Trade Show Supply

The Strategic Importance of the I&D Service Provider

lpertot — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 21:06:51 +0000

So many in the trade show industry view the companies that provide I&D labor services as just …”a labor company”. Their value is to merely assemble and build my exhibit structure. They return and dismantle it when the show is over.

For exhibit houses and experiential marketing agencies with customers that exhibit many times per year, and all over the world, hiring I&D labor companies is an important part of their process. They know how critical a great I&D service provider is. But do these companies really understand the strategic value of what a professional and structured I&D Service Provider (ISP) can be as a partner?

Here are five things that amplify the importance of partnering with an established ISP:

1) Customer Retention.

The I&D experience is the single greatest influencer as to whether an exhibit house keeps or loses its customers. It’s been said that sales reps “make the sale”. The experience delivered on the show floor “makes the CUSTOMER”.

2) Market Credibility / Local Efficiencies.

For display companies and ad agencies, the ability to extend your brand to foreign venue cities while enjoying the advantages of local resources and relationships improves their customers’ experience in that city. These advantages include:

Established City Managers that know “the process” in that city
Proven local resources (emergency graphics, area furniture stores, local custom shops)
Market-specific knowledge (unions, vendors, city restaurants, etc.)
The benefits of strong, personal relationships (freight, electrical, rigging, other).

3) Information Sharing That Improves Profitability.

A forward thinking ISP has data capture and reporting systems (beyond an invoice and Bill of Lading copies). For both display house and exhibitors, ISPs can :

Offer actual cost analysis.
Identify additional billing information that would have been missed.
Provide digital progression photos at critical moments in the install, dismantle & repack process
Improve communication (half-time reports, real-time pics, post-show summaries).

4) Process Improvements.

With the right ISP partner in place, an exhibit house can:

Extend their own brand of customer service to other cities.
Capture important data about their own internal processes (warts and all)
Learn valuable information about how their best customers view their own company and personnel.
Uncover new sales and service opportunities (within their existing client base).
Expect a higher level of problem / resolution behavior (“own” the problem; be accountable for solving the problem).

5) A Partner That “Gets It”.

It’s not “I&D”…it’s Exhibit Services.

It’s a different mindset. An I&D is not an assembly job. It’s an experience.
Providing I&D “PLUS” service demands a larger financial investment (by the ISP).
It requires being headquartered out of a facility (not your home) that inventories high-frequency request items and that can respond to emergency AV needs, customization needs, and even basic graphic needs.
Being and ISP requires a more robust staff.
It demands an investment in training (customer service, AV troubleshooting, and your own proprietary processes).

There will always be labor options in every event city. But to deliver a consistent knock-your-socks-off customer experience to your clients, at every show and in every location, means not just looking for “the cheapest labor option”, but finding an ISP that takes a white-collar business approach to the blue-collar hustle and muscle world of trade show and event labor.

30 Things That Conspire to Destroy Your Beautiful Trade Show Experience

lpertot — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:09:28 +0000

You’ve planned for months. It may even be your biggest company event of the year. You have worked with your trusted vendor partners, as well as your internal staff, to ensure that your company exhibit has been designed and built to perfectly fit your company’s needs and objectives.

But what you didn’t know is that the world conspires to destroy the beautiful thing you built, the minute it leaves your dock.

Here are 30 things on the show floor that can derail that smooth and hassle-free experience you’re seeking during the move-in and move-out of your company’s next big trade show:

Your inbound freight arrives late to show.
Dealing with lost or misplaced crates/cases.
Electrical was not ordered for the booth.
There is no electrical laid in the booth.
Too little electrical was ordered for the booth.
No carpet order on file at desk.
No carpet order was submitted to the General Contractor by you or your display house.
Your shipment arrives to your booth space, and there are damages.
You’ve shipped your 42” HDTV monitors cross country, in their original cardboard boxes.
There are critical parts missing from your exhibit structure.
The wrong graphics were sent to the show; the proper graphics will arrive tomorrow.
The last exhibit repack was unbelievably sloppy (or got incredibly bounced around during shipping to the show).
Your exhibit system structure is a brand new booth, shipping directly from the manufacturer.
No instructions or CADs are in the cases with the display.
Incorrect booth orientation was provided to the I&D team.
There was no booth orientation provided to the I&D company.
There is a hostile GC/labor force.
There are trust and communication issues between exhibitor personnel and their trade show coordinator (or display house sales rep, or their boss, etc.)
Exhibitor personnel badmouths their exhibit house repeatedly.
Exhibitor wants to “reconfigure” the booth during set-up.
The AV vendor you’ve selected doesn’t “hang” stuff (they only “deliver” stuff).
The exhibitor has decided during install that you want to add 2 more???
You (the Exhibitor) have neglected to mention anything about the internet service you require.
The exhibit “empties” are mis-delivered, 4 aisles over from your booth space.
One of your wood graphic crates never makes it back from storage for the dismantle/repack.
No pre-printed outbound labels were provided for your 51 piece shipment.
No outbound freight carrier information of any kind has been provided to your I&D team.
The extra “additional shipment” you put together at end of show (literature, unused giveaways, etc.) has not been communicated to your exhibit house or I&D contact.
Tired of waiting for your empty cases to return, you decide to a) walk back on the docks and look for your crates and b) bribe the closest forklift driver to “get them” for you.
The General Contractor forces your freight.

