Displayit.com - Trade Show Displays, Booths & Exhibits Blog

Happy Halloween from the Displayit Guys!

Isn't it a lot of fun when Halloween is on a Friday.  We are having a ball here at Displayit, enjoy yourself and have a safe and happy Halloween. 

Use Facebook Fan Pages to Aid Your Marketing Efforts

Displayit recently launched our Facebook fan page a few weeks ago.  Please check it out and let us know what you think.  This is a pretty effective tool for generating traffic to your website and keeping your most loyal customers updated on things going on with your company.  I was thinking today that this could also be a future tool to aid pre-show marketing efforts.  If you can develop a list of fans at the particular trade shows you attend, you can use the facebook page as a way to generate a little excitement prior to the show. This is probably something we are going to experiment with at the shows we attend in 2009.

Top 10 Budget Saving Ideas: Part II

Last week I begin sharing my Top 10 ideas that trade show exhibitors could use to maximize their budgets.  Today I'm ready to share numbers 1-5 on my list.

5. Read Your Show Forms -  It can be overwhelming to receive a massive show manual via e-mail, but by carefully going over your forms you can be sure to order services correctly and you will meet ordering deadlines which will save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

4. Consolidate Shipments - It is a great idea to ship your booth to the advance warehouse.  However, try to ship everything at one time.  Most shows will charge you minimum fees each time they receive a shipment.  Do your best to consolidate everything into one shipment.  Once again, this can save you hundreds of dollars.

3. Get Multiple Quotes on Your Display - Sounds funny coming from someone that sells trade show displays, but I highly recommend you get mulitple quotes on potential displays.  Make sure that you are comparing apples to apples, but beware that you could end up paying thousands more than you need to for basic custom modular exhibits if you don't do a little shopping.

2.  Find Out in Advance What it Will Cost to Maintain Your Display - How much will it cost to store?  What does it cost to ship?  How much will it cost to change out your graphics?  For many displays, it will cost more to use them than it did to purchase them.  Know the costs up front.

1.  Exhibit with a Purpose - It is so important to exhibit with a purpose.  Develop your goals, measure your success and develop a budget and plan that will allow you to acheive your goals.  When it comes to trade shows, go all-out or go home.

Top 10 Ideas for Exhibitors to Maximize Their Budget

Over the next two days I want to share my top 10 ideas for exhibitors to save money and make their budgets go further.  I hope you find these ideas helpful.  Today I'm going to share ideas 10 through 6.

10.  Lighten Your Load - Look for ways to lighten your exhibit load.  There are a number of ways to use new lightweight display materials to lower your shipping costs.

9. Recycle - Don't buy a new pop-up.  Take advantage of your lifetime frame warranty.  Get that pop-up fixed for free and add some new graphics.

8. Buy a Smaller Space and Support it with a Great Pre-show Campaign - You can make your actual exhibit seem larger and more effective by investing in a complete, creative marketing plan that makes use of different pre-show communication channels such as online videos, e-mails and mailers.  The right pre-show marketing plan can make a 10' x 10' booth more effective than the average 20' x 20' island.

7. Leave the Junk at Home - Show giveaways can be an effective marketing tool at trade shows, but we all know that the vast majority of givewaways are not effective.  If you haven't spent the time and effort to select the PERFECT giveaway that will communicate and reinforce your brand and message at your event, you're better off bringing nothing.

6. Develop a Shipping Plan - One of the most expensive parts of exhibiting at a trade show is shipping your exhibit and materials.  As we mentioned in #10, you want to strive to lower your shipping weight, but it is also critical to develop a shipping plan.  Spend the time to shop for the best rates and make sure you take the time to create a cost effective plan for shipping your exhibit to multiple events.

Displayit New Trade Show Product Update

It has been a while since I've been able to post an update here on the Displayit blog.  I want to use today's post as a chance to catch you up on a number of the new trade show displays we have launched over the last few weeks.

1.  We've added a simple 20' x 20' Island Display for the XRLine.  This is a simple 4-sided cube layout that features large format graphics, straight or wave canopies and the ability to support counters and monitors.  You could also purchase Exhibitline Kiosks to use in your island exhibit space.

2.  We have also added the double-sided pronto display to our retractable banner stand section, plus we've added a kit that includes 3 pronto panner stands to make a portable banner stand backwall.

3.  Finally, we have added the contour table cover to our unprinted table covers section.