Trade Show Follies

[Dips]

We exhibit at several industry conferences every year. It's not our favorite thing to do. We have to pay heaps of money to send an employee or two out of the office for days, leaving us shorthanded. Despite the drain on time and money, there are some shows that we need to go to. Not going would cost more. We need to keep our name and product out in front of people and certain conferences are a pretty good way to do that.

Many conference hosts know this. They often get away with charging thousands of dollars for a small booth. Then they charge a few hundred for luxuries such as electricity and chairs for your booth. They also force you to use an exhibit service company of their choosing, that's another few hundred for shipping storing and setup of your exhibit.

It's ridiculous and expensive, but we can't do much about it. We just suck it up and the conference organizers know we will.

Until yesterday, that is.

Keith just got back from a conference on the west coast. He was planning to reserve a booth for next year, but the organizer (a university) couldn't give him firm dates for the conference. He decided to take a look at the floor plan anyway.

Nix that. There was no floor. They moved the vendor exhibit space into the parking lot. OK, there will be a tent (except they are calling it a "dome") and porta-potties (which they are calling something like "mobile comfort stations").

When Keith asked if they planned to install a covered walkway from the hotel to the tent (sorry, "fabric structure") so attendees wouldn't be exposed to the weather if they visited the exhibits, the university said "no."

The ONLY reason we exhibit at their conference is that it gives us an opportunity to interact with customers and potential customers. Customers who are not going to go outside in the wind an rain to see us in a tent (apologies, "flexible fabric dome structure").

Especially since they won't promise better security than they provided this year (when the hall had solid walls instead of canvas ones (apologies again, "flexible earthquake-absorbing organic fabric") and are expecting us to cough up more money for the space.

So Keith and quite a few other vendors said "no thanks" to coming back next year.

To give you an idea of how blissfully arrogant the organizers are, they were genuinely surprised.

[wagegoth]

tent = dome
or fabric structure
or flexible fabric dome structure
or flexible earthquake-absorbing organic fabric

porta-potties = mobile comfort stations

The above which explains our current government and political system.

[XCashier]

Many conference hosts know this. They often get away with charging thousands of dollars for a small booth. Then they charge a few hundred for luxuries such as electricity and chairs for your booth. They also force you to use an exhibit service company of their choosing, that's another few hundred for shipping storing and setup of your exhibit.

Hmm, I'm in the wrong business. I should get a huge building and become a conference host, charge about half what other hosts charge and just rake in the dough!

[Dips]

Hmm, I'm in the wrong business. I should get a huge building and become a conference host, charge about half what other hosts charge and just rake in the dough!

Heh. That exactly what we say every time we get a conference brochure or an exhibitor services price list.

I've had a chance to talk to Keith some more and he told me that they are charging more for space in the tent (mea culpa, "luxury garden pavillion") because they are trying to tout it as being better space than the ballroom.

Gotta love sales speak.

[Jack7957]

Someone told me one time about a conference they went to where you had to "hire" one of their laborers to "assist" you in setting up your booth. Miminum charge was for one hour. So he gets his guy and it only takes 10-15 minutes to get everything setup. His guy starts to leave and he tells him to hold it. Explains that he hired him for one hour, so he's going to stay there for one hour, even though there wasn't anything left to do.