Ballance Displays

BLOWOUT SUMMER SALE!

Anthony Trotter — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:35:59 +0000

*Discount applies to all orders placed by July 31st, 2013. 50% deposit required to secure order, final production of display by November 30th, 2013.

VIEW OUR BLOWOUT E-FLYER HERE!

9 Low-Cost Ways to Improve Your Next Trade Show Exhibit

Anthony Trotter — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:48:08 +0000

When attending a trade show, it is critical that the time and money you and your company invest ultimately translates into good quality leads, future clients and sales. Many companies struggle with the costs associated with trade shows when it comes to ensuring they have the best booth. However, there are many low cost and even free ways to improve your next trade show exhibit to ensure a return on your time and money.

Research your next trade show: With the countless amounts of tradeshows in your industry, you may feel inclined to attend them all. However, if your prospective clients aren’t there, then you shouldn’t be either. Make sure you research all of the shows you are thinking of attending ahead of time, especially if you have never been an exhibitor. Talk to colleagues about the success they’ve had at the show in the past. Spending a little time up front deciding which shows are best for you will save you money in the long run.
Define goals and objectives: One of the most important things to do before attending a trade show is to ensure you have defined their goals and objectives. Trade shows are an investment of both time and money; therefore, your company will want to have clearly defined objectives set before you hit the floor. Setting objectives is the only real way you will be able to measure the success of the show afterward.
Invite loyal customers and fans to come down to the show: To ensure you have a good turnout at the show, get in contact with loyal customers and notify them about your upcoming trade show exhibit. These customers will now be more inclined to visit your booth, and hopefully they’ll have friends and family in tow. A lively trade show booth full of visitors is more enticing to your potential customers than an empty one! Plus, you will strengthen your relationship with existing clients.
Give each booth staffer a role: Often times, companies just want to make sure they have enough staff to man the booth and engage with prospective clients. However, without direction, your staff may feel confused about their role at the show and may not perform as well as expected. Therefore, make sure to assign clearly defined roles to each staff member so that they provide quality service and information to clients.
Send knowledge and friendly staff: Staff members who aren’t experts on your products and services or aren’t approachable will become very useless at a trade show. With so many competitors all in one building, you need approachable staff that will make a lasting impression on clients. This way you stand above the competition and can be easily remembered when you follow up with potential leads. Choosing the right people to man your booth – not just volunteers – can be the key to a successful show.
Product demonstrations: Depending on your industry, a product demonstration is a great way to have quality consumer engagement and demonstrate to potential clients what your company has to offer. Before your next show, brainstorm new ways to demonstrate your product or even have potential customers give it a try themselves.

Establish follow up protocol: The most critical part of a trade show happens when you return to work. How will you utilize the leads you generated? Ensure you have a follow up protocol in place, so that you and your company can begin to make contact with leads and hopefully turn them into customers. This is ultimately where you will see the return on your trade show expenses.

9 Things to Find Out About Your Venue Before Planning Your Trade Show Exhibits

Anthony Trotter — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 15:23:31 +0000

When investing in a trade show, it is important that you know everything you can about the venue in which you’ll be presenting your product. So here are 12 things you should know about the venue before planning your trade show exhibits:

1)      How Much Room Will I Have? You have to know the size of your booth’s space. This will help you determine how many other businesses to expect, the level of competition and the number of customers.

2)      Who Will Be There? What kind of attendees are registered and how many? Will there be media? This will all help you determine just how much to invest in your trade show exhibit and how many staff you will need to bring along.

3)      Is the Venue Tech-Friendly? You don’t want to be stuck in a building that has poor cell reception or no internet hook-ups, especially if you’re relying on the web at a kiosk or computer station.

4)      What’s the City Like? Do your research on the city your trade show is located in. See if you’ll be dealing with locals or fly-ins, and you can tailor your pitches accordingly.

