After we exhibited at our first exhibition in February – International Confex 2015 – we realised that it would be fantastic to have had a helping hand from an experienced trade show pro with what to pack.
Being the kind folks we are, we thought we’d try and write something for others to use in future – as well as ourselves!
So, grab your notebook and pen, or Excel workbook and keyboard, and get writing this list to ensure all information and items required for the day are in permanent ink or easily accessible on your laptop.
These first ones might seem really mega obvious but seriously, stick them at the top of a document, because you really don’t want to be hunting around for them.
Essentials
- Venue Name and Address
- Telephone number of venue
- Telephone numbers of any venue staff you may need to contact directly
- Telephone numbers of any suppliers you may need to contact directly
- If you’re meeting colleagues at the venue, make sure you have their numbers too!
- Any venue contract you may have, as well as the venue floorplan and your stand layout
- Any other associated paperwork or information you may require
Equipment
- Your stand panels and graphics are the obvious one, don’t forget these or you’ll look very plain!
- Any portable display stand equipment (think brochure racks and pop-up counters)
- Power: Chargers, batteries and extension leads
- Sticky fixers: Sellotape, Blu-Tack, string, fishing wire, drawings pins, etc,
- Cutters: Scissors, Craft-knife/Stanley knife
- Writing: Flip chart, marker pens, notebooks, ballpoint pens
- Computer: Laptop, tablet computer eg iPad, or smart phone, portable WiFi
- Any other tech equipment (understandably, we have more than most!)
- Incentives: Goodies, gifts and freebies eg, key fobs, sweets, pens, post-it pads, general small hospitality gifts, we like Jammy Dodgers
Travelling to the venue
- Sat Nav or directions on how to get to the venue
- Calculate travelling time, allowing for rush-hour traffic or any stops you may include
- Booking overnight accommodation, if necessary, close to the venue
- Find out about the parking facilities at the venue
Display Stationery
- Business cards
- Flyers
- Name badges/passes for staff
- Brochures & Leaflets
- Feedback forms for visitors’ details
- Notepad/printed forms for prospective customers’ details
- Promotional offers
- Of course you can also get more Noodle and do all of the paper bits above electronically with our clever RFID points!
Comfy Standing
- You’ll be on your feet for most of the day, make sure you wear comfortable (preferably branded!) clothing and shoes – you might want to reconsider the high heels.
- Folding chairs – we didn’t have room on our stand but we would have loved one of these!
- Water – when you do as much chatting and charming as we do a bottle of water or squash will come in handy. And exhibition supplies are always expensive so if you can bring them yourself it helps keep the budget down.
- Tissues and anti-bacterial wipes, no particular reason but they invariably prove pretty useful!
Photos
- Bring a camera (or at very least make sure staff have cameras on their phones)
- When your display is set up and ready for the visitors, take a few photographs
- Upload them on Twitter and other social media
- Use them in your blog
- Use them for your archives
Anything Else?
- Bowls of sweets, biscuits or chocolates go down well
- Don’t put too much stuff on your stand, it’s easy to make it look cluttered
- If you have enough room, we reckon some fresh flowers do a great job of enticing people in.
- Most importantly, be nice and have A BIG SMILE!
And don’t forget, at the end of the exhibition use your check list again to make sure everything is packed up, ready for next time. If you think we’ve missed anything, let us know and we’ll add it in. What things can you not doit without at an exhibition?
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About Noodle Live
Noodle Live is an event technology company based in London. We provide easy to use mobile apps, audience response apps and RFID technology for events and conferences, as well as offering free Event Tech Clinic workshops to event professionals and organisers.
For more information check out our video or visit www.noodlelive.com
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This post was written by Thom Feeney, Marketing Manager at Noodle Live