Trade Shows

1. Determine which trade show:

• Not all trade shows are appropriate
• Steps: view the website – exhibitors, cost, audiencetalk with anyone who has attended in the pastmake a decision (we do this with the whole team) whether to attend or not

1. Booth, Speaker, other

• Booths & Speakers at trade shows are usually 2 separate departments
• If there is a chance to do presentation – enlist!

1. Training & Staff

• Provide a half-day training for staff – often someone who has knowledge can put together a program for staff of the booth on what are the objectives of being at the show, how to speak with people (comfortably), how to handle questions…
• Prepare roster– with at least 2 persons per shift, short shifts (2-3 hours max) and double-book or overlap for unforeseen emergencies
• Provide pointers on how to dress – business casual? Or other

1. Booth Design

• Determine the flavour of the show – is it fun or peace or health – then design booth to support this and also stand out amongst other booths

• Have a professional designer look at/feedback on the booth design
• Arrange music for the booth – this usually requires purchase of ‘outlets’ in the exhibitor contract

1. Materials

• Three types of material are important: Give-aways, for sale and followup registration

1. a FAQs brochure with followup info

• ask the staff manning the booth to put away their coats and belonging in a locker (preferable) or out of site
• have lots of materials on hand
• when training, remind staff that it is fine to go out to the people walking by and offer them a free bookmark, or brochure – it is better than sitting in chairs and looking bored
• as manager, ensure there are breaks by staffing well – it is very easy to burn out in a short time doing this
• if there is a presentation, set up just like an event and have staff at the door to inform those walking by, who peek in, what this presentation is about

ADDITIONAL POINTERS:

Exhibitor Contract

• Get enough electrical outlets, they are usually extra – if forgotten, can be a real mess

• Usually a half-booth is sufficient and cheaper
• Try for a corner half - booth

Fair and Festivals:

• In order to research the fairs and festivals in your area, you could contact the local Chamber of Commerce or local town/city health department since many of these events require permits and the health dept should have contact information for the organizers of the event. Many of the fairs are advertised in the local newspapers.
• Then contact the organizer and tell them that you are a non-profit corporation or unincorporated association as the case may be, and ask if there is a discount rate for non-profits. Some events have entry fees and some don't, and for some the fee depends on whether you will be selling anything.
• If you are going to sell any material you must obtain a sales tax ID number from the state. At the fairs that we attended in CT, last year, we did not charge for the material. This year we are obtaining a sales tax ID and we may sell some material like DVD's and videos and hand out some material like the one-page articles and the TPRF booklets. Also, there should be local contact info, the satellite, broadcast schedule, MOL brochures, etc to give freely.
• In addition, we had a laptop computer with headsets playing DVD's. At some events we had a small TV/VCR combination playing videos. Remember to request electrical service to your booth from the fair organizers. If no electricity is available or if there is a fee for it, then a marine battery is a portable source of energy and lasts several hours (4 hours?).
• At some events you must supply your own table. chairs, tent, etc. So you must ask the organizers if any of these things are supplied and if there is a charge for it. Ususally you could rent a 10' x 10' tent for $85 plus $8 - $10 for each table. Or purchase 2 four ft folding tables because they will store in a car trunk whereas an 8ft table has to be transported in a truck or van. To purchase a good tent is expensive ... the one we purchased in CT was $385 I believe. Also, it would be nice to have some banners/ signs/ posters for the tent or table. You could design your own or go to the materials resource.org website for some examples and downloads.
• If you need more info let me know. I could say a few things about presentations to assembled groups, but maybe one of my CT compadres could jump in here.