5)      What are the Show Requirements? Do you have to send samples? What kind of vendor information do they need? Make sure you work through all the red-tape beforehand so there are no problems on show day.

6)      What Fees are involved? Make sure you know how much it will cost you to exhibit at the show and work that into your budget for your exhibit, travel, delivery costs and expenses.

7)      Where is Your Booth Located? Know exactly where your booth is going to be. Who you’ll be next to, where you are in relation to the entrances, your competitors and friends. All of this information will help you craft your sales pitches and help you plan the perfect custom trade show booth.

8)      What Equipment is Available to Me? If you need audio visuals, can the venue provide it? Is there any rental equipment available? What about emergency supplies for a last-minute fix? Make sure you find out how much it will cost and what kind of equipment they use to avoid any technical difficulties.

9)      How Long Will it Take to Get There? Find out where the venue is within the city. Is it downtown or by the airport? This will help determine travel times, and hotel costs and make sure the budget is accurate. Most importantly, leave extra time for travel the morning of the show so you won’t be late!

Each venue may have different requirements for their trades show exhibits. Being educated is the only way to ensure that your show goes on without a hitch, so make sure to do your research! Balance Display can help you create a brand new display or refurbish your existing display in time for your next show.

How Big Should My Portable Trade Show Displays Be?

Anthony Trotter — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 15:28:20 +0000

The size of portable trade show displays can vary based on the needs of any given company, and the products and services they are promoting. Luckily, we can accommodate many requests and create custom portable displays of many sizes.

So just how large should your display be? There are a few methods than can help you determine just how big your portable trade show display needs to be.

First, you should identify space requirements. Which product will you be promoting? Then decide whether you’ll need digital kiosks, computer stations, tables, and anything else that takes up physical space. When deciding this, make sure you determine what you’ll be doing at each kiosk or table, to see how much space you’ll need surrounding the display to demonstrate your product.

Next, draft a workable budget. Your total costs must include travel, lodging, food, graphic design as well as the display itself to really determine the entire trade show budget. Trade shows are big investments that, if executed correctly, could lead to huge gains for your business. Make sure you account for everything and try to avoid cutting corners, especially when it comes to the portable display itself.

You’ll also need to determine how many people you’ll have staffing your booth, and account for each of their personal space. Then realistically forecast how much interest you expect to generate, and account for customer space. Will there be lineups? One customer at a time? Are you trying to create something viral? Will your booth be the hit of the show? These are all questions that, when answered honestly, will help you determine how big your display should be.

Portable trade show displays vary in sizes at Ballance, but not quality. Whether you need a media wall, a trade show display, a fabric display or a truss, we have it all. Our displays are fully portable in durable cases that ensure your portable display arrives in perfect condition.
Once you’ve properly assessed your needs and determined how much you can spend, you can take a look at the many portable display and rental options we have at Ballance Display. There will no doubt be one to suit your company’s needs. You can even come in and test out the display for yourself, to make sure you’re completely satisfied.

How Great Graphic Design Can Add to Your Trade Show Display

Anthony Trotter — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 17:26:37 +0000

Trade shows are an expensive investment, but if executed properly, they can mean big business for your company. Appearances count for a lot in business, especially when presenting your product to potential business partners. Just as you would wear your best work clothes to a meeting with a potential buyer, so you should ensure your trade show display looks great.

It is important that you don’t cut corners when it comes to graphic design. Your potential customers see your company reflected in your trade show display. If your graphics look professional, original and modern, it helps to legitimize your company.
Still, it is important to make sure your product speaks for itself. Make sure the graphics you choose are minimalistic and modern, to ensure the customer is not confused by how convoluted your message could become.

Great graphic design can really increase the appeal of your trade show display. Trade show displays from Ballance Display are guaranteed to be top of the line. With clients like the CBC, CTV and RBC Royal Bank, you know you’ll be dealing with a trusted leader in the industry. We supply top of the line displays to countless companies, and even refurbish old ones if you want to bring an older display back to life.

