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.

Are you "reactive" when planning for a trade show?  When the show comes around, do you find yourself scrambling to address last minute details and logistics on top of your normal day-to-day responsibilities?  If so, you are not alone.  Many, if not most, trade show exhibitors are reactive in their approach to trade shows...

I recently spent two very “mind-bending” days at the EventTech meeting held at the New World Stages in New York City.  One after another tech marketers took a stage to tell a case history featuring creative solutions to promotions and trade show/event marketing, all of which included some cool application of technology.  It’s understood the presentations are actually “shameless self-promotion”, but who cares (there was content there too!)?  The end result is we all saw the best solutions to delivering memorable experiences to event and trade show attendees.  We are seeing the convergence of virtual and face-to-face marketing come alive, powered by the explosion of apps, AR (Augmented Reality), literally thousands of social media platforms and projection technologies to name just a few.

Many of the projects featured big budget solutions, so the challenge now seems to be how do we deliver affordable tech-based tools to all the businesses not in the Fortune 500?

The annual EDPA (Exhibit Designers and Producers Association) once again delivered an insightful and thought-provoking look into the ever-changing trade show exhibit and event business.  The association clearly tends to favor the issues and concerns of the traditional and larger custom house side of the industry…and rightfully so.  The big boys pay the bills.  However, the accelerated rate of change evident in the face-to-face marketing world, and the impedance of technology into trade show exhibits and corporate meetings, points to a deeper, more fundamental shift.

A few weeks ago I attended a Crain’s New York breakfast meeting to hear a panel discussion about the newly proposed convention center in Queens, NY.  The developer was certainly optimistic about the upside potential, particularly if casino gambling is approved for the site.  In my opinion, without gambling there appears to be little or no chance of this project succeeding.  If gambling is brought in it almost certainly would be the final nail in the Atlantic City coffin.  The goal would be to create “little Vegas East” in Queens.  But what about the Javits Center, New York City’s largest trade show and convention center?

Ask any parent about the challenges of bedtime with a 4 year old and they will usually include a bedtime story as part of the nightly routine.  If they’re honest they will also admit to skipping a few pages (or trying) to speed up the process.  An attentive 4 year old will usually catch you in the act, resulting in having to go back and start again.  I hated when that  happened…

So how does this relate to a trade show exhibit or a corporate event?

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