At an exhibition, for example, you may need to entice shoppers into your exhibit. A pop up banner stand may be really helpful in doing this. In this age of computer produced graphics there is nothing simpler than to produce some stunningly successful and extremely expert graphics that will be certain to attract the attention of possible shoppers.

Of course you need to not only depend on your pop up banner stands to garner clients but promoting teams led by dedicated team leaders scattered across the arena who will truly engage consumers and possible customers, and subtly steer them in the direction of your exhibits. It will help to equip these guys with scaled down banner stands that may make their representations instantly obvious. Naturally you need to be equipped with a very good quantity promotional material, it is possible to have them give out small giveaways, although it is perhaps better for them to have smaller gifts and have the greater giveaway located on your main exhibition stand.

Not only are pop up banner stands quick to build and will reduce set up time and therefore manpower costs, they roll up to a compact size making it easier to transport and store. They also tend to be cheaper so you can have several made to increase your presence at the exhibition.

Obviously, you cannot only rely on a pop up banner stand to optimise your advertising and marketing, you will need to make sure that your main exhibit is just as outstanding, perhaps having a custom made exhibition stand. However the fact remains that properly designed and placed pop up banner stands will make certain that the optimum quantity of possible buyers visit your stand you have taken the time and money to create.

Incoming search terms:

• pop up standsadvertising what to write
• pop-out banners
• what to write in banner for exhibition
• what to write on pop up banners

Organising a show or event for your business can be both a tedious and costly task, I know I have been there myself – being pushed from pillar to post, given contradictory advice, knowing where to save money (and just as importantly where not!) especially in this current economic climate.

At the Show Store we over the years have come across many a potential client who has had enough of being messed around, ripped off, have a million unanswered questions and a budget fast running out. This is why we have created a free e-course – 20 Ways to Save You Money – that will help you to get the most from your event. Each day for 20 days you’ll get an email in your inbox with a nifty tip or trick on how to save money when organising an event for your business.

Our free e-course, brings to you 20 ways to save both time and money for the sizeable purchasing decisions that you’ll inevitably have to go through in preparation of the big day. Check lists and free guides that we think will assist you are also included for free.

Please don’t think this e-course is just for “new to exhibiting” people, we have had experienced people sign up and even they found some useful information that helped them save money.

This unbiased information will help you to achieve your goals no matter who you eventually buy from. No hard sell we just want to help and its FREE!

To sign up for the e-course just click the link above or  sign up via the Show Store.

Happy exhibiting!

Before I finish you may find our You Tube Channel useful it contains videos on various banner stands – keep checking as more and more are being added regularly.

The Beginners Guide to Sales is jam packed with everything you need to know to successfully sell. This information is particularly important when you are using face-to-face marketing techniques on the road at a show, event, seminar or conference.

The Ultimate Exhibitors Handbook is a mighty 55 page handbook full of strategies, tips, tricks and checklists that you’ll be able to use to ensure that your show set-up, organization, planning, purchasing and marketing is carried out in a way that ensures your stand will stand out at the show.

Both guides are easy to use and not too technical so ideal for the first time exhibitor. We know as we have been there ourselves how overwhelming exhibiting can be.  A lot of experienced exhibitors however, have received them and they have all told me that even they have picked up a few new ideas. So don’t think just because you have been doing this for years you know everything, anyway what have you got to loose – they are FREE!

Both Guides are only available when an order is placed so can’t be downloaded and used willy nilly. As soon as the order has completed then the guides will be emailed directly to you and you can get cracking.

Also as a last thought don’t forget to view our You Tube channel which is packed with useful banner stands videos and is updated and added to regularly.

I hope you find them useful – happy reading(viewing)!

Transporting Exhibition Display Equipment

Incorrect transportation and storage of the stand can take a eye-catching, professional display and turn it into expensive scrap in seconds. Firstly, pack all of your equipment tight enough that they won’t shift and move around during transportation. This is exceptionally important for rigid graphics, large panels, and other objects that can be dented or bent easily.

Construction of the Stand at the Show

If you will be managing your own stand construction, make sure you allot enough time before the event to get everything set up and exactly how you want it. If time is at a premium the set up the perimeter, tables and main stand essentials first.

Next put in place your smaller items, decorations, and marketing material in and around the stand as the early exhibition attendees enter the exhibition hall. Depending on the distance and sizing rules, some exhibitors find it easier to build smaller items before arrival.

If you require contractors to put up your exhibition stand at the venue, take extra time to research the company. Ensure the company you hire has experience in the industry, as well as satisfied customers based on available testimonials.

Ensure you give the contractor as much information about the logistics and details in advance to help avoid potential damage or delays during the assembly. This includes information such as the number of pallets and stand pieces; a description of what’s in each box/case, which should also be labeled clearly and lastly diagrams and detail about which components go with which exhibition display piece.

Taking Down your Exhibition Stand

Taking down your stand needs the same care and attention as construction. Make sure everything goes back into the container it came in. Check to see if any of the items could be rubbing against each other, and if so, wrap them with a soft cloth, foam to protect the finish.