We offer in-house graphic design services to make the process easy. We offer everything from specialty graphics, to LED lights, layered graphics, lit displays, and more. Our design team will likely have ideas you yourself have not thought of.

So if you are going to make the investment in a trade show display, make it wisely. Call on Balance Display for your trade show display needs, and seek the help of our graphic design team to show off your product in a way that catches the eye of potential buyers and separates you from the competition.

Go into your next trade show with your best foot forward and your best graphics. If you are looking to get into the trade show display game, contact Balance Display today and start imagining your trade show booth!

Tips for Saving Money on Your Trade Show Display?? What…

Anthony Trotter — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 14:17:26 +0000

Google it, there are millions of tips on how to save money at trade shows, so it begs the question –

Are all these tipsters helping the exhibitor or actually hindering their trade show success?

Saving money is the easy part: fly coach class and book early with as many stop overs as possible, take the cheapest room within an hour walk of the show (no taxis allowed), rent the least expensive booth from the show contractor and Velcro some of your brochures to the back-wall.

Let’s face it, there is a reason we exhibit at trade shows and other face-to-face marketing events. We go to showcase our products, services and make an impact with potential clients. We all have to be fiscally responsible and look good in front of our bosses, but your image should not be sacrificed. We are constantly faced with the challenge of educating our clients on what a proper exhibit and successful exhibit program actually cost, as we are presented with totally unrealistic budgets to match their lofty goals. The problem exists due to the lack of education in the industry, and it is our job as exhibit builders to fill in the missing information.

We try and explain it like this. You wouldn’t go to the cheapest staging company you can find when you go to sell your house, it sort of defeats the purpose of raising your image to prospective buyers. You wouldn’t go to a vacation agency without an expectation of the location and type of trip you want. You cannot simply ask for the cheapest vacation available, as you won’t get the 5 star hotel on the beach, but a dumpy motel at the side of a highway. You have to understand what things cost to achieve the goals you want.

Now let’s spend more money – sensibly – and plan a trade show strategy with an ROI objective and set quantifiable sales-related objectives for every show and consistently measure them.

Here are some sample questions to ask yourself:

Is our brand identifiable and is our corporate message clear?
Is our marketing material current?
What pre-show plan is in place (mailers, invitations, booth contest etc)?
Who are we sending to staff the booth, are they the best, the most knowledgeable and have the training to engage with strangers?
Is the show right for us? Ask the show organiser for an audit of previous shows
How many shows should we exhibit in yearly
Have you shared your Tradeshow program with your exhibit company?
Are we in the right location at the show?
Did we identify our competition at the show and their location?
Have we established a staff, show schedule and lead management system?

Once these type of questions have been answered it’s time to move on and build your temporary corporate environment for the trade show. But first you have to go upstairs and establish a budget, a budget that you will later share with your selected exhibit companies.

The trade show exhibit industry has per square foot guidelines, most exhibit companies will share this information with you, e.g. Portable displays $30 -$40 psf. Modular/Hybrid $75 – $150 psf. Custom $150 – $200 psf.

These guidelines can be useful but I suggest another method to determine your budget that is to base the budget on your sales objectives at the show. You may set a target of 200 qualified leads; you know 20% will buy within the next 6 months and the profitability on those 40 sales is? You can now use this work back rule and also check with the industry square foot price. Now you have set your ROI objective.

On to the build:

Simply put you need to look your best, not chinsy (urban dictionary) your booth will be your business home for a few days; it’s a place to impress and be proud to represent your company.

Designing and building your booth isn’t more difficult than buying a car, once you establish your requirements, must haves and options, then consider functionality.

Don’t forget to give your selected exhibit companies as much information as possible so they can design to your requirements. And last but not least budget…. Oh yes budget, that uncomfortable conversation upstairs and at your exhibit company. This is easier than ever now you have a set plan and ROI strategy

And finally consider these facts:

While most people are aware the current economy has caused the number of tradeshow attendees to decrease, the good news is that the quality of the attendees is up, and the shows are still effective. More upper management and decision makers are going to trade shows, which make it even more important for companies to plan their exhibit program with a measurable strategy.

