How to Create a Trade Show Budget
How to Create a Trade Show Budget
How to Create a Trade Show Budget
Before you make a decision to go to a trade show you need to understand what it will cost. This is difficult but important since you need make the best decisions about how to spend marketing dollars and there are a lot of other costs besides the trade show display and many are many "hidden" or non-obvious. The list below can help you track your total costs so you won't be surprised and can make good decisions for your business.
To start with, your company has to pay a trade show booth registration fee - this is what your company will be charged to get some space on the trade show hall or convention floor floor. This is typically only the space - it usually does not include anything else. Count on spending $10-$30 per square foot of booth space. So if your company uses a 10 x 10 foot booth, plan to spend $1,000-$3,000 for the booth space, and so on. The booth space fee is important to nail down because it's significant and dictates the size and type of trade show display you can use (if your company is buying a display). For example, if you are interested in a 10 x 20 booth space, you'll need to budget for more than simply banner stands as trade show displays.
Once you know how big the space is and what it costs, figure out travel, lodging and meals for the employees that will be at the trade show in the booth. A reliable guide is that you need one person for every fifty square feet of booth area to make the booth feel covered without feeling crowded. So if you are using a 10 x 20 booth space, you should plan to have four employees to be in the booth. Depending on when the the exhibit floor is open, you may need to give breaks and that will me bringing more than 4 people, each of whom will need to travel to and from the trade show (airfare, cab or rental car fees, parking), hotel rooms (1 or 2 to a room?) and meals. They may also socialize or entertain prospects and customers, so there may be additional expenses if your company reimburses these. Your company may have policies for these expenses, but a rough approximation that works often is $250 per person per day plus airfare.
Next caculate the cost of the trade show display (unless your company already has one it can use).Banner stands begin at a few hundred dollars,pop up displaystypically are $1,000-$2,000 depending on features,modular displays typically start at $2,500 and go up to $5,000 or more for a 10 x 10 booth (proportionately larger for larger booths) andtruss displays cost between $3,000 and $6,000 for a 10 x 10 display (larger displays are proportionately more expensive). These are expenses for the basic display and a shipping case - don't overlook the trade show display shipping case when you are buying a display or scouting prices. You definitely must have one - most of the time your display will travel by UPS, FedEx, on the airline as checked baggage or as freight. You need a durabletrade show display travel case to make it last a long time and look good. If you plan torent a trade show display instead of buy one, a pop up will cost $600-$800 for a 3 day rental, a 10 x 10 truss or modular display will cost $1,500-$3,000 for a 3 day rental. Larger displays cost proportionately more.
Now, how much will you have to budget for graphocs? Banner stands are usually sold with graphics for convenience, so if you are buying new banner stands you should be covered at a few hundred dollars a stand. If you are ordering a pop up display, you can buy smaller detachable graphics (2' x 3', for example) that will adhere to the fabric panels on your pop up or you can order "full mural"pop up graphic panelsthat will cover the whole front section of your pop up display. Detachable graphics usually cost a few hundred dollars while full mural graphics may cost between $1,000-$2,500, depending on what type of graphics process is used. Be mindful of the way your supplier produces graphic panels - they can be very different. Some graphics are produced using so called a "direct print" technique, meaning there isn't a protective laminate layer or film on top of the printed surface. These graphics can cost as little as $750 for full mural panels - but you should think of these as single use graphics - they are susceptible to scratches and will probably only make it through one trade show. Then there are laminated graphic panels, which have a durable protective layer (typically 8-15mm thick) to protect against scrapes, scratches, spills, etc. And either laminated or un-laminated graphics may have a "light block" backing or printed material to make your graphics stand out and "pop" more. All of these techniques cost different amounts - un-laminated direct print graphics are the least expensive and least durable - laminated with light blocker are the most durable and best looking but cost more. If you are using (buying or renting) a truss or a modular display, you may want fabric graphics - a great looking and convenient choice. Plan to spend $2,000-$4,000 for fabric graphics for a 10 x 10 truss or modular trade show display.
Do you need to budget for anydisplay or exhibit accessories?Flooring is typically $5-$7 per square foot depending on the grade of flooring - from basic foam to great looking laminates with comfortable foam backing. You can rent flooring for $4 per square foot. Basicportable podiumsstart at $400-$500 to buy and can go as high as $2,000 if you need options like monitor poles or multiple work surfaces. You can rent podiums for roughly $250 per show. Will your company have monitors for your trade show display? Plan to spend a few hundred dollars on themonitor mount and attachment and at least several hundred on the monitor itself. You can rent a monitor at the show, but you probably won't save any money compared to buying one. So monitor rentals really only make sense if you're also renting the trade show booth or if you can't use them a second time. Also, you will need a case for the monitor so it can be shipped safely.
Also, make sure you do not forget the epenses of moving the trade show display and equipment to the trade show hall, moving it around and setting up. Shipping portable trade show displays like banner stands, fabric displays and pop up displays is relatively inexpensive: us usually $100 or less for ground shipping. Modular displays in a 10 x 10 size will cost about $200 (ground) and truss displays can cost $300-$500 (ground) for a 10 x 10 display. Keep in mind - you should double these costs because you'll need to ship the display back when the trade show is over. Larger displays will cost more - it's just a matter of size and weight. When your company'sdisplay arrives at the trade show venue, you can wheel or carry it in as it's a portable or a small modular display (10 x 10).If your company has a truss display or a larger modular display, you will have to pay a fee to have these brought in - this is called called drayage charges. Plan to spend 80 cents per pound for in and out drayage - so if you have a 400 pound truss the charges will be $320 (total to bring it in and remove it). As for set up charges, your company is usually allowed to set up a 10 x 10 display - from pop up display, fabric display or truss - by yourself without hiring labor (and assuming set up doesn't require the use of tools). However, if you have a larger display or your smaller display requires the use of tools, the trade show organizer may require your company to hire labor at the trade show venue to set the trade show display up. This labor typically costs $90-$125 per hour and there are often minimums and overtime rates, so check in advance to find out what your company will need.
Finally, have you made an estimate of the show services you'll need? You may need electrical service in your trade show booth, even if it's just to run a few lights or a monitor (remember, this usually isn't included with your booth fee.) So you'll have to get power and other services from the show organizer, who can can present a list of available services for your company to choose from.
Trade shows can be costly, but with a methodical approach and planning, your company can make accurate budgets for its upcoming show that will aid in deciding where the money will go.
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