As you preparing items for transportation, make sure the fragile items such as graphics or lighting are protected. If you used paper graphics or marketing literature then it may also be sensible to place them in plastic to help protect against moisture.

Storage of Exhibition Stands for Future Use

When storing your display materials take care of your graphics and fabrics. They need to be carefully packed and stored out of direct sunlight, which could cause them to fade or become brittle. Refrain from using cheap cardboard boxes to store your display. Special cases provide far better protection and they are also more durable and transport more easily.

Most importantly it is beneficial to use a secure, dry and undisturbed storage facility to keep your stand in pristine condition. This will help to make sure it doesn’t get inadvertently bumped or knocked over.

For full some examples of special transportation cases please click the link, if you can’t see what you need we can supply a full range so call and we will forward the detail.

The idea of freebies are that when the potential customer has gone home he will look/use your gift regularly so when they need your product they automatically think to call you instead of your competitors. So what you give them is important, you don’t want them binning it or shoving it to the back of the draw.

Ok, back to my article………..

A survey has been carried out and a new Top 10 has been revealed and I thought I would share it with you.

1. Sweat Shirts
2. Drawstring Backpacks
3. Pocket Calculator
4. Clocks
5. Computer Accessories
6. Umbrella
7. Flashlights
8. Packaged Candy
9. Lip Balm
10. Coffee Mugs

Controversially the good old pen has been missed off this list….I have read many reports which say the pen is the  “king” freebie as it is cheap to mass produce and people always need a pen! Make your own mind up on this one.

One item that is a new comer and is fast becoming the numero uno item to give away is hand sanitiser – since the outbreak of swine flu some genius came up with idea to add company details to the bottles and it is taking the freebie market by storm.

Moral of the story – think before you exhibit, give something away that people will use and remember you by!

Incoming search terms:

• exhibition freebies
• freebies for exhibitions
• good freebies for exhibitions
• most popular freebies
• popular freebies
• The best freebie at an exhibition
• great freebies to give away at exhibitions
• the best show stand freebies
• top freebies at exhibitions
• good freebies at exhibitions

I have in the past had a client (who will remain nameless) take 3 sets of graphics with him to a show and each day had a swap around to test which concept worked the best with potential clients. As he pointed out it worked out much cheaper buying the extra sets of pop up stand graphics than paying to attend 2 more exhibitions to test his theory – good point well made!!

Most people though have a change of logo, or the images are looking tired and out dated or they want to promote a different product………these guys can just replace the graphic easily and save money!

When looking around for people to replace the graphic make sure they are able to do so.  Sounds daft but some companies will only produce a graphic for the systems they have in stock. Also if you are looking to replace a graphic on a banner stand my advice is to send the whole unit back and get them to do it for you. Most banner stands work on a tension basis and if you don’t do it properly then you can get into all sorts of bother.

The Showstore, although always offered the service, have put a new catergory on their on-line store for replacement graphics.  They will produce graphics for any type of stand (pop up stand, pop up banner stand, roll up banner stand etc), whether they stock it or not. You must be aware though if it is a stand they don’t normally stock there may be a small extra charge if they need to source special materials in order to complete the job (this will be in a minority of cases!!).

Click the link to view their prices – Replacement Graphics.

1. We love pop up stands.
2. Our customers love pop up stands.
3. 90% of our sales are for curved pop up stands.
4. 90% of those sales have their graphics on the inside curve of the stand.

Now with that said, it might make sense to have the graphics to the inside of the stand as it means that the unit can be fitted into corners more easily, however….

That's right it's back to front!

as you can see from the example above when the graphics are applied to the outside of the pop up stand – it does give it an individual look, don’t you think? Perhaps even distinguished?…ok I’m going a bit to far!

As ever we’re here to help you “Think outside the box!”

Bye for now.

Today,  we ask…

Should You Exhibit at All?

I’ve been involved in exhibiting for much of the last 20 years and what often amazes me is the number of businesses at shows that just shouldn’t have been there at all.

Exhibiting (or any public/trade event), in my opinion is one of the best forms of marketing. It is the only kind of marketing that has a 3D ad (your stand) with you (and your colleagues) at the heart of it and making personal contact with qualified prospects (many of whom have paid to get in!); and research and statistics say that pound for pound there is no better way to win customers – but remember it isn’t for everyone!

So who shouldn’t be exhibiting? Well there could be all sorts of reasons why a show of any kind isn’t right for you and your business and the hard truth is that (with your objectives to hand), only you can decide.

Give yourself time, question your judgement and think again – are you one of the 10% or so of businesses that get it wrong and exhibit too early, or too late, or for no purpose at all, or on a whim?

If you’re not sure then test it…

Good marketers test every marketing channel they use; why should an exhibition or event be any different? Be sensible, if it’s your first show then keep your expenditure as low as possible to ensure that you don’t risk too much money.

Many savvy marketers even track the value of each event over three, six or twelve months – after all, a single new customer can represent a huge lifetime value to you and your business.