On average, eight out of 10 exhibition attendees have buying influence, with 37% having the final say in the purchasing decision. And, according to the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR), more than half are planning a purchase in the next 12 months. Best of all, these potential customers aren’t waiting for a sales rep to call. They’re coming to the doorstep of every tradeshow booth.

Often, trade shows are hyped as the ultimate b2b marketing component and sales mechanism without any data to support it, so here are a few key statistics and facts to help:

83% of the attendees have some kind of buying power

85% of decision makers say attending trade shows saves their company time and money by bringing vendors together under one roof

79% of the attendees say that attending shows helps them decide on what products to buy

91% of attendees say that trade shows impact their buying decisions because the competition is in one place allowing for comparison shopping in real time

85% of an exhibitor’s success lies in the performance of the staff

People to people medium where the quality of communication is critical, ineffective staffing equals ineffective exhibiting

Trade shows cost 38% less than sales calls

Trade show visitors will tell 6+ people about their experience

81% testify that trade shows help attendees become aware of new products and services

Trade shows are the #1 business-to-business marketing spend to support sales beating out specialty publications, internet, promotions, and PR respectively

91% of attendees tell us they get the most useful buying info from trade shows and events2

Sources:

Center for Exhibition Industry Research, www.ceir.org
EXHIBITOR magazine, http://www.exhibitoronline.com/exhibitormagazine
American Business Media, http://www.americanbusinessmedia.com/abm/Default.asp
Market Reality eSurvey

If you need help establishing your exhibit budget or planning your exhibit strategy – give Ballance Display a call!

Which Type Of Trade Show Booth Is Right For You?

Anthony Trotter — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 20:16:06 +0000

Trade shows are the perfect time to differentiate your brand from your competitors’. Every appearance in a trade show involves a difficult marketing decision, which may or may not prove effective or bring a return on investment. But for those who participate in industry trade shows, the centerpiece of trade show marketing is the trade show booth. However, choosing the right trade show booth may be a challenging task considering the variety of options on the market.

Modular Trade Show Booths

Modular trade show displays are the perfect solution when you are planning to participate in more than just one event. They are easy to put together and dismantle. They can be used to cover larger or smaller footprints depending on your space’s conditions. They are easily customizable and can be used for several trade shows. Modular trade show booths can easily be adapted to the particularities of each event, and are able to fit in compact cases for travel.

Customized Trade Show Booths

Considered some of the most distinguished trade show exhibits, custom trade show booths are often the most effective solution to represent your brand. If you want to stand out from the crowd, and strengthen your brand, or to make it more visible, customized trade show booths are the right solution. They are clearly more expensive, but they are durable and reliable, and can impress visitors to your booth.

Portable Displays

Portable trade show displays are perhaps the most versatile trade show exhibit for companies who are already well known on the market. They can be put in an easy-to- carry case, which can be taken on the plane or put in the car for easy travel. They are affordable, easy to customize, parts are interchangeable and can be dismantled and put together quickly. This type of booth is the embodiment of functionality in all respects.

Outdoor or Indoor Booths?

The choice of an indoor or outdoor trade show booth will depend on the type of events you are looking to attend. Outdoor trade show displays often involve tented booths to protect the exhibitor from the elements. When designing your outdoor trade show booth, consider factors like weather, visibility, items displayed, objectives, and more. Ballance Display offers outdoor accessories for your booth such as inflatables, flags, and custom signage.

The right trade show booth is the one that meets the needs of portability, visual flair, and cost effectiveness. You should also take into account future shows. Another factor that may influence your decision is the impact you want to create for the event you are attending. Taking all of these into consideration should help you decide which trade show booth is right for you.

Ballance Display can help you decide which type of trade show booth best fits your needs. Contact us today for a consultation.

