I may be the least qualified person in the industry to comment on the state of trade show exhibiting but hey!…it’s my blog!  So here goes...

I’m on my way back from Exhibitor 2013, the annual trade show for trade show displays and exhibiting.  From my time spent in Las Vegas, here are some surface takeaways:

• Lots of back lit fabric graphics

• Fewer hanging trade show signs.  Designers are building more from the ground up to avoid the rigging costs.

• Trade show lead management and pre/at/post show promotional products are maturing.

• More cantilevered exhibit designs due to the light weight graphics and evolution of new architecture.

Behind the scenes there were many comments about a tight market, especially on either coast.  Conversely the middle of the country seems to holding its own, with manufacturers still exhibiting to show their stuff.

The annual meeting of NYC & Company, the travel and tourism department for the city of New York, was held on February 20^th 2013 at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center.  The news was ALL good!  In 2012 NYC & Company met its 2015 goal of over 50 million tourist visitors to New York City!  Already in 2013 hotel bookings are 11% ahead of last year, and most notably for the New York trade show display designers, the Javits Center and hotel venues attracted 300,000 more trade show attendees than Las Vegas in 2012.

Before you set out to design your next trade show display, ask yourself the following questions...

Trade Show ROI Tip #3 - Staff Preparation

Trade shows are shows.  And like any good Broadway show requires a number of key components to be successful.  Skyline Genesis Event Marketing builds business “sets”, typically referred to as exhibits, displays, or booths.  For the purposes of this blog let’s call them sets.  In addition to a good set you need a show with a good plot, skilled direction and competent actors (preferably stars!).  So, the question is, are you sending stars to work your next trade show?