Trade show success: from exhibit companies to venues.

• Author: McKimmie, Kathy
• Position: TRADE SHOWS

IS YOUR COMPANY'S trade-show exhibit still getting the message across? An annual review is recommended, says Mike Crosson, CEO and president of Exhibit House, an Indianapolis-based designer and builder of exhibits.

Are the graphics and message still on-target? If it's a change in logo that's needed, that's simple, but maybe the client wants to move from a 10-by-10 to a 20-by-20-foot booth. If it just needs a larger booth for one year to launch a new product, for instance, a rental booth will he the best route to take. Many companies have a large booth for their major show that breaks down into smaller modules for other shows. A rule of thumb when planning a budget is $90 to $140 a square foot. "Technology is probably the biggest wild card," he says, along with entertainment space and room for presentations.

At trade shows, the visuals are "on steroids," says Crosson. "It's a challenge to stand out, so for any exhibit to be truly successful, it needs to start with the clarity of the brand offering when a potential customer sees the booth. It has to resonate. Are people talking about it after they leave and are they driving people back to it?"

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The trade show market is going strong, says Dave. Amick, senior account executive, Image Exhibits, Fort Wayne. "You can go to one site and see all the goods. It's cost-effective, instead of sending sales people across the country."

Image Exhibits is a full-service company with 25 employees, working with clients to creatively showcase their products and services in ways that meet both their budgets and their goals, be it a tabletop display or a 40-foot-square, two-story booth. Services include everything from working on the design to building the display to arranging for shipping and setup to storing it until the next show.

Not all exhibits are 20-by-20-foot, installed in huge convention centers. The company outfitted a 48-foot trailer as a mobile display for Ingersoll-Rand. On the smaller end, it makes pop-ups and tabletops, which clients often make available to their distributors to use in local or regional shows. Distributors for Belden Wire & Cable Co. products, for instance, may use its tabletop display at more than a dozen shows in a month, each time shipped by Image Exhibits after getting an email confirmation, then returned so the company can check its condition and make sure it's ready for the next show. Lincoln Financial's agents use its portable display, and it might...