Exhibiting may seem to be expensive, but even micro- and small-sized businesses can make an excellent profit from exhibiting their business at trade shows. Join EXSA Founder Member, Joy Donovan, for a knowledge-packed half-day MasterClass seminar to help you get more profit out of your exhibitions or decide whether to add trade show exhibiting to your marketing strategy. (To be held 21 June 2012, in Centurion, Gauteng.)

 Have you ever wondered…?

• How much it really costs to exhibit at a trade show?
• What is actually involved in being an exhibitor?
• How to choose a trade show?
• What you need to do at the show?
• How to exhibit at an exhibition without your staff hating every minute of it?
• How to get attendees attention?
• How to get more leads?
• How to use the trade show to get you more ongoing business?
• What you need to do after the show?
• What trade show exhibiting is really about?

Then this MasterClass on profitable exhibiting at trade shows is what you need

If you have already signed up for an upcoming trading show,
or are considering being an exhibitor at a trade show / exhibition of any size,
then you cannot afford to miss this MasterClass by one of South Africa’s top trade show and exhibition gurus.

 Planning your trade show activities to fit in with your other small business marketing activities.

 What are the real costs of exhibiting. Joy goes through the overall costs of exhibiting – from paying for the exhibition stand, through staffing and materials needed, to give-aways and following up.

 Conducting an exhibition. An overview of what it takes for a company to exhibit and how to really get people interested and get fantastic leads for great profitability.

 When the show is over. What happens afterwards is as important as doing the show. Joy will give you an overview of what you need to do to keep the business flowing in and build new business as a result of the show. 

To attend: Please sign up here…

Joy Donovan has been active in the events and exhibition industry for almost 40 years and has run more than 200 exhibitions and shows of all sizes. She is a Founder Member of EXSA (the Exhibition & Event Association in South) where she was inducted into their Hall of Fame.

She is passionate about skills development in the field of trade exhibitions. She has a Post-graduate Diploma in Management Practice (Events) from UCT and is a qualified training facilitator, assessor and moderator, and currently runs South Africa’s first exhibition and event training company, the Lester Donovan Group.

Joy has trained and consulted for about 7000 exhibitors and organisations on various exhibition issues. She is currently driving the Services SETA Events Industry Board’s implementation of professional training standards and designations for Event Coordinators and Event Managers.

“I wish to convey my sincerest gratitude for everything that you did to prepare our team for Cosmoprof. The training we received ensured that we were able to approach potential distributors with confidence and contributed to a very successful show generating much interest in our Company. I would not hesitate to highly recommend your services to other Companies requiring exhibition training” - Marketing Manager, Lentheric

To attend: Please sign up here…

This half-day MasterClass seminar is highly interactive. Joy is a dynamic trainer and you will given notes and exercises to do to give you more of an idea of what YOUR specific business would need to do, to run a highly successful stand at a trade show or exhibition.

The MasterClass will be presented in English. You do not have to have any specific educational qualifications to attend this training. 

Date:  Thursday, 21 June 2012
Venue: The Protea Waterfront Hotel, Centurion Lakeside, Centurion, Pretoria / Tshwane, Gauteng. (Just around corner from the Centurion Gautrain station for quick and easy access from Gautrain routes in Johannesburg.)
Cost: R745 (no VAT). 2BBizClub Members R695.
Times: Light snacks and beverages will be available from 12 noon to allow for some networking before the MasterClass. The seminar starts at 12.45 and ends at approximately 4.30pm.

To attend: Please sign up here…
Please note that your seat is only reserved once full payment has been received.

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Have you walked into your favorite retail store, restaurant, or mall recently only to see a shiny new iPad staring back at you? Businesses around the world are starting to realize the many benefits putting an iPad in their store offers. iPad, along with other tablets, are revolutionizing so many different industries, and it appears that businesses are beginning to take notice. With the coming trend of using an iPad at a physical location to engage consumers taking shape, why not take this idea one step further?

