VANCOUVER. Stretch Your Trade Show Dollars with Exhibit Rentals AN EDUCATIONAL BRIEF ON RENTING VS. BUYING EXHIBITS

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2 AN EDUCATIONAL BRIEF ON RENTING VS BUYING EXHIBITS Stretch Your Trade Show Dollars with Exhibit Rentals Successful companies constantly scrutinize their trade show budget and evaluate their return on investment If the mandate comes down from upper management to cut the trade show budget, event planners are taking properties Purchasing an exhibit is an expensive long-term commitment If you own a booth, your company is responsible for storage and maintenance costs, and exhibit house prep charges for each show you attend Even in times when you are not attending any shows, your exhibit still costs you money With rental properties, you do not absorb those costs Our sample comparison chart of a four-show custom rental vs a purchased exhibit property Exhibits eventually become obsolete and are not worth much when you try to sell them There are countless exhibits sitting idle in exhibit houses racking up storage costs It even costs you to have an exhibit destroyed When the contract is over with a rental property, you have no monetary obligation to an exhibit house Add to all of this the advantage of expensing a rental versus capitalizing a purchase, and it is clear why the rental option is today s most popular way to exhibit Custom Designed Exhibit (PURCHASED) Year One Budget $150,000 $3,000 $8,750 $6,000 $167,750 Custom Exhibit (RENTAL) Year One Budget $30,000 $25,000 $20,000 $20, $95,000 Sample comparison chart of a four-show custom rental vs a purchased exhibit property YEAR ONE SAVINGS $72,750 1

3 AN EDUCATIONAL BRIEF ON RENTING VS BUYING EXHIBITS Easy Modifications Without the High Cost Chances are you will outgrow your exhibit at some point or perhaps your exhibit will outgrow your space needs And the initial purchase price for a new exhibit is just the tip of the iceberg show logistics can be very demanding, if not impossible You only have a certain number of pieces to work with in an existing exhibit By renting, you can have exhibits at two or more shows at the same time They can look exactly The cost to refurbish and update a purchased exhibit can be astronomical With a rental exhibit, you can have a 10' x 10' custom exhibit at one show and a 100' x 100' custom exhibit at another show, without paying refurbishing costs same budget Flexibility layout and design need to be changed Perhaps you would like to add more demo space, remove a conference room and move the theatre to the other side of the booth changes, and it can be very costly With a rental booth, these problems are avoided Rental booths can usually be Some exhibit A Custom Rental Exhibit for Every Budget Rental properties have typically been perceived as cookie cutter, but there is no reason your exhibit should look like any other company s with the choice of rental exhibits available on the market today If you have a moderate budget, a custom rental is the way to go If you commit to multiple shows at the outset, your rental cost per show will be lower than if you rent on a show to show basis 2

4 AN EDUCATIONAL BRIEF ON RENTING VS BUYING EXHIBITS Wide Variety of Rental Options Rentals are available in virtually any size, from portable exhibits to double decks Portable Exhibits Portable exhibits are an easy and inexpensive option for 10' x 10' and 10' x 20' spaces and slim budgets They are available as either panel or curved backwall systems, and you should have a choice of portable counter options The biggest savings of portables vs custom exhibits are in shipping and set-up Portable cases can be shipped via deferred airfreight or inexpensive ground transportation At most exhibit halls, you are allowed to set up your exhibit without using show labor if it can be set up in less than half an hour Depending on the exhibit hall, This is lightweight and easy to set up However, they weigh substantially more and are shipped in large containers rather than the cases on wheels It is important to check in advance the cost of shipping, drayage and set-up in order to avoid surprises when the bills come Turnkey Show Packages These packages are generally the lowest cost option available since they include shipping, drayage and set-up However, these are truly cookie cutter booths with no personality and you need to consider the image you are projecting The only enhancement you can make is with graphics Custom Exhibit Rentals Custom rental exhibits are available in virtually any size, from 10' x 10's to double deck structures The only Exhibit houses will provide you with layouts and photos to help with the selection process Some exhibit houses include carpet/pad, lighting, supplies and other items in the total rental price, while others will charge a reasonable rental fee and add on to the bill for all extras in your rental contract If you attend multiple shows and want to ensure that you maintain the same look throughout the year, ask for a multi-show rental discount Multi-Vendor Exhibits Multi-vendor exhibits are growing in popularity as exhibitors allocate a portion of their exhibit space to partners companies products and services These are ideal opportunities for rental exhibits, since requirements can 3

5 AN EDUCATIONAL BRIEF ON RENTING VS BUYING EXHIBITS Strategies That Save Dollars Avoid Hidden Costs of Renting When considering a rental property, it is important to ask your exhibit house some key questions Ask them to estimate the time required to set up the exhibit, the drayage weight and transportation costs Some exhibits much space on the truck You will be paying every step of the way if you make the wrong choice Also, verify that there are no warehouse handling charges involved in renting the property Advance Planning Pays Off of graphic panels or equipment? While you cannot always avoid every potential problem, careful planning well in advance of the show can minimize disasters Costly rush charges for last minute graphic design and production changes can be exorbitant Set Up Early When possible, set up your exhibit during the week to avoid costly weekend and overtime hours Pre-ordered Having an emergency kit can save time and money Figure out what you might need, such as Velcro, scissors, tape, glue, etc, and pack it You don t want to be buying these things onsite at much higher prices Reconsider Booth Space Size At 16% of total costs, exhibit and graphics creation takes up a chunk of the budget Do you really need that It also the booth decline For smaller shows, it can simply be overkill to sign up for a booth space larger than 10' x 20' It pays to do some detailed show research before signing up for booth space Determine which of your competitors are exhibiting and how big their spaces are Do you really need to have a larger presence than Should I Rent or Buy? By doing a careful analysis of the costs involved in purchasing an exhibit vs renting, you can determine which works best for your budget It will take some work to gather the answers, but we think you will be surprised by the results We believe that in these times you can t be too careful about how you spend your precious budget dollars and stretching them as much as possible only makes good sense Rental exhibits are an excellent way to maximize your budget 4

6 AN EDUCATIONAL BRIEF ON RENTING VS BUYING EXHIBITS Sample Rental Exhibit Options Continued: Ultralight rental exhibit Ultralight rental exhibit Custom rental Multi-vendor pavilion custom rental About Vancouver Trade Show Rentals Vancouver Trade Show Rentals is an integrated exhibit service company with a team of experienced specialists dedicated to delivering total solutions for your exhibit and event needs We provide everything from exhibit rentals; to complete installation and dismantling; to climate controlled storage Regardless of the scale, we re your resource for seamless concept-to-completion tradeshow exhibits, professional events, retail displays, and themed environments For more information, visit the Vancouver Trade Show Rentals website at wwwvancouvertradeshowrentalscom 56

7 AN EDUCATIONAL BRIEF ON RENTING VS BUYING EXHIBITS Sample Worksheet Cost Comparison contact information: address Vancouver Trade Show Rentals 1901 Kent Street Vancouver, BC web wwwvancouvertradeshowrentalscom