About this time of year – a lot of companies are taking out their gear and seeing what’s usable, what needs to fixed or replaced and what should be upgraded. Whatever you have – from pop up display to modular system, a truss or just a few banner stands, it makes sense to do this. Like your skis in the summer or your swimsuit in the winter, your trade show display and graphics seem to get a bit more more even when they’re not used.
It’s not gremlins. And your display isn’t being rented out when you’re not using it. What’s happening, of course, is that your equipment gets “ridden hard and put up wet” as the cowboys used to say about horses, and whatever needs attention doesn’t get the attention until the next trade show.
The best advice we can give you, if you didn’t unpack and stage your display right after the trade show, is to do that right away and see how it all fared. Without the bright lights of the hall, but with a lot more time and attention than you had when you were at the show.
If your graphics are beginning to get worn, you’re well advised to consider a replacement. A lot of companies think graphics last forever. True, they can. But only if you don’t use them. If you do use them, they’ll show it eventually. We view trade show graphics to be the highest return item in your arsenal: nothing else can do more to bring prospects into your trade show booth. Part messaging, part branding and all style, graphics are the one thing to try to get perfect (if you can). So think about an upgrade if your are showing wear or are more than two years old.
Another area that’s worth investing in – for completely different reasons – is your flooring. You want to keep it looking spiffy. It won’t do a lot on the upside if it looks great, but it can be a terrible detractor if it looks worn. And if it’s worn it’s probably lost its padding and is making it hard on your booth staff. So think about renting or buying a new carpet.
Like carpet, podiums and tables are often forgotten about – until they look dodgy and old. Imagine squiring your prospect over to you podium for the laptop demo. But the podium is chipped, de-laminating, dirty, etc. You get it. Make sure your podiums, counters and tables look new or nearly new.
Lighting is an area that many companies view as optional. And it’s easy to see why – the convention centers where trade shows are help are often well lit. But when it comes to your display and graphics, local lighting may not be so good. At best, it’s effective ambient lighting. At worst – imagine having to be right on top of your graphics to read the message. We recommend that despite the ambient lighting you also get spots or floods for your pop up, truss or modular system. You see this all the time with art – good ambient lighting but also direct lighting. Do the same.
With a few easy an inexpensive upgrades, you can make your display more powerful and have a better trade show.
Impact Displays sells cool stuff for trade shows trade show advice, displays and graphics. Contact us here to get started.
