The convertible exhibit

Trade show program properties many times are engineered to do double or triple duty. That is, can your properties be set in multiple configurations--10x20, 20x20, 30x40--while still maintaining the look and feel of the brand and the company?

A variation of this is a property that can be configured and shaped into different sizes and appearances to support multiple clients. Our friends at Smalley & Associates in Dallas have a custom rental property that we'll use here as an example.


The booth was originally built for a client in the industrial power control business. The kiosks and graphic spaces featured the brand and products in multiple configurations.

The same properties were also proposed for a client in the security equipment and monitoring business.

While the offerings are quite different, the basic booth allowed for demonstration and client-staff interaction (the key to effective sales and marketing). The structure was modified with vinyl and/or graphic treatments to give it the look of the renting client.

The point of this case is to, as an exhibitor, be thinking of how you can direct your exhibit dollars by either having a versatile exhibit built for you or how you can rent someone else's booth and configure it for your purposes.

TTSG

On with the show: NACStech in Texas

The word from NACS (the National Association of Convenience Stores) is that their event in Texas will proceed.

After contacting show management on behalf of our client, Retalix, I learned that NACStech, set for May 18 to 21 at the Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine, Texas, will happen.

"At this time NACStech is moving forward as planned," said my contact at the association to me in an e-mail dated Friday, May 1. The FMI-Marketechnics Show, set to open this week in Dallas, was postponed by its organizers last week amid concerns for public health around large gatherings.

Given the NACStech show is much smaller in scale than the Marketechnics show, I am curious as to how these decisions were made.

Any comments out there?

TTSG

At this time NACStech is moving forward as planned.

FMI Marketechnics Trade Show Postponed (correction)

This news just out: because of the swine flu outbreak in Texas, the FMI-Marketechnics trade show, scheduled for the Dallas Convention Center next week (May 6-8) has been postponed to a later date:

http://www.tradeshowweek.com/eNewsletter/CA6655588/2664.html

TTSG

thanks to TradeShow Week, FMI

Walking the AS3 Show

This show is aimed at the aircraft maintenance audience. Held annually each March, this show has reduced in size in recent years because of, I'm told, a split between associations.

The largest players at this show, by exhibit size, are Chevron, Phillips-Conoco, Simple Green, AV Fuel, Dallas Airmotive, PPC, Corridor, Deutz, FMC and TLD. A mixed bag of exhibits, it ranged from the small 10x10s jammed with parts washers to the elegent, simple exhibits with a clearly, cleanly labeled engine on a stand.

This is a three-day show that should probably be a two-day show as the last day is a tomb, according to the exhibitors. Another example of a show with fewer attendees but those that do attend are focused and serious.

Lesson Learned: this is a good example of sizing your booth to the audience and the show. A 10x10 can have as much impact with a prepared staff as a 20x30 without a theme or targeted program.