Once you have decided to attend a trade show, an important decision lies in what size of display you will require. While in the past, exhibitors have routinely booked a “standard booth” measuring 10 x 10 feet, there is now a trend in the industry towards larger display spaces.
The reason for getting a larger display space is really quite simple. When you calculate the cost of attending a trade show, your major expenses are the cost of travel, accommodations, meals, and wages. By contrast, the cost to double your exhibit space may cost less than a $1,000 and you will significantly enhance your presence at the show.
A 10 x 10 display is often the starting point for a new company entering the market or wanting to explore a new show but your long term goal should be to get a larger space.
A 10 x 10 space is the smallest possible space you can rent and still be in the show. As a result, the show managers will usually place you around the show perimeters to fill in the space between the larger exhibits and dead end aisles where you may not even be seen.
When you move up to a 10 x 20 foot booth, you achieve a higher level of visibility and may be able to choose a much better booth location such as a corner booth or end isle (peninsula style). With a larger display you also become more financially important to the show organizers, allowing you to negotiate with the show manager to allow a taller display or a preferred move in and move out times.
When you go up in size to a 20 x 20 space you gain another series of advantages. These would include more liberal height restrictions, and generally a much better booth location. The larger displays at a trade show are often more centrally located in the exhibit hall and close to the main entrance. An added bonus may come into play when organizers publish a floor plan. The plan often indicates company names on the larger spaces.
Another factor for considering a larger display revolves around how many staff you can have working at the trade show. In a 10 x 10 foot display you would typically have two staff, a 10 x 20 booth may have five staff and a 20 x 20 might have as many as twelve staff prospecting for leads. If each staff member generates ten leads per hour over the
course of a twenty-four hour show (three eight hour days) this equates to 480 leads for the 10 x 10 display, 1,200 leads from the 10 x 20 display and 2,880 leads from a 20 x 20 foot display. If you are serious about entering a new market, introducing products or taking leads away from your competition, this is the best way to do it.
