Blue Broken Car

Blue Broken Car

What makes a trade show exhibition a unique high-stakes form of marketing is the long list of things that can go wrong at the last minute. You’ve likely invested a tidy sum in shipping those marketing materials, such as exhibit stands, a booth and furnishings. There’s also the hefty investment in handouts, trade show samples, and let’s not forget those staffers working the show on your dime.

Avoid these three common pitfalls at your next trade show event.

  1. Damaged displays. Have a doctoring kit on hand. Duct tape has proved its worth to exhibitors many times over — especially when shippers mishandled your exhibit materials. It’s easy to just tuck a roll of tape into your checked baggage. Better yet, prevent mishaps in the first place. Always use sturdy, reliable exhibitor-stand hardware, because the stakes are high. You don’t want a trade show visitor to suffer an injury, should an element of your display suddenly give way.
  2. Pack a small bottle of carpet cleaner. You certainly don’t want the distraction of an ugly stain that occurred when a booth visitor suffering from jet lag fumbled that polystyrene cup. For those bigger spill disasters that can occur during setup — like when a forklift leaves a trail of hydraulic fluid on your booth’s carpeting — here’s another tip: Rent the carpet for your booth. If it’s damaged, the rental company often will replace it.
  3. Lost or delayed shipments of handouts. Ensure you have online access to those digital files containing essential trade show marketing materials – brochures sales literature and product handouts. Many trade shows are located in areas within a short walk of a quick copy shop. As long as you have the digital files, you can get a rapid-turnaround on an order of reprints from a nearby copy shop.