Directing the details.

• Author: Mathew, Jan
• Position: Trade show management firms

Consider using a trade-show asset-management service.

In the trade-show management arena, it's what you don't see that counts.

Hidden behind television monitors broadcasting slick videos and tucked at the base of mammoth, two-story faux rock formations lie the details that comprise trade-show asset management - such less glitzy but absolutely essential elements as shipping, set-up, drayage and deployment.

"Going to a trade show is a lot like a Desert Storm operation," observes Michael Parrott, president of Icon International, a full-service exhibit design firm based in Fort Wayne.

"There are huge props and multiple trucks. When the track hits the dock, the display has to be moved and erected quickly. Displays are equipped with the latest electronic equipment, and many require trained demonstrators," Parrott says.

"The night before a trade show opens, the exhibit hall looks like an absolute war zone. People are marshaling crates and equipment, and are suspended from the ceiling, hanging lights and banners. It's an exciting but pressure-packed situation."

Circumstances, he adds, in which trade-show asset-management companies thrive. Throughout the state, growing numbers of exhibitors are outsourcing the stress of such exhibit intricacies, making trade-show asset management an opportunity for many Indiana companies.

Trade-show asset-management companies offer full support - advising on which trade shows to attend; purchasing booth space; building the exhibit; installing, shipping, dismantling, inspecting and storing the exhibit; overseeing the set-up on the trade-show floor; arranging for carpet, electrical service, furniture, phones, food, photography and security. Asset-management companies have been called upon to staff clients' exhibits and, in one case, to arrange for the show floor appearance of a Clydesdale horse.

"Basically, we'll do whatever the client wants us to do," says Joe Schreiber, owner and general manager of Omnicraft International, a full-service trade-show custom designer and producer in South Bend. "Some customers want us to do everything down to submitting the names of their booth personnel," he says.

"We like to say, 'let us do what we do best, so you can do what you do best - show up and sell," Schreiber says. "The night before a big show, our clients should be out entertaining, or concentrating on their presentations, not worrying about the details on the show floor."

Some asset-management companies have always been part of the squad, while others have added management services only in the past several years. But all agree that asset management is a growing business area, and one that appeals to a wide range of clients.

"We've always offered management services, but we've seen an increase in the past...