“Good fortune is what happens when opportunity meets with planning,” said Thomas Edison, and we couldn’t agree more. Planning a trade show isn’t something that can be put off until the last minute, or even a couple of months before the show date. When you start the planning process early and take things one step at a time, you’ll be rewarded with lower costs and discounts—and a lot less stress and worry.
As part of OnePoint’s turnkey program, we help clients manage their show calendar and timelines every step of the way. To give a sense for ideal lead times, if you’ll be sending a large custom exhibit to a show, we recommend starting to plan 6-12 months in advance. Shows involving small custom exhibits are typically planned 3-6 months out, while portable exhibits can accommodate the shortest planning lead time of around 1-2 months out (though even portable exhibits benefit from time set aside for set-up training and shipping). It is possible to rush projects, but it’s never ideal!
Key Planning Tasks
A number of key tasks should be accounted for in your schedule. You’ll want to be sure the following items get checked off your list, more or less in this order:
- Set your budget
- Reserve your booth space
- Consult with an exhibit company to design and price out your exhibit
- Sign off on your exhibit design and pay a deposit
- Finalize exhibit graphics and submit art
- Order literature, giveaways, staff uniforms, etc.
- Develop and deploy pre-show marketing efforts (e.g., email and/or social media campaign, digital ads)
- Develop a post-show marketing plan (e.g., mailers, email campaign, giveaways or drawings, etc.)
- Order show services, taking advantage of discount deadlines about a month before the show opens
- Mock up your exhibit and train your staff on how to build it.
- Ship your exhibit to the show’s advance warehouse (typically deliver one week before installs begin)
- Install your exhibit
- Have a great show!
- Tear down and move out of the show
- Check-in exhibit materials once they are received back from the show, checking for damage or missing parts
- Deploy post-show marketing plan
- Follow-up on leads
By planning in advance, you’ll be able to save money and enjoy peace of mind, taking advantage of these opportunities:
- Discounted show-book rates
- Reduced shipping and material handling costs (by consolidating shipments)
- No rush charges for printing exhibit materials, obtaining and shipping promotions, etc.
- More choices for exhibit materials (some displays and graphics have longer lead times)
- Time to stage your exhibit so you know you know everything is there and in show-ready condition
- Time to train staff members on how to install, use, dismantle and pack your exhibit
- No surprises or emergencies on the show floor
Plan on Partnering with the Experts
By planning well in advance, you can help ensure everything will fall into place at the trade show, which lets you optimize your opportunities to connect with clients and prospects. When you partner with OnePoint, we do every step of the planning for you, so you can enjoy the extra assurance that every detail is accounted for and your show appearance will go smoothly.
