Have you ever been to a tradeshow, walked around, and seen those little 10’x10’ booths and wondered what they were doing there, but you were afraid to talk to them in case you got trapped?
I’ve been in your metaphorical shoes, and I’ve been in theirs.
Sometimes you indeed know what or who you want to see at a tradeshow and march right over to their exhibit space and either stare longingly at the vehicle in there, or wait to talk to the exhibitor there about what your issue is and determine if they can help you.
That’s a perfect use of a tradeshow.
But that’s just as a visitor. There are a whole lot more issues to be concerned about if you are exhibiting.In my past job-life, I ran tradeshow participation for a lot of big customers in and around North America and Europe. I even had a hand in helping some car dealers get their vehicles shown at major car shows across the continent don’t touch the Ferrari without gloves, Mr. Joseph.
My job as a project coordinator was to ensure that the exhibit a customer had stored with us was pulled correctly, with all the components or new components safely packed, shipped to site through a logistics company with all paperwork intact, handle all drayage, electrical, carpeting, and site workers to build the exhibit in a time estimated by myself, and hope like heck nothing, such as a bolt that holds a main wall together, wasn’t languishing 2,000 miles away in our backroom.
It involved a lot of liaising with the show organizers and the customers, and despite best efforts, the show never went 100 per- cent as planned.
Perhaps a crate was dropped during the offloading at the convention center, cracking the contained signage, meaning that once it was eventually discovered, we would have to create a replacement sign ASAP to ensure customer happiness.
Or perhaps no underpad was delivered under the carpet. It’s a simple mistake that can be easily rectified as long as the builders recognize that it was missing early enough. What do you mean the customer really wants that underpad under the carpeting? Of course, they do! It helps prevent some back pain for those in the booth, and it makes for a more pleasant experience for the show attendees. What do you mean you only discovered it was missing after you built the 20’x30’ exhibit atop it?
And so it went. The customer wants what the customer wants, and as their project coordinator, it’s your job to ensure that the customer is happy—until the time they take possession of the exhibit at the show.When the show was over, it was my job to coordinate the labor to tear down the exhibit, have it taken to the loading area, and have a truck there on time to pick it up and transport it either across the country, across a border, or to an airport.
Although always expected, one never wanted that late-night phone call saying there’s a problem some- where along the supply chain.I had always said that if I could write up a project estimate, run the project, send the bill out, and have it paid without any issues, I would quit and find a new profession.
I never did get that satisfaction and quit after watching the events of 9/11 on TV be- cause I wanted less stress in my life. I opted to be the writer and editor I had previously been trained as in college. How’d that work out with all those deadlines, Andrew? It’s a good thing that I really like writing and learning about new things, et al.
I was also a tradeshow exhibitor a couple of times in my life. As a teenager, my friends, Big Dave, Little Dave, Tim, and I purchased space at an early comic book show in Toronto in 1980 a 10’ long table with three folding chairs for the four of us.
We dragged our comics into the subway, hauled them slowly by hand (no hand carts!) to the Hotel Toronto, and sold our comic books, hoping to make back our $100 table cost. We probably did, but I’m equally sure I spent way more coin on filling in my collection with other comic books.
Nearly 20 years later, I attended the Chicago Wizard World convention which had nothing to do with wizards, not that there’s anything wrong with that to sell a comic book I had a hand in writing with two local guys (Tom and Steve). I had met those two writers the previous year when Steve came up to me and asked if I was an actor (nope, though I was a visible extra in the Bette Middler/John Goodman movie, Stella). I may have confused him because I was almost famous.
Although I attended as a trade show visitor, I spent time together with some well- known comic book artists because, while I’m a nerd, I’m also able to converse about things other than which Captain was the best on Star Trek or if Hulk was stronger than Superman. Being a nerd, I know the answers to those queries, but I prefer to shut up and enjoy them all.
In Chicago, we were placed among rows of other fellow independent comic book creators in Artists’ Alley, trying to hawk our wares. Our Strange Fun Comics and Legends of Tarot books were well-received by our fellow creators and professionals, but sadly not by the paying public in dollars, which made no sense.In the following years, we tried marketing good girl comics, superhero stuff, and sci-fi stories, all to no avail. In desperation, my friend Steve and I created Evil Scientist Quarterly magazine as the GQ-like book that evil scientists would need to be the best evil scientists possible. There’s even photographic proof of us dressed up as evil scientists trying to engage the eye of the customer walking by.
Back then, at least in the early 2000s, comic book conventions still had comic book people and actual comic books for sale unlike now, when it’s mostly a hang- out for people to play dress-up as they walk around the show not selling anything other than their fandom.Sitting in Artists’ Alley, we waited and hoped that someone would walk past our small 10’x10’ table where we had created signage, etc. to grab attention. Even still, people walking by were afraid to make eye contact, even when we vocally tried to engage them.It’s like that at the trucking trade shows nowadays, and I’m also guilty of it.
People are oftentimes afraid to engage small customers at a trade show for fear of being stuck when they talk to you about a product you have no interest in.But sometimes the little guy does some- thing that surprises you.
Last year, I attended Work Truck Week 2023 in Indianapolis, Indiana, and I look forward to hearing about what’s new in 2024. However, in 2023, I was a bit shy about going over to the little guy to see what’s up.
I did make up for that a bit when I later took part in The Utility Expo 2023 in Lou- isville, Kentucky.
Hopefully, you read my cover story for the last issue of Nitebeam Products LLC, one of the so-called little guys in a 10’x10’ space against a wall at the show.
Crammed within the space was a table or two holding examples of their products safety solutions for road workers that were brilliant in design and actual execution.
The owner of the company, Michael Anderson, and I got along pretty well, and he liked the article so much that he sent me a Head Commander and a dog collar that my dog Shaggy (named from the Scooby Doo gang) and I wear every morning on our 6:30 AM walk when it’s pretty darn dark outside with no sidewalks available.
The two of us had a few close calls being hit by cars, but no longer!
Let’s just say that we are both very visible seen up to 1/4 mile away. We even had an appreciative driver stop and tell us how brilliant we were in looks and for wearing the LED-lit safety gear.
The point is that you never know what you are going to find at a trade show! While Nitebeam Products is not attending the show in Indianapolis in 2024 the event sadly/happily sold out of booth space very quickly! there is a full complement of other big companies, medium-sized ones, and the small ones crammed comfortably into a 10’x10’ space.
Go have a hard look at the small companies, as well as the medium and large ones.
Each is there because they have a product they believe in and that the public should believe in too. Maybe it’s something that’s right for you.
You’ll never know unless you see.Per the headline, I’ve long called the world of tradeshows 3D advertising, a term that did not catch on. You never know unless you try.
Elsewhere in this issue, I have drafted an article that offers some advice for those exhibiting and even a line or two for those attending even more than what is in this editorial. See it on Page 28.