International Trade Show Planning

International Trade Show Marketing: Part Two -- Planning Your Booth (Stand)
By Sandy Flom
CEO, Extraordinary Show Productions Ltd.

Plan Ahead

Planning an exhibit marketing project or program at an international venue or venues often requires more lead time than for a similar program in the U.S. Starting a year in advance of the trade show or trade fair is not uncommon and is more likely to ensure a successful outcome while minimizing stress and uncertainty.

Design

As in the U.S., exhibits designed for international markets must meet the corporate objective. They must also be appropriate for the local culture as well as accommodate the values, cultures, and expectations of the international audience attending the trade fair.

Other considerations:
¨ language
¨ religion
¨ physical characteristics of the people which could affect demo station heights or positioning of video equipment

Be aware of the meaning of color. In China, red signifies good fortune but white signifies mourning. Exhibit design and colors used must be appropriate for the market and the culture.

Because of the length of trade shows in days and hours, it is not unusual to have an enclosed area for staffers to sit and work or rest.

Since pipe and drape are almost never used, a hard wall of some kind is usually necessary at least for the backwall of a linear or peninsula style booth space.

Fabrication

An exhibit designed in the U.S. can easily be fabricated in another country. Even though building methods are different, quality can match U.S. standards. The same materials may not be as readily available, but acceptable substitutes can usually be found. If not, there is always the option of shipping materials from the U.S.

Graphics

Graphics can be produced either in the U.S. or locally. For exhibits fabricated locally, the basics such as Corporate ID and vinyl copy are probably best produced locally. Specially designed visuals are probably best produced in the U.S. for quality control and to assure that final output meets your expectations and fit your trade show booth design.

Flooring

Raised floors or platforms are commonly used to accommodate utility line distribution throughout the stand. The main reason is the prevention of multiple speed bumps. Since carpet padding is not typically used and carpet is often of low quality, electrical wiring, computer cabling, and especially plumbing cannot be effectively hidden.

A typical rental carpet consists of ½-m square carpet tiles. While rolled carpet is available, it is usually low pile and similar to what would be considered indoor/outdoor carpet by U.S. standards.

As the world continues to grow smaller and more U.S. companies take their corporate images overseas, the international exhibit industry has felt the influence of U.S. standards. Therefore, higher quality carpeting and carpet padding are now available in other parts of the world – particularly in Europe.

Remember – planning ahead will pay off in the end!

Outside of North America, the predominant measuring system is Metric. Metric Conversions
To Convert	Into	Multiply By
Inches	Centimeters (cm)	2.54
Feet	Meters (m)	0.3048
Miles	Kilometers (km)	1.6093
Centimeters (cm)	Inches	0.3937
Meters (m)	Inches	39.37
Meters (m)	Feet	3.2808
Square Meters (m2)	Square Feet	10.763

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