your trade show display - what your prospect sees first

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The most important part of your trade show booth space is the portable trade show display you should have set up in the back.  I remember the days when we used to set up big, bulky, hinged, fabric-covered plywood board trade show displays and then attach our small photographs and signs to them with Velcro.  Those days should be over now (though I still sometimes cringe at shows when I see the old and/or home-made displays still being used).  Today's trade show displays are so much more portable.  More importantly, with digitally printed graphics getting so cheap, there is no reason not to have full-size color trade show graphics.  I really like the new 25 pound popup displays that have a single color-printed stretch fabric banner on the front that stays on the display when you take it down.  In ten seconds, you can "pop-up" a 10ft x 8ft full color sign, and it costs less than what we used to pay for 200lb back-breaking blank fabric board trade show displays available when I first started in this business.  Before you invest in a new portable trade show display, be sure to got to all the display dealers in your area and check out all the options available.  Keep in mind how portable the trade show display is, and how easy it will be to get around with you or how much it will cost to ship.  Also find out how much it will cost to update or change your graphics.  After you've seen the trade show displays locally, also check the internet to see what deals may be out there.

UPDATE: Helpful tips, hints, suggestions, advice, and critical factors for successfully selecting, choosing, and understanding trade show displays...

! Portability - Unless every trade show you attend is at your office, you'll need to haul this thing with you when you go to a show. Are you going to local shows where you can drive, or will you be flying to shows on the other side of the country. And will you be exhibiting at any international trade shows? Portability among trade show displays varies a lot! Be sure you check out the Signature display we recommend above.

! Durability - Remember my friend Murphy and his famous Law. If something can go wrong it will. It's not a question of if your trade show display will break, it's a question of when. Get a durable trade show display. Get a simple trade show display that no a lot can go wrong with, and that you can easily fix at the show if you have to. Most trade show displays have lifetime frame warrantees now... if your display doesn't, ask why.

! Impact - Don't skimp on your graphics or the size of your graphics. You want to get noticed at the trade show. That's why you're there, and that's the primary job of your trade show display. While the three most import things for your trade show booth space may be location, location, and location... the three most important things for your trade show display are graphics, graphics, and graphics.

! Message - Your trade show display graphics need to have a clear message. Anyone noticing your display (and anyone with 100 yard should) must immediately know WHO you are and WHAT you do, and WHY they absolutely, positively MUST stop and talk to you. You must have a clear trade show marketing message.

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