Helping International Rental Clients Exhibit in 2021

Matt LaBruzza - EP Blog

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International exhibitors in 2021 face a unique challenge as trade shows restart faster than international travel opens up. Anxious to participate when trade shows restart, international exhibitors have put money on a booth space many months earlier only to realize trade show travel restrictions are extending well into 2021. As a result, a number of international shows will carry on without the participation of international companies.

In addition, trade show space selection works on seniority with selections made many months before the event. For many shows, opting out of a year due to travel bans will result in forfeiting deposits paid and the loss of space selecting seniority, effectively going to the back of the line for selecting a booth space for 2022.

We’ve come up with a solution to help our international rental clients have a presence and maintain their space selection seniority. We simply provide the eye catching rental booth along with the booth staff for them when they are unable to travel to the US. We are certainly experienced enough with trade shows to work most any booth. With the help of company websites, corporate videos and WhatsApp, it’s now far easier to come up to speed quickly and represent clients on their behalf.

The trade show booth design, build and install portion is easy for us. We typically have our rental booths fully installed before our rental clients ever arrive at the show. The difference in these 2021 shows is that we layer on some booth staffing essentials such as product/service training. This way, we know how to greet and talk with the attendees and attract attention, particularly the ones our client wants to connect with.

We did just this for Scalabros our rental client from Italy.

Benedetto and Giovanni are the founders of Scalabros. These brothers, along with their company of 30 employees, have been producing window blinds for buses and RVs since 2013. They have a reputation for high-quality window blinds that last.

Scalabros had a space reserved and paid for at the UMA Motorcoach Show in Orlando Florida this April. They contacted us when it was becoming clear they would not be able to travel from Italy to the US for an April trade show.

We made this super simple for them. Once the customized rental booth was designed and graphics finalized we turned our attention to learning about their products and services and competition and of course the types of companies they wanted to attract at the show. It was actually easier than you might think. We already need to study every company we work with to develop effective rental booth design.

Taking it a few steps further with WhatsApp video chats and text messages, we learned more in-depth preparation to staff the booth. The last step was to send product samples and a company polo shirt to help me look the part. Easy peasy!

When the show started we knew how to demonstrate the sample window blinds Benedetto sent us. We knew which OEM manufacturers to keep an eye out for. We knew who the current customers were and also the hopeful prospects. We even knew who the competitors were in case they approach the booth.

With WhatsApp we were able to communicate with Benedetto throughout each day of the show. Every lead was sent to him directly with notes about what was discussed, and many video clips of the show floor and events were sent to help the Scalabros team feel as if they were there.

By the end of the show we had sent 23 leads to Benedetto of attendees looking for replacement window blinds and even one solid OEM motor-coach builder interested in Scalabros blinds for his innovative new Motorcoach they were spotlighting at the show.

Benedetto and Giovanni were relieved and pleased with the result. Benedetto had this to say… “Hi Matt, the booth looks great. In fact I was watching again your videos from yesterday and it really looks as if we were one of the nicest!”

We hope the connections made in that Orlando show are fruitful for Scalabros. We can say for sure that the experience helped Scalabros to be better exhibitors more highly focused on the details and Exhibit People to be a better rental partner more in tune with attendees interaction.

Custom looking 10×10 rental booths that handle weight.

As of now we have a plan to help Scalabros with a rental booth for their fall show in Los Angeles. Hopefully by then Benedetto and Giovanni will be able represent their company in person. But if not, they know they have a solid plan B booth staff they can count on. If you’re  interested in browsing other custom looking 10×10 trade show rental booths, click here. Exhibitors have many low cost options for 10×10 trade show booths. Our niche is to offer custom looking trade show rental booths that can handle the weight of large TV’s and/or product shelves on the backwall. Handling the weight and looking custom are the two reasons exhibitors choose our solutions over low cost portable booths they have to ship and install themselves.