7 Ways to Save Time on Your Trade Show Booth Set-Up

Anthony Trotter — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 18:25:29 +0000

One of the most dreaded tasks of any trade show event is getting your booth up and ready for customers. You may arrive early to set up, but it still takes hours to put your display together! Here are Ballance Display’s 7 tips for setting your trade show booth up fast:

1. Take the time to prep your exhibit in advance.

Exhibitors leave their pre-show details to the last minute, including staging their exhibit to check for damage and or repairs. Exhibit repairs and touch-ups are often required due to the stresses during transit and from wear and tear from previous shows. Even the most diligent exhibitor shouldn’t assume their exhibit will be in 100% shape, even if they pack their exhibit properly.

The last thing any exhibitor needs is to be scrambling to make repairs during your limited installation timeframe.

2. Calculate your installation time required for your exhibit.

Often, you will have a very limited time frame in which to set up your trade show display. You may only be allowed access to the venue for a couple hours prior to the event, so you must use that time wisely.

If you have a brand new exhibit, try setting it up and taking it down a few times with your team to get a feel for how long it will take you. Remember to take into consideration any delays that might occur, such as electrical outlets and flooring installation from unions.

3. Know the Show Services Schedule.

Gather as much information from the show organizers and venue staff as possible well in advance of the show. Here are some questions to ask that will assist in shortening your set up time:

When is will your electrical outlets be installed
When will the carpet be laid?
When will your exhibit be delivered to your booth?
When is your install date and time, and is it determined by location on the show floor? (Target Move-in)

4. Ship your exhibit to the Advanced Warehouse.

If possible, send your booth to the venue storage “Advance Warehouse” area ahead of time. Overall, this reduces costs in drayage and storage versus shipping directly to the show. Remember, there are cut off dates to have your display stored in the advanced warehouse.

Your exhibit will be delivered to your booth space prior to your official set up time.

This is an excellent way to guarantee that your booth will arrive on time and reduces hold-ups at the busy loading docks on the day of the show and your labour will be able to start the install immediately.

5. Have a trade show “Survival” Kit.

Be prepared for on the show floor exhibit emergencies! That means having a kit with everything you need to keep your booth looking great, such as:

Cleaning supplies (including a small vacuum and cleaning products)
Extra parts for items that easily break or get lost (light bulbs, batteries, etc)
Cable ties, duct tape (same colour as your carpet)
On-site admin supplies (Velcro, Scissors, Stapler, Pens, Notepads )

6. Calculate the most efficient packing solution for your exhibit.

Depending on the type of exhibit you have, you may have different options for storage and transport. Having your display in compact cases can save on shipping and storage costs but means there will be more parts for you to put together onsite. Leaving time consuming elements of your exhibit in larger configurations can also save valuable installation time. Storing your display in larger crates will save time, but may cost more in show services.

7. Proper exhibit installation is a must.

All reputable exhibit builders should provide a staging of your new exhibit and a proper training session on its installation. It is important that you as the exhibitor truly understands the instructions from the supplier (including electronic and hard copies of the install guides).

Many exhibitors come in for their training sessions and do not get their hands into the project and are simply just viewing the procedure. Take the exhibit down yourself to ensure that you are not trying to figure things out for the first time on the show floor! You will waste valuable time and add extra stress on your staff before your big event.

If you are looking for easy to assemble trade show displays, or advice on how to make your trade show booth setup run more smoothly, contact Ballance Display today. You can even have Ballance Display have your trade show display ready for you when you arrive! We provide delivery, set-up and dismantle services for trade shows in the Greater Toronto area. Call us today at 1-888-774-4403.

Why Are We Not Getting the Trade Show ROI We Want?

Anthony Trotter — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 20:19:49 +0000

Trade shows can be a powerful marketing tool if managed properly, but most companies don’t see the ROI from their trade show efforts they require to justify attending more trade show events. So why do so many companies struggle? Most exhibitors are uneducated when it comes to the process. There are so many variables to running a successful exhibit program, and unfortunately, most of these tricks are only discovered the hard way.