Do you attend trade shows or industry conferences? Perhaps you even shell out the big bucks to rent booth space at these events? If so, then you know that most of the time the reason for spending the big bucks on booth space at these events is to capture attention for your products and services, as well as, to generate leads. What better way to capture attention than to set up an iPad Kiosk at your trade shoot booth.

What is an iPad Kiosk?

An iPad Kiosk is simply an iPad contained within some sort of iPad enclosure or iPad stand. iPad Kiosks are designed to allow people to secure an iPad in a public location so that consumers can interact with the iPad as they are passing by. When using an iPad in a public location, your store, a trade show booth, etc. it is important to know that your iPad is not at any risk of theft. The three types of iPad Kiosks that you see most often used at Trade Shows are:

• iPad Kiosk Floor Stands
• iPad Kiosk Tabletop Stands
• iPad Wall Mounts

Floor stands allow for the most flexibility as they can be placed anywhere, while still offering security for the iPad owner and easy access for consumers. iPad Kiosk floor stands usually range in price from $300 – $600 depending on the type of stand you want to use. Floor Stands are usually the most expensive iPad Kiosk option, but they are also the most versatile. When using an iPad at a trade show, it’s important that you don’t take up your table space with an tabletop iPad Kiosk. Having a floor stand positioned next to your table will be much more convenient for both you and your booth visitors.

Tabletop iPad Kiosks are another great option. They can usually be purchased for a little less than the floor stands. The price range for a quality Tabletop iPad Kiosk is between $200 – $400. Although a tabletop iPad kiosk will take up some table space at your booth, it’s still a much better alternative than using an unsecured iPad at your trade show booth.

iPad Wall Mounts are your best option in terms of not needing a lot of space. That said, not all trade shows offer wall space for you to use. Except for your high-end trade shows, you normally only see an iPad mounted to a wall in a store, sports arena, college and university, or really any permanent location. We don’t recommend using an iPad Wall Mount for most trade shows. That said, if you’re in the market for a quality iPad Wall Mount you should budget around $200 – $400.

Benefits of Using an iPad at My Trade Show Booth

There are so many benefits of using an iPad at your trade show booth. Here are some of the top benefits that most people receive when using an iPad to engage trade show visitors at their booth:

• Increased interest and traffic at your booth – Everyone is drawn to iPads. People that see an iPad in a place where they are not used to seeing one will usually take the time to check it out. That’s exactly what you want when you attend a trade show, people to take a minute to stop by your trade show booth. This is what iPad delivers over and over again.
• More time spent at your trade show booth – Once the iPad has lured people to your trade show booth, usually those folks stick around your booth a little longer than they would a booth without an iPad. This provides you with an opportunity to share information with those folks about your products, services, company, and industry.
• Increased engagement in your company – People who take time to stop by your booth, and then spend some extra time while there, are also more engaged in what you have to say then those folks who simply pass by, say hello to be polite, grab your free tchotchke and leave. Having an iPad at your booth provides you with an opportunity to talk to someone who is actually listening to you and wants to learn more about such an innovative company.
• Ability to convert booth traffic into online connections – As we will discuss a little later in this article, there are apps out there that allow you to collect email addresses right on you iPad. Say goodbye to that pad of paper that you used to use to collect email addresses. Now you can collect email addresses on your iPad right there at your booth. You don’t even need an internet connection to do it!
• Opportunity to show educational content about your products, services, company, and industry – Do you have YouTube videos detailing your products or services? How about a website? Maybe you have product specs saved as PDF files. Any of these pieces of content can be served up on the iPad for your trade show booth visitors to read or watch.

The list above provides a snapshot of just a few of the top benefits that using an iPad at your trade show booth provides. Depending on how you use the iPad, which apps you run, and how many people show up, there are a lot more benefits that you’ll enjoy.

