subject: Portable Trade Show Displays Provide Clear Benefits for Small Business [print this page] Portable Trade Show Displays Provide Clear Benefits for Small Business
If your company is ehibiting at a trade show and it will use a smaller booth 10 x 20 or 10 x 10 you need to decide whether you'll get a portable trade show display or a modular display. Each type of exhibit has its unique has advantages. But if your at a small company, one significant advantage in favor of a portable display is that you can bring them into the convention cent by yourself (without union labor) and you can set up and take down the display by yourself. These advantages can make the trade show easier - they can reduce the costs of the trade show by 25%-30% or more and help reduce the overalltrade show budget.
To start, what do we mean by "portable exhibit" and how does this type of display differ from a modular trade show display? A portable display, as it sounds, is easily portable. It generally packs into a single case and is self-contained one display in one case. It can be set up without tools (sometimes a hex wrench or screwdriver is required) by one person typically. Common types of portable trade show displays includepop up displays,fabric pop up booths,tension fabric displays andbanner stands. Every one of these displays is light typically 90 pounds or less, allowing them to be shipped via FedExp or UPS or on airlines as checked baggage. And they are completely self-contained: everything is in one case.
Contrast this to a modular display, which usually arrives in several cases and requires a few hours to assemble, often requiring at least two people. Since it is typically shipped in multiple cases, you are often not permitted to carry these displays into the convention center by yourself you will need to coordinate getting these displays to your company's trade show booth using union labor and paying drayage (the industry term for the charge for moving a specific amount of weight, known as "hundredweight"). Additionally, your company will pay more to ship a modular display since they weigh more and take up more space than portable displays do.y. Of course there are exceptions some modular displays can ship in one container and some are nearly as light as the heaviest portable trade show displays (pop up displays). But every one of them is more complicated to put together than a portable.
So if your company is considering using a portable at the trade show, your advantages include savings on drayage "self carrying" the display and by setting it up yourself. You'll also save on shipping every time there's a show. For the most part up to a 10 x 20 trade show booth, there aren't significant trade-offs in graphic display area or other features most trade show booths that are 10 x 10 or 10 x 20 will have a linear display, and your company can use anything from banner stands to pop ups or a tension fabric backwall, and the functionality will be 90% or more of a modular display. And since you're limited in most convention halls to a 96" height in 10 x 10 or 10 x 20 booths, you can't take advantage of the extra height a modular display can provide.
To be sure, modular trade show displays have advantages over portables in certain situations, even in smaller booths. They can be reconfigured and usually are offered with more options and can be customized more easily. But if budget is important to your company and you don't have a need for the extra features of a modular trade show display, consider a portable display you'll save enough money after a few trade shows to host a dinner for your best customers or go to a new trade show.
