized labor representatives, will be briefed on the audit Wednesday morning.

Learn how surveyed trade show attendees give an honest assessment of how they view the show experience and how they deal with what they've learned from the show when they return home. This report provided by Bartizan Connects, a provider of Lead Retrieval systems for trade shows, recently surveyed trade show attendees across a range of industries and show profiles. The focus of the survey was to determine how they view the show experience and how they deal with what they’ve learned from the show when they return home.

In a new article published by CEIR - when interviewing a total of 298 executives this past summer more than three-quarters (77%) of marketers say trade shows are “highly valuable” in helping them achieve their top sales priorities.  The study indicated that exhibitions help marketers realize their high-priority sales objectives, which include managing existing customer relationships, fostering relationships with prospects and generating leads.

Trade shows are a great opportunity to display your brand to your most coveted prospects.  In fact, a trade show is perhaps the only place where the full scope of your company’s brand communications are brought together– from your logo and brand image on the exhibit itself to messaging on show mailings, handouts, streaming video, and online and social media.  Getting all those elements to work together to put your brand in the best light takes the right resources and advance planning.

In keeping with U.S. and global economic conditions that have prompted corporations to cut back over the last few years, The Tradeshow Network Marketing Group has realigned our services to allow us to operate more efficiently, reduce expenses and add value for clients. For 2012 and the years ahead, we believe that exhibitors will be placing a greater emphasis on working with firms that can help them reduce costs and increase returns on their trade show investments. 

If you want people to read your product and service information and yet want to reduce the amount of paper you bring to your trade show booth, QR codes may be your answer.

We have complied a series of custom rental exhibits available for your next trade show event and put them into a holiday video.  These include mostly island rental booths, but we do have an inventory of all different sizes available depending on your booth space.