Brock Humphrey – January’s Employee of the Month!

lpertot — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:43:17 +0000

Congratulations are in order for TS Crew Lead, Brock Humphrey, January’s Employee of the Month! Brock started at Trade Show Supply in October 2007 as a sub-contractor and quickly moved to a full-time employee in January 2009. Since then, Brock has quickly become one of our most-trusted road warriors, traveling to shows in Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Alabama, and across the state of Florida.

When asking around the office about Brock, not one person had a negative thing to say. Not even ONE! So, here are a few of the many nice things we have to say about Brock:

- Always energetic and eager to please
- Fantastic problem solver
- Very knowledgeable but eager to learn more
- Takes his job very seriously
- Skilled craftsman

Congratulations again, Brock! We don’t know what we’d do without you!

Phil Scheuer – December’s Employee of the Month

lpertot — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:22:08 +0000

Congratulations to Phil Scheuer, Director of Operations, who was awarded Trade Show Supply’s December Employee of the Month! In addition, December marked Phil’s five year anniversary at TSS.

So, what effect does five years and 7,123 trade show exhibits have on a man?

Pros:

- Respect…it’s now national

- “Managing Others” means more than just me and two guys

- No shortage of ladders for those weekend home improvement projects

- Frequent flyer upgrades are the bomb!

Cons:

- Gray means really gray

- It’s a limp, not swagger

- Less chit-chat…Get to the point already!

NPE is Coming to Town

lpertot — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:44:20 +0000

Here’s a glimpse of what we’re currently working on for the International Plastics Showcase. The NPE show occurs every three years, and we’re excited to have it in Orlando for 2012! The pictures shown above are from a 7,000 square foot exhibit that was shipped to our warehouse for refurbishing (an added customer service that our TS Crew never fails to provide)! Check back soon for more updates.

Trade Show Supply Promotes John Zipay to VP of Operations

Eric Rung — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:05:45 +0000

1/13/12 – Trade Show Supply has announced the promotion of John Zipay from Director of Field Services to Vice President of Operations. His immediate responsibilities will include overseeing the company’s I&D labor group (TS CREW), the exhibit & exposition rental divisions, and the people development of a growing operations team.

Zipay has been with Trade Show Supply for over 8 years, having served the company in all areas of fulfillment. ”John has earned every bit of this promotion”, says company President Chris Griffin. ”His broad range of experience within our company is what makes John the right choice for this position, at this stage of our growth”.

Zipay was an instrumental leader at Trade Show Supply last year, helping the company achieve 40% growth nationally in 2011. Much of that growth came via the expansion of the TS CREW labor division in new markets, and the growth of the company’s convention services business.

Trade Show Supply is a national provider of exhibit and convention services, specializing in I&D labor, exhibit rentals, corporate event services, graphic production, and logistics management. The company currently services 15 U.S. cities from its East Coast headquarters in Orlando, FL and its West Coast offices in Las Vegas, NV and Anaheim, CA.

2012 Trends

lpertot — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 21:28:47 +0000

Can you believe 2011 is already coming to a close? This year felt like it passed with the blink of an eye.

As we reflect on the past year, I can’t help but wonder what will come in 2012 (as you are very well aware, almost nothing is predictable in our industry). That being said, I’d like to leave you with a few trends we’re looking forward to in 2012.

Hybrid meetings
A hybrid meeting combines both face-to-face and virtual experience for attendees. It is expected to become standard for many events in the next few years. A hybrid event can multiply an event’s impact and can recruit new attendees for future events (it’s a low-risk way for attendees to “try on” a show before they commit to the travel and other expenses that go into attending a trade show). The conference is streamed live to attendees and interactive tools like polling are used to keep them engaged.

Social Media
Social media continues to be more prominent in marketing in general, but now moreso than ever trade shows are taking advantage of Facebook and Twitter to reach attendees. An advantage to social media is that it lets us communicate directly with prospective clients for FREE! Twitter’s use of event hashtags is even being used to allow those who are not at the show to ask questions about the show and make comments. By using social media, we can spread the word about promotions, events like “tweet ups”, and reach a captive audience.

Go Green
The green revolution is here to stay, and as a result we will have more socially-responsible clients who request more sustainable exhibits in 2012. More and more companies are considering how to recycle exhibits (which is also a good way to save money). Even the social media marketing trend is considered to be eco-friendly and more exhibitors are offering “give-away” items that are green (re-uasble bags, anyone?).

Technology
I know, I know…”technology” has been a trend for at least the past 20 years. But that’s the point, there’s always going to be some new technology that we have to pay attention to. This year, it’s the increase in use of smartphones and iPads on the show floor. iPads offer a convenient way to demonstrate a product, or give an interactive presentation. Additionally, smartphone apps are being created specifically for trade shows. These devices allow attendees and exhibitors to stay in contact with one another before, during, and after the show.

TSS Holiday/End of Year Party

lpertot — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:52:57 +0000

Here’s a glimpse of Trade Show Supply’s 2011 Holiday/End of Year Party. This year, the event was a “Ragin’ Cajun” theme – complete with turduckens! After the feast, we did a Secret Santa gift exchange followed by some “Trade Show Trivia”.

Catia E. – Baltimore, MD

lpertot — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 22:12:11 +0000

I wanted to thank you for the wonderful job you and your team did of putting the booth together. It came together so well!! In addition, the crew that assembled and dismantled the booth really did a terrific job!!! Thank you again for EVERYTHING!

Lisa G. – Quebec, Canada

lpertot — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 22:10:21 +0000

I wanted to thank you for the great service we received at InfoComm and look forward to working with you again.