Next time we’ll be discussing location, location, location.

Until then.

Incoming search terms:

• the ultimate exhibitors handbook

The one thing that you must do right now long before the show, is to…

Set Objectives!

There are many things that drive success to your show, but none more so than setting objectives. Without objectives you are down and out before you even get in the ring. Yes they may not sound exciting or urgent but believe me they are incredibly important.

The vast majority of exhibitors do not set objectives – they book a show because their competitor does; they don’t know who really goes; they don’t know what image to portray or products to display; they don’t know, don’t know, don’t know!

Paying good money and then turning up at your exhibition venue without objectives is like going to war without knowing why and of course you’ll never know if you’ve won or lost!

Objectives are not just about what you want to get out of the exhibition or show, they include how you are going to get the results – for example – How are you going to measure your success? Or how will you follow up leads?

Up to 80% of your competition at any exhibition, trade show, trade fair, conference or event will be what we call ‘logistic exhibitors’ – not ‘strategic exhibitors’.

What’s the difference?

Most exhibitors focus on the logistics of the event (for example, ensuring their pop up stand is bought, that the staff are booked, that the transport is laid on, that the products are ready, that the hotels are booked etc) and making sure they don’t miss that critical deadline.

Strategic exhibitors of course focus on all of the above but realise that there are equally (if not more) important tasks that whilst not seeming urgent right now are absolutely critical to the show’s success; these include setting objectives, how to measure their results and how they will follow up leads to name but a few.

So why aren’t more exhibitors strategic? There are many reasons, but in most cases logistic exhibitors fall into one of two categories:

1. Small Business – Who don’t have the time, the knowledge, resources or know how. If this is you, then you need to spend time doing all of the above or think very seriously about not attending at all – It could save you a fortune and a very big headache!

2. Big Business – With fairly typical communication problems. This often develops when the senior management doesn’t communicate what it expects to the organiser (that’s probably you!), who in turn is busy trying to achieve what they think the senior management wants to hear – the result mixed messages and mixed results. If this is you, then you need to start knocking some heads together or at the very least send an email to tie up the loose ends.

Become a Strategic Exhibitor…

Becoming a strategic exhibitor is easy; you just need to do two things to make it happen. Become a strategic exhibitor, stay focused, follow our exhibition system and do everything that is required to make your show a success – not a logistic exhibitor who just does the obvious.

Setting Objectives…

Your first question should be “Why are we going?”

If you’re in a business-to-business selling situation then you might think you should be exhibiting and your reasons might be to generate leads, find new customers, or maintain or improve your current customers perceptions of you.

Whilst this is fine in general, you need to get to the very heart of why you (or your organisation) are going and what would “success” actually look like? What would have to happen that would make the event a great one?

By sitting down early and getting these objectives on paper now, will ensure that you (and your colleagues) follow a course to exhibiting success.

How? Simple; keep your objectives continually in the forefront of your mind – every time you make a decision think objectives – the end result will be nothing short of a roaring success.

Well, if you’re one of those exhibition stand designers you might just want to shut your eyes and put your fingers in your ears!

Why?..

Well at the Show Store, we now offer exhibition stand design, trade show stand design, portable stand design and custom stand design for a grand cost of £0.00…that’s right the huge price of zilch…or should we just say for Free!?

Free Stand Design is Available for Portable, Modular & Custom Stands

Our tailor-made stand design service is here to turn ideas into a practical and graphical reality.

As you probably know by now, even portable stands can be transformed into tailor-made stands by utilising different sized items and accessories (even a standard pop up system can be transformed into a truly unique offering), you just need to know how – and that’s where our stand design teams step in.

The service is simple. We’ll chat with you by phone (or maybe we’ll have met you via a consultation or demonstration) and find out your basic requirements e.g. your preferred stand system, the space you have, any special inclusions (such as plasmas), your budget etc. We’ll then provide you with some design ideas presented to you as 3D cad visuals or 2D plan visuals or a combination of both.

When your happy with the layout you can either use our tailor-made graphic services to design those all important graphics or we’ll provide you with the sizes for you to get them underway with your preferred designer.

We offer this service for Free for 95% of enquiries – the only time there would be a charge would be for extremely large custom stand designs as they tie up our resources for an unusually long time. Don’t worry we always confirm any pricing before hand and we’ll never hit you with any hidden surprises!

To request a stand design either call us on 0845 6170950 or fill out the form on our “contact us” page and we’ll get back to you within the next 24 hours.

Put quite simply – We’ll supply you some quality design’s and save you £1000′s in the process – you can’t ask for more than that to help you through a recession!

Please note – This service is purely for the construction of the stand and not any graphical design elements that will ultimately be placed on it. Cad visuals will be provided in a blank graphical format. For graphical design please go to our tailor-made graphic design section.

Incoming search terms:

• exhibition stand design
• exhibition stand ideas
• custom stand
• custom stand design
• portable stands
• expo stand design
• exhibition design ideas
• Movable Exhibition Stand
• trade stand design
• free trade exhibition stands