Posted by: Nicholas Shin
Due to a high number of requests for Skyline Chicago’s trade show rental programs, we are proud to announce the launch of our official Rental Exhibit Programs page.
If at anytime you have any questions, there are 3 easy ways to reach us:
We are always here to help. Enjoy the music!
Posted by Nicholas Shin (@SkylineMC)
Exhibitor Magazine has a great article on 54 ways to trim your exhibit marketing program. Below are the 54 ways, but for more in-depth ways on how to cut your trade show exhibiting costs, go to their article here.
In this economy when companies are cutting back in their Marketing expenditures, the first thing that upper management will look at is trade show expenses. It is very clear that companies are reducing or even eliminating their trade show presence; however, is this really the smart thing to do? We have found that shows at McCormick Place, Navy Pier, and Rosemont have shown an obvious drop in attendance; however, based on our clients responses, the number of quality leads has actually remained the same or in some cases actually increased. It’s not about the quantity of leads, it’s about the quality of leads. Thus, we ask again, is reducing or even eliminating your company’s trade show presence the right call?
There’s a reason why over 85% of Skyline Metro Chicago’s clients have inquired about trade show rental solutions. These smart and savvy companies understand the benefits of a trade show and are looking to keep the same professional look of a custom exhibit without the hassle and costs involved.
Here are the top 9 reasons for renting as provided by Exhibitor Magazine:
Rental provides the flexibility to bend with the prevailing winds without abandoning long-term goals.
Rentals allow exhibitors to change their look from show to show or to reinvestment their brands as their product focus shifts.
Good rentals help maintain a cutting-edge appearance in the short term without making huge capital investments that could haunt a company down the road.
A rental costs 25-35 percent of a similar built-to-own booth. Graphics cost about 20 to 40 percent of a typical rental price. Since clients usually buy and reuse graphics, those renting for multiple shows can often cut those costs considerably. Given those figures, three or four rental exhibits cost roughly the same as buying a comparable exhibit.
Rentals allow exhibitors to be a little braver. You can take a risk and do something different.
Combination rental and custom options provide flexibility. More and more people are seeing rental as a cost-effective way to enhance a booth property they already have.
As companies attend more shows, it’s almost inevitable that two shows will run back-to-back or at the same time. It doesn’t make sense to buy a new exhibit.
A company may attend numerous shows with its own booth but once a year wants to do something dramatic at the industry’s premier event.
Rentals can open the door to new exhibitors. The prospect of buying a booth can discourage first time exhibitors. A rental can help make their first outing both affordable and productive.
Here’s a brief checklist of what a company must go through with a custom exhibit and with Skyline Metro Chicago’s rental solutions:
With a custom exhibit (13 step process)
-Arrange shipping
-Cut big check for shipping
-Track late delivery
-Hire installation crew
-Travel to show
-Supervise installation
-Collect leads at show
-Supervise dismantle
-Ship exhibit back home
-Travel from show
-Store exhibit
-Cut check for storage
-Repeat
With Skyline Metro Chicago’s rental solutions (3 step process)
-Travel to show
-Collect leads at show
-Travel from show
We think you get the point. If you have any questions, feel free to comment, send us an email at nshin@skylinemc.com, or tweet us @SkylineMC. We are always here to help.
Posted by Kim Zarro
Graphics - Less is More
How do you get your exhibit booth to communicate who you are, what you do, and what your product or service is — all in three seconds? Sounds impossible, but it isn’t. Think about the billboards that you pass on the highway. They have the exact same job. They have to tell you who the company is and what it’s selling as you zoom past at 55+ miles per hour. Some work and some don’t. The key is usually in the graphics.
Graphics can communicate a whole host of impressions at a single glance. Think about the Chick-fil-A billboard with the cows painting the “Eat More Chick’n” sign. It’s quick, and to the point. Think of your booth in the same way. Trade show attendees are strolling down the aisle looking at hundreds of booths, and unless you’ve pulled them to your booth with a pre-show promotion, you have to very quickly make them notice you and want to walk over to your booth.
To make your booth graphics have impact and work for you rather than against you, remember:
Focus on your product’s or service’s “benefits” rather than “services.”
Use text very sparingly. You want your booth to look more like a billboard than a brochure.
Make sure there is a single focal point. Find the essence of your business and make sure everything revolves around that central idea.
Make sure your name and your positioning statement are very prominent in the design. Remember, if you’re a new company, you have to create an impression, and if you’re an existing company you have to maintain and build on that impression.
The trends these days in booth graphics are large visual backdrops with only the most concise, key text statements to communicate a message or theme. For example, a company that manufactures scissors or chain saws could use a single, larger-than-life photograph of its product as the background for the booth. The message is immediately obvious, as opposed to the booth that posts several small photos of its products with descriptive text along side them that can only be read at a distance of 2 feet (0.6 m).
Now, if your company is a service-oriented company, you may have more difficulty posting a single image, but think hard about it. You can usually come up with an image or simple montage that can communicate the essence of your business.
We are proud to say that we are now on Twitter.
www.twitter.com/SkylineMC
We are excited about knowing more about our visitors and following your progress in the trade show world (and the intricacies of life as well). If you have any questions or comments about any trade show related issues or just want to tell us you spilled coffee on yourself, feel free to “tweet” us.
www.twitter.com/SkylineMC
Posted by Sara Palermo
Seven Deadly Trade Show Exhibiting Sins and How to Avoid Them
Since trade show exhibiting comprises of so many different components and functions, it’s no wonder that we make blunders trying to remember everything that needs doing. However, some are more lethal than others and as such should be avoided at all costs. The following seven points fall into that category. Learn to avoid them and you will increase your chances for a more successful and profitable tradeshow.