How to Set Up an iPad at My Trade Show Booth

So now that you’ve read through all of the benefits of using an iPad at your trade show booth, let’s take some time to explain how you can actually put this theory into practice. It’s actually a lot easier than you might think. Follow the steps below and you will have an iPad up and running at your next trade show.

1. Determine how you want to use the iPad at your trade show booth. This is the most important step as once you determine how you want to use the iPad, you can then go about securing the proper components to make your plan work. Take some time, figure out what your goals for the trade show are, and then think about how using an iPad can help you achieve those goals. Do a little research. See what apps are out there. Read some articles to see how other companies are using iPads at trade shows. Once you have your plan in place, then you can move on to executing on that plan.
2. Buy an iPad or figure out which one (or many) you’re going to use.
3. Find out if there will be wireless internet at the trade show and also determine if you will have access to a power supply based on where your trade show booth is located.
4. Purchase your iPad Kiosk. Depending on how your booth is setup up, how much space you have, and where your power supply is located, we recommend that you either purchase a iPad floor stand or a tabletop iPad kiosk. These two types of iPad Kiosks work best for trade shows.
5. Download any apps you need or get any content that you want to display on the iPad ready. Review everything prior to the trade show so that there are no surprises when you get there.
6. Go into your Settings app, tap the General tab, and set “Autolock” to never. This will ensure that your iPad doesn’t go into sleep mode during the trade show. The last thing that you want is for people to pass by your iPad Kiosk and the screen is blank. Whatever content you want to display, be sure that it’s on the screen at all times.

If you follow these steps you should be able to have an iPad Kiosk set up at your trade show booth in no time. Not only that, but you can feel confident that your iPad will function as you envisioned it.

iPad Apps to Use at Trade Shows

Although more and more companies and individuals are using iPads to engage consumers at trade shows, in retail stores, at restaurants, and so on, the list of available apps to use for this purpose is still quite small. That said, I think we are on the verge of an explosion in these types of iPad apps. It’s only a matter of time before iPad app developers realize just how big a market this can be. For now, below is a list of some fo the best iPads to use at your trade show.

OnSpot Social

Collect Facebook Likes, Add Twitter Followers, and Collect Customer Email Addresses from Anywhere.

OnSpot Social
is an iPad application that allows business owners to grow their social media community, as well as, collect email addresses for their email marketing list from a physical location. Simply set up an iPad Kiosk at your trade show booth, purchase a 1 week subscription from OnSpot Social, and convert trade show visitors into online connections.

One of the main goals for all trade show exhibitors is to collect leads. Usually this is done by having booth visitors write their email address down on a piece of paper. After the trade show someone then has to decipher each person’s handwriting and input each email address into the computer. With OnSpot Social this is all done for you. Booth visitors put their name and email address into your iPad, after the show you can log into OnSpotSocial.com and download a list of all of the email addresses you’ve collected. No more losing email addresses because you can’t read the person’s handwriting and now more wasting time retyping the information into your system.

KioskPro

Turn Your iPad into a Digital Billboard.

KioskPro
allows you to turn your iPad into a Digital Billboard, run a photo slide show, or even display your website easily to your trade show booth visitors. Depending on what content you want to show on our iPad, KioskPro might make a lot of sense for your next Trade Show. If you want to show pictures of your products, show customer testimonials, or even your website, KioskPro allows you to set up a slide show or digital billboard to accomplish this task. Booth traffic can then interact with your iPad Kiosk right there at your booth.

YouTube

Play Product or Service Videos for Trade Show Booth Visitors.

If you don’t want to pay to download an iPad app like OnSpot Social or KioskPro, you can always use
YouTube
to play videos for booth visitors. Simply open up the YouTube app on your iPad, navigate to your YouTube Channel or even to a specific video, and leave it up for people to play. This allows you to educate your trade show both visitors without you having to say a word. You can then be there to support the video by answering any questions that booth visitors might have after watching your videos on YouTube. One thing to note if you use the YouTube app, be sure to reset the video back to the beginning after each person, or group of people, is finished watching.

