| “The medium is the message.”
|
| -
Marshall McLuhan |
|
Hanging Sign Rigging
Hanging signs and banners are an excellent way to set you apart from the show floor competition! Hanging Banners can capture audience attention the second they walk into the exhibit hall. No matter how inexpensive or costly they might be all hanging signs have one thing in common – you must pay for rigging through the show.
It is very important that the hanging sign order form get processed as early as possible, as the signs go up long before you get there. Attention to detail is very important, especially the placement diagram. Freeman and GES will assemble your sign,
|
you or your display company can only observe the fabrication and you must have complete set-up instructions packed with the sign. Signs must arrive on time – at least one week prior to the first exhibitor move-in day, to assure that it will be hung. To assure the timeliness of your sign's arrival - please check your show manual. If electrical lighting is used with the sign then electrical service must be ordered. If any hang point supports over 250 pounds the riggers must be notified immediately.
There are many points that you can be frustrated with on the trade show floor – let’s use paying to plug in your lights as an example. However, rigging is a serious issue and must stay in the hands of the people in charge – a small accident can be a disaster on the show floor.
|
|
|
|
What? You don’t have a brand?? It’s all about getting noticed. No matter how good your product or service, if no one knows about it, no one will be buying it. In many cases this all starts on the trade show floor, where you see more clients and potential-clients in three days than you can see in a year in the real world. A consistent image that says “this is who we are” needs to float across your business cards, brochures, packaging, web site, and your trade show exhibit. Connecting with your target audience is
|
 the key and to do that a graphics consultant can take you in the right direction.
This person will help you figure out what your brand’s message and positioning should be to best appeal to your target customers. Try to find a message that draws out both an emotional response and a rational response. Emotion is a great first response however, when the brain clicks in the rational response has allot more weight. Talk to your customers to learn how they
|
 see your company – you will be amazed at their answers. Remember this is their perception, not yours.
|
|
On the “don’t” side of the coin – do not make any claims that your company cannot deliver every time. Don’t jump and hire an ad agency that may emphasize expensive ads over other methods of getting the word out. Ad agencies are great, but not always necessary at startup. Do not try to say too much. This is especially true at a trade show, as attendees keep moving through the convention hall. Whether you are a start-up, or need to reinvent a 25 year old company – today’s smaller companies can take a page out of the big guy’s book using branding … it can take you a long way.
|
|
 Why it's So Costly to Make a Change on the Show Floor
Day in and day out we get calls from the show floor – can I get an extra table and chairs? I really think I need carpet padding now that I am standing on the carpet that I ordered over cement? How much to get my sign into the air? These all seem like simple requests to the clients – so why does it cost so much?
We really want to accommodate everyone, as do all of our fellow exhibit
houses, but here are the answers … sure we can drive a table and chairs over to the convention center, first we go back to the warehouse and get them packed, then we sit in the marshalling yard for three hours waiting to be sent to the convention
center itself, then it is taken from our truck and you start the real wait. The table and chairs must be brought to your booth space by the general contractor. Then we go back to your space to unpack it and set it up. Approximate time seven hours at show labor fees of let’s say - $70 an hour and then of course you have to pay for the table and chairs. Pretty costly? You bet – for all of us. Plan ahead.
The carpet is simple – your entire booth must be taken down and out into the aisle along with the carpet while we put down the padding – after the above mentioned wait. Padding was offered at probably an extra $1 a foot before the show – now it will cost up against $5 - $10 a foot. And the sign? Well it depends on the exhibit system you are using, or whether the riggers from the show will need to join us at your booth? We cannot emphasize that you really need to think and plan ahead – unless you have a never-ending budget – but if you did would you have scrimped in the first place?
|
|
