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Wall Street Proverb |
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This month we will take a quick look at serving food on the showfloor.
Food for thought … actually how do I feed people in my booth space? There is always a service contractor for each show that provides food for the tradeshow – from simple to elaborate – from beer to full service bars. Unless you are at a food/nightclub - related tradeshow – you will be using the show’s food contractor. So forget about your favorite caterer or restaurant or hot dog stand – it will not happen on today’s show floor. Think logistically how 60 exhibitors could possibly have 60 different caterers running to their booth spaces at noon to serve lunch – it just cannot happen.
Additionally if you choose to vend something beyond candy in a bowl or maybe popcorn – you will be charged by the show per piece. Example: in Houston there was a client that had a polar bear as its symbol. Why not hand out Klondike ice cream bars? Seemed like a great idea – however it took from the food server’s coffers – so an agreement was reached that for every ice cream bar handed out from the booth space (at the client’s cost) there would be an additional charge of $1.75 per bar to return to the food service contractor. Food is a great gesture – but consider a hand-picked group for a party rather than feeding the world at much greater expense. Or contact the show’s food contractor and start dealing!
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Staying in Tune with Show Deadlines
It is October - are you ready for your January show? It should honestly be put to bed right now. With holidays taking two weeks of December, deadlines move forward to mid-December for advance warehouse and really … everything else. This sets into motion a domino effect. There are more trade shows in January than any month of the year – and less prep time because of all of the days off in December. If your show starts on January 4 – your exhibit will be being built on the show floor in December. We are a hurry up and wait industry – and everyone that is an exhibitor is a member of that club as well. If you are fortunate enough to have a show in July or August you may be able to procrastinate for a short time – any other month and you need to leave 4 months of ramping-up time to keep yourself in shipshape.
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 Live Auction
Click on this link www.absoluteexhibits/auction
to go to the Absolute Exhibits live auction – incredible values – the auction closes this Friday, October 14.
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Exhibit City News is the only monthly newspaper specifically for the tradeshow industry. This is where anyone associated with the exhibition business gets the most current information about the rudimentary aspects of going to the show floor. In my estimation everyone that exhibits at a tradeshow needs to read this newspaper. Why? They explain the unexplainable – and the possibility of how to understand who is responsible for each aspect of your tradeshow presence. They are a primary resource.
A great example was the headline from last month, MediaLive International Modifies Drayage Charge. In one simple article they redefined what might be one of the most important changes in the exhibit business in years. In essence MediaLive, a show producer has signed an agreement with Champion Exposition Services that will change the way material handling fees are charged to exhibitors in an effort to be more clear-cut, and upfront on drayage costs. With this new structure, drayage charges are far more predictable and offer exhibitors a better way to contain costs. Read more here http://www.exhibitcitynews.com/index.php.
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The point is driven home that this will transform the way drayage is handled in the future. Where else can you get this type of information? or, the myriad of other subjects that they touch on every month. If one show producer does a revolutionary turnabout – why can’t your show producer? The only way to change your personal industry is through example. And now you have examples at your fingertips. Click on this link http: //www.exhibitcitynews.com – and consider a subscription – it will be eye-opening for many people. Many times we just shrug our shoulders, pay the outlandish prices, and say “that’s just the way the tradeshow charges.” It doesn’t have to be that way – educate yourself, this is a very special trade publication.
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New Name … same old foe
Material handling, formerly referred to as drayage, can be a difficult part of your involvement in a tradeshow. Educating your people about the process and some prudent planning can ease the pain … somewhat. Material handling refers to the many levels of receiving your materials, both at the advance warehouse and/or at the show site during move-in, delivering them to your booth, removing empty containers for storage during the show, returning the empty containers to your booth after the show, delivering your materials back to the dock and loading for outbound shipping. Charges are generally governed by weight, although some shows are now using cubes rather than weight to give the exhibitors more of a fighting chance monetarily.
First and foremost always check the service manual for deadline dates so as not to pay unnecessary late charges by missing deadlines or target dates. Never forget to carry your signed bill of lading from your carrier and bring it with you to the show. Bills of lading are critical if you need to trace missing freight. Always check with the service contractor to make sure your materials have arrived. The quicker you know there is a problem, the more rapidly it can be solved.
IMPORTANT! Save money by consolidating your shipments as there is a minimum charge for each individual shipment into the show. Make certain that crates and containers are really empty before applying an EMPTY sticker. It is expensive and in many cases impossible to retrieve an empty container once it has been removed from your booth. The costs for this is prohibitive – and make no doubt about it – there is a hefty fee for them to go searching. Lastly, when you are dismantled, packed and ready to ship, fill out an outbound bill of lading and leave it with the service contractor. Never leave it in the booth with your materials. Take a copy of the bill with you. If you have questions on the material handling bill that comes to your booth space on the second day of the show take care of it immediately. If you do not handle this at the show – you will have months of paperwork and no resolution ahead of you.
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