If you’re new to managing trade show appearances (or even if you aren’t), you may be surprised to learn that renting a custom-modular exhibit is an option. Whether you’re augmenting your purchased exhibit for a VIP show or you have a limited budget, renting is a great option to keep in mind when you want to make a splash at a trade show.
Even Rental Exhibits are Unique
A common misconception about exhibit rentals is that renting will limit your choices to a ‘cookie-cutter’ design. Fortunately, that’s not the case. Since OnePoint designs and creates all exhibits using customer modular components, even rental exhibits are completely unique and 100% customized, tailored to meet each client’s very specific needs. (You can think of OnePoint exhibit products like Lego bricks—while we start with standard building blocks, we configure them in an infinite number of creative, unique ways.)
Whether you’re renting or buying a new custom exhibit, the process is the same at OnePoint. We start with a design discovery meeting to uncover your functional, aesthetic, and budgetary needs and then design an exhibit that meets them. In the case of rental exhibits, the client rents the hardware and purchases the custom graphics.
Comparing Costs
As a general rule, you can rent an exhibit 3-4 times before it will make more sense to purchase. The first time renting is the most expensive since graphics and anything highly customized will need to be purchased. As a rule of thumb, the cost of renting an exhibit one time might be roughly half of what it would cost to purchase the exhibit, while future additional rentals of the same pieces might cost around 25% of the purchase price each time. (For example, an exhibit with a $100,000 value might cost $50,000 to rent the first time, and then $25,000 each time you re-use the same graphics and hardware.)
Reasons to Rent Instead of Buy
There are a number of reasons it can make sense to rent trade show exhibit materials instead of buying them. In many cases, clients are using a combination of owned and rental assets. Sometimes clients who own custom modular exhibits will rent additional pieces or a freestanding exhibit when they have a product launch or major announcement, or if they are going to be exhibiting in a larger space than normal and would like more exhibit properties to fill it. Renting allows them to augment what they already have and get more bang for their buck.
In other cases, renting an exhibit makes sense if you’re unsure if you’ll attend future shows, or don’t know what size and type of spaces you’ll have to work with in the future. And of course, it frequently comes down to accounting. Perhaps you don’t have capital dollars to spend on a new exhibit or don’t want the asset on your books, or it’s easier to budget for and expense a rental than a purchase.
The OnePoint Advantage
At OnePoint, we rent custom-modular exhibits (and typically not portable displays like pop-ups and banner stands). Rentals are staged in our Grand Rapids facility so clients can stop in to see the exhibit in person before it ships. (If a client can’t make it into our facility, we can send pictures.) Clients are also welcome to bring show materials (e.g., literature, giveaways, product, technology) to be consolidated in their shipments.
OnePoint manages shipping the exhibit to and from the show, as well as exhibit set-up and tear-down at the show. This process sets everyone up for success by ensuring that all the parts/pieces arrive on time, are built safely and correctly, and are returned on time. You enjoy the peace of mind of knowing you can show up when your show opens, head home when it closes, and leave the rest to us. It also saves clients from needing to learn how to assemble and tear down an exhibit they may use only once or twice. Whether you rent or purchase your exhibit materials, all clients have the option of enrolling in OnePoint’s turnkey exhibit management program.
Turn to the experts at OnePoint. Contact us today if you’re interested in learning more about renting a trade show exhibit.