There is no formal education out there to prepare you for the trade show game. It was once said to me by an industry partner that in the 4 year marketing program at The University of Western Ontario less than one week is spent discussing trade show marketing. These students then graduate and someday in their career, they are tasked with managing a successful trade show program as part of their marketing strategy.

Day in and day out, we at Ballance Display speak to these marketing executives trying to provide them with an exhibit solution that works for their company. However, the exhibit itself does not matter if there is no trade show strategy. You might have the best looking booth at a show, but if you don’t have a plan to engage with potential customers, your efforts may be wasted.

A proper trade show strategy can be challenging to put together, so it must be planned well in advance of the big day. Remember that pre-show efforts, show floor tactics, and post show follow-ups are all key pieces of your strategy.

Your company’s message has to be clear and concise, and you have to engage your visitors and prove your benefits over your competitors – and fast. I have heard various numbers thrown around over the years, but the overall consensus is that you have less than 5 seconds to catch the attention of visitors before they walk by your exhibit. Your ultimate goal is to get them to stop at your booth and qualify them quickly or you will be wasting your sales team’s time.

Aside from these challenges, you also have to find an exhibit builder, and have a trade show display built to match your design, budget and time frame. You must also start looking into all those important exhibit services for a successful show– shipping, installation, electrical, and storage. This is where most exhibitors make mistakes that ruin their whole trade show experience. The costs can be astronomical, the travel, the hotels, and those show rules…… It’s no wonder we struggle to see the benefits and return on investment for our trade show efforts!

If you are looking for help in designing a trade show booth that fits within your overall marketing strategy, Ballance Display can help. For over 30 years we have seen what works and what doesn’t at trade shows – an invaluable resource for anyone looking to maximize their trade show ROI.

Design Tips for Your New Exhibit

Anthony Trotter — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 17:07:27 +0000

If you’re wondering whether you should spend the extra money on those aesthetic finishes for your booth, you should seriously consider it. Today, there are some great design features and technologies that can really make your exhibit stand-out from the crowd. Too many exhibitors are overwhelmed with the costing of a new exhibit and will spend 80% of a proper budget and will end up with an exhibit that conveys the basic message and blends in with the competition.

Go through your show restrictions with a fine toothed comb. It is important to understand what you can do with your trade show display and what you can’t. From here, convey your design wishes to your exhibit builder. All reputable exhibit houses will have a design department that can come up with cool visual tricks you may not have thought of on your own.

Specialty graphics are a great addition to catch the eye. It is important to create an environment and not just a generic back wall. Try raised signage with rear mounted LED lighting to add a 3D effect to the exhibit.

Add ceiling panels or entry ways into your space. You don’t want to close off your space, but adding a few structural elements will give depth to your exhibit and make it feel like a completely different world. The use of suspension and show lighting can create some really neat visuals and create a floating ceiling effect.

The use of glowing panels with LED lights can make your exhibit stand out. With perimeter lighting, clear etched acrylics, glass and plastics you can define the space but leave an airy open feel. Recent advances with LED technology can create a new breed of modular light boxes that are sure to be noticed on the trade show floor. Some exhibitors are simply using a large 8×8’ modular light box as their 10×10’ exhibit. Light boxes can be freestanding, suspended or built flush into exhibit walls.

Other finishes that can add a strong visual impact:

Remote controlled RGB lighting can be used to achieve a desired colour and glow intensity
With advances in print technologies printers can now print white & metallic inks
Use of layering of graphics. Adding extra graphics in layers (one in front of the other and at various angles) creates a strong visual impact

If you are looking to create a show-stopping exhibit for your next event, contact Ballance Display. We are always on the cutting edge of new trade show display technologies and our creative design team will work with you to put the “wow factor” into your exhibit.