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Have You Outgrown Your Exhibit?
How do you know when to grow? Does your exhibit feel tighter than your waistband after Thanksgiving dinner? Do you feel you know your fellow booth staffers a little too intimately in your much-too-cozy environment after a three-day show? Who would have ever believed that you could stack product that high? Well, maybe it's time for a change for the better…and bigger!

Why go portable?
Exhibit managers tend to buy portable exhibits (tabletops, pop-ups, and panel systems) for a few basic reasons: tight budgets for exhibits and limited space, ease of set-up without the need for hiring union labor, and cost savings on shipping and drayage.

Portable exhibits are often used for several reasons: start-up companies who need to conserve capital; companies who attend smaller local or regional trade shows; provide as a sales tool to members of regional sales staff to take the burden of exhibiting off of the corporate trade show staff; utilize in hospitality suites or career fairs at trade shows.

Sometimes the use of portables is the only viable solution to set yourself apart when show management dictates the sale of cookie-cutter 10' x 10' linear booth space packages that come with the basic, boring pipe-and-drape.

But what are your options when you've truly outgrown your portable exhibit based on corporate growth -- a need for a larger, more impressive corporate image, or the amount of product you need to display? In this still-tight economy, companies are becoming more creative in their move-up strategy by employing an assortment of methods to address these needs.

Modular Exhibits
Modular exhibits, like the Nimlok Easy ST and Nimlink systems, employ panels with a variety of connectors to achieve multiple looks and configuration options. Modular exhibits are popular based on their versatility of materials, light weight for shipping and drayage, and ease of setup resulting in a lower cost of I & D in most cases.

A Hybrid: Semi-Custom Modular
While modular exhibits are looking more "custom" based on the use of more custom-looking coverings, they are still identifiable to many show attendees as a "system" booth due to the similarly-shaped wall panels, towers, bridges, decorative truss and fold-up counters.

An alternative to the pure modular exhibit is a semi-custom modular. By using non-system components such as unique architectural design features and shapes, counter tops in unusual materials, 3-D headers, fabric, custom truss, and lighting techniques, modular exhibits can be masked to fool all but the savviest attendee. But, the exhibitor can still maintain the same flexibility in configuration options and cost-savings associated with shipping, drayage, and setup and dismantle.

Buy or Rent a Custom Exhibit?
It seems that there comes a time in the growth of a company when nothing else but a custom exhibit will do – for corporate image, branding, positioning of product, and to keep ahead of your competition.

The size of your exhibit and exhibit space are known to enhance memorability of your exhibit to attendees, not to mention the need of many growing organizations to house multiple divisions or product lines in their exhibit space. The materials and design you use to construct a custom exhibit can make whatever statement you wish – big, strong, serious, playful, affluent, high-tech, low-tech, or no tech – to brand your company and product.

But just because you need to enhance your corporate image or show more product doesn't necessarily mean you have to design and build a custom exhibit from scratch you'll have to use for years. Customizing rental exhibits or purchasing a used exhibit property for refurbishment can give your exhibit program the image you want without taking a major, long-term financial hit to your budget.

Considerations when renting versus buying a custom exhibit include:

• Your corporate strategy and integrated marketing plan regarding the branding of your product and how this message is conveyed to attendees
• The number, type and size of shows you attend
• The versatility for product display, demonstrations, presentations, graphics, meetings, and storage
• Your budget - Weigh the long-term exhibit ownership costs of insurance, storage, and refurbishment when considering renting versus owning

A rule of thumb in determining the cost of a basic custom rental exhibit without graphics is about one-third of that of building a similar exhibit. It offers you the flexibility to experiment without making a capital expenditure, plus you'll have an exhibit geared to your needs today, not objectives set years ago.

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