These are 3 of a number of iPad apps out there that you can leverage for your next trade show. Again, the list of apps is still small, but give it 6 months to a year and I think there are going to be plenty more hitting the app store.

Use iPad at a Trade Show

Now that you’ve finished reading the article, what do you think? Do you believe using an iPad at your trade show booth can help you better achieve your goals? Have you ever used an iPad at a trade show before? What were your results? Please leave a comment below as we’d love to hear what you think.

Image Credits

• iPad2 at “Invest” exhibition
  
• Apple employees greet customers on Ipad launch
  

The trade show can be a significant marketing function for any business as it gives you a chance to attract potential customers and grow revenue. Trade show displays are an important program in your marketing tool kit, so care need to be taken to make sure that they are created and managed when using the customer in your mind. The good thing is companies have a variety of appealing options to produce effective trade indicate booths by using desk top 1, pop-up 1, modular and also custom displays. Remember, the customer perceives your current convention display for a direct reflection of your respective company’s image as well as the quality of goods and services a person offer. Before picking your displays technique, you need to learn about the advantages and disadvantages on the various displays. The most famous tools for the purpose of trade show booths include the following:

Pop-Up Displays Pop-Up displays, often known as the pull-up or portable one, utilizes a cloth or artificial graphic panel, that is attached to some sort of spring-loaded roller that gusts of wind allowing for storage in the graphic. This sort of convention display can be set up in a few minutes. Since pop-up displays are lightweight, portable and easy to assemble, they are great for visiting multiple locations for trade show booths exhibits? Pop-up displays were traditional curved formed, but now straight wall fabric murals will be gaining in level of popularity.

Table Top Displays Table best displays are even a lot more portable than pop-up exhibits because table top types can be collapsed to adjust to into a small carrying bag. Such as pop-up ones, family table top ones contain graphical panels, and this can be along with the frame together with Velcro, magnets or even clips. This business show displays option is a great choice for smaller events, considering that the display is light-weight and sits available top. Set-up is breeze with this kind of trade booths a single. The table best display is generally any do-it-yourself setup, which does not typically need on-site convention personnel help. Since a meal table is often including like renting the exhibit banner stands room, table top kinds are more economical for trade clearly show booths. For the people companies with limited funds, it is additionally a less expensive convention show choice.

Do it yourself Displays Modular displays, made out of fabric solar panel on a metal body, are bigger than pop-up displays simply because they often persue the entire trade show booths place. Although they will be large, they are simply still light, weighing in with significantly less than traditional displays. The framework can be taken apart, making them easy to transport. Flip displays could be reconfigured and personalized to appear different intended for other illustrates.

Used Exhibits Used exhibits show is another trade clearly show displays option, specifically for the particular budget-conscious organization. These exhibit displays are often older and may even show some wear. They are generally accessible for rental or purchase.

Some used displays are quite extensive and also require using on-site lifestyle display hall labor team to assist using their assemblage.

Custom Displays Custom displays are created either by a proprietary design team or perhaps by an outside professional according to the desires in the exhibitor. Custom displays can be expensive and the sky will be the limit. These types of displays frequently have multiple components for instance workstations, distinguish rooms, numerous structures and multiple textures as well as fabrics. Dependant on the complexity on the custom show, the construction may require the usage of on-site labor help. Larger companies often find the custom display option for different exhibit presents all over the world.

Conclusions Now that youve got learned all about the various sorts of trade show shows, you can select one that will ideal showcase your company and the offerings–and meet your current objectives. Considerations in picking your trade exhibit booths displays include sheduled delivery issues, event present size, amount of events, sales space reserve space, organization objective and spending budget. Conventional displays may be more budget friendly, but a customizable display will ensure that the convention displays stick out in the crowd.

Tags: famous tools, Trade show displays, metal body