In order to make tradeshows a powerful dimension your company’s overall marketing operation, there must be total alignment between the strategic marketing and your exhibit marketing plan. Tradeshows should not be a stand-alone venture. Know and understand exactly what you wish to achieve - increasing market share with existing users; introducing new products/services into existing markets or into new markets; or introducing new products/services into new markets. This is the nucleus on which to build your program, which should include pre-show, at-show and post-show promotional activities. Know whom you want to target and then consider having different promotional programs aimed at the different groups you are interested in attracting.
Goals, or the purpose for exhibiting, are the essence of the whole tradeshow experience. Knowing what you want to accomplish at a show will help plan every other aspect - your theme, the booth layout and display, graphics, product displays, premiums, literature, etc. Exhibiting goals should complement your corporate marketing objectives and help in accomplishing them. Make sure they can be measured after the show to establish how well you did.
On the show floor your exhibit makes a strong statement about who your company is, what you do and how you do it. Everything your company stands for, no matter how large or small, is being exhibited on the show floor. This means that there needs to be total consistency, congruity, clarity and focus in every aspect of your exhibiting program, before, during and after the show. The purpose of you exhibit is to attract visitors so that you can achieve your marketing objectives. In addition to being an open, welcoming and friendly space, there needs to be a focal point and a strong key message that communicates a significant benefit to your prospect. Opt for large graphics rather than reams of copy. Pictures paint a thousand words while very few attendees will take time to read. Your presentations/demonstrations are a critical part of your exhibit marketing. Create an experience that allows visitors to use as many of their sense as possible. This will help to enhance memorability.
Whatever promotional vehicles you use - direct mail, broadcast faxes, advertising, PR, sponsorship, and the Internet, make sure that you give visitors a reason to come and visit you. With a hall overflowing with fascinating products/services, combined with time constraints, people need an incentive to stop at your booth. First and foremost their primary interest is in “what’s new!” They are eager to learn about the latest technologies, new applications, or anything that will help save them time and/or money. Even if you don’t have a new product/service to introduce, think about a new angle to promote your offerings.
Tied into giving visitors an incentive to visit your booth is the opportunity to offer a premium item that will entice them to stop. Your giveaway items should be designed to increase your memorability, communicate, motivate, promote or increase recognition of your company. Developing a dynamite giveaway takes thought and creativity. Consider what your target audience wants, what will help them do their job better, what they can’t get elsewhere, what is product/service related and educational. Think about having different gifts for different types of visitors. Use your website to make an offer for visitors to collect important information, such as an executive report, when they visit your booth. Giveaways should be used as a reward or token of for visitors participating in a demonstration, presentation or contest, or as a thank-you for qualifying information about specific needs etc.
Enormous time, energy and money are put into organizing show participation - display, graphics, literature, premiums, etc. However, the people chosen to represent the entire image of the organization are often left to fend for themselves. They are just told to show up. Your people are your ambassadors. They represent everything your company stands for, so choose them well. Brief them beforehand and make sure they know: why you are exhibiting; what you are exhibiting and what you expect from them. Exhibit staff training is essential for a unified and professional image. This means making sure that they sell instead of tell; they don’t try to do too much; they understand visitor needs; they don’t spend too much time with visitors; and finally, they know how to close the interaction with a commitment to follow-up.
The key to your tradeshow success is wrapped up in the lead-management process. The best time to plan for follow-up is before the show. Show leads often take second place to other management activities that occur after being out of the office for several days. The longer leads are left unattended, the colder and more mediocre they become. It is to your advantage to develop an organized, systematic approach to follow-up. Establish a lead handling system, set time lines for follow-up, use a computerized database for tracking, make sales representatives accountable for leads given to them, and then measure your results.
Written by Susan A. Friedmann
Posted by Kim Zarro
Narrowing the List of Trade Shows
Unless you have unlimited budgets and resources, once you have a list of potential shows to attend, you need to find out which of those shows are the best. The key to finding the best shows lies in finding the shows that pull in the most decision makers for your industry. For example, you may find that one of the very large shows in your industry brings in a lot of non-decision makers because their union specifies that members get to attend one national conference each year, and that’s the show most of them choose.
To find out who attends, ask the show management for a demographic profile of their attendees. Typically, show literature will list only the numbers and general titles of their attendees. Check the titles and purchasing responsibility if that information is available.
Another route to finding the best shows is to contact past attendees. Have a list of questions ready that will tell you if they are indeed the decision makers, and what value they placed on their time spent in the exhibit hall. You can also check out the exhibitor list from the previous year, and ask those non-competing exhibitors what their impressions of the show were and whether they will be attending again. Or, if possible, go to the show as an attendee and walk the exhibit floor so you’ll know if you want to attend it next year. You can get an exhibit-only pass for many shows, so you’re not paying the entire fee.
You also need to check with the show managers and ask how they are promoting the show and about their strategy for getting people to the exhibit hall. If it’s a new show, there has to be very good promotion to get the traffic you need to make it worthwhile. Often, the conference schedules are set up so that luncheons and socials are held in the exhibit hall to ensure that attendees spend time with vendors. While it is nice to get them into the exhibits (and to your booth), food-related functions aren’t always the best arenas for talking with prospects, mainly because it’s hard to handle a plate of food, a drink, and your company’s literature at the same time. Make sure the schedule allows for plenty of time around those events so attendees can eat and visit your booth. If it doesn’t, let the show management know so they can plan better the following year. (Or better yet, if it’s a show that you do well at, volunteer for the planning committee, if there is one.)
Once you’ve nailed down the best shows to attend, you need to figure out what you’re going to be standing in front of…perhaps the team at Skyline Metro Chicago (312-733-0770 or info@skylinemc.com) can help in that regard. Skyline Metro Chicago offers global exhibiting solutions to help any size budget and specifications.
