How To Build An Affordable Home Show Booth?

ruskent

I am 90% sure i want to do two home shows this spring. I checked out a homeshow today to get some ideas. I was wondering how you guys built your displays? It seems like alot of people spend the money on the professional displays.

Also, is it wortht he extra 500 bucks to go from the 10x10 to the 10x15 booth size? When i went to the homeshow today inoticed that there was almost no room for people to stand in a 10x10 booth.

Wahtever adivce you could give about building a booth would be great.

Matt

Cole

Matt,
I will be following your experience with home shows, as I am thinking about them in the future.

Can you pull up any pictures of what you have planned?

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ruskent

Basically i am looking to promote the fiberglass pool part of my business. There is no way in hell i could put up a paver and block display equal to what some of the guys in my area. A couple guys had 20x20 booths with big outdoor kitchens/bars with granite counter tops etc. I can't afford to do something like that, nor do i have the man power to put something so detailed together in the 2 day set up period.

Basicly i am thinking of getting a 10 ft wide 52in high full color banner of a pool to use as a back ground. I'll put a table right in front up it. On the table i'll put the miniture pools i have and the different color chips. On the one side of the booth i'll built a stand that i can attached pictures of the different models and shapes of the pools. And on the other side build a rack to hold some differen tile and copping samples. I may put marble pavers down as the floor if i can find a local company to donate them.


I think i could get away with a 10x10 booth.

The home show i was at had two pool builders there. Both high end gunite. They both said they wouldn't even look at a job under 100k and the ones average job was over 250k! I talked to one for a while. He said its it or miss with him at homes shows. Sometimes he will get a job and other shows he won't. He said i should be do good at them since my product is more affordable.


I think the most expensive aspect of the booth is the big banner. Ofcourse i'd like to do a more elbrate and bigger booth, but i got to keep cost down. Each show i could always do alittle more.

Matt

Cole

I think your plan is great!

250k!! Pool!!!

That is crazy.

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BreyerConstruct

We've got our first home show coming up, so we're thinking about this stuff a lot!

Something we'll be doing is setting up a laptop rotating pix of our past jobs, I think that will be a better eye catcher than just a notebook...

We'll rotate staff in & out to stay fresh...

Always want at least one person who can answer questions & one person to get attention (like my 2 year old handing out free-bees, no Vegas showgirls at our booth)...


Can you get some balloons, maybe some beachballs to hand out?
You don't need a whole pool, just enought pool-type things to get folks thinking about needing one...

Just a few quick thoughts,

~Matt

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Pearce Services

Call your suppliers, some of them may have trade show props that they loan out. I have done this before, and it only cost me freight one way, the next guy paid for freight to the next show. Just get it early enough to insect and touch up as needed in advance.

dougchips

I just got done building a display for a home show. It is a u-shape 9'6"x9'6" and will allow a little over 6' wide x 7 deep. Watch out for table coverings, some local fire departments want to make sure that they are fire rated.

MattCoops

I think you would have much more success with a mall kiosak display.
and have some cute girl hand out brochures next to it on weekends
you would get customers close to home, rather than scattered abroad
and it would probably be cheaper

we got our hot tub through a display like that in the mall

but for ideas, how bout this?

Attached Thumbnails

 

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Matt with Cupan Custom Tile & Paint of Lowell, Massachusetts
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ruskent

I acctually thought about a booth in the middle of the mall. I do not personally go to the mall myself. But last week i went to a mall about 50 minutes from my house in a real upscale area. I was shocked about how crowded it was.

It is in my plans to have a booth in the middle of the wall. You would need atleast 3 different people to work the booth though. Can't have one person there 90 hours a week. But with the amount of people that go to malls i bet it could be one of the best forms of advertising out there.

MattCoops

actually, its mostly punk teenagers at the mall.

I would make a display rather than a booth with a person in the mall.

I've seen cars in the mall with no salesman, thank god.

You can make a display case to sit on top of one of those kiosaks.
And your brochures smartly displayed next to it.

And on weekends have your sales girl handing out brochures and getting the word out.


By the way, if you need any brochures made, let me know.
We can do other stuff too, here's some more info: http://www.contractorsearchandreview...ors_tools.html

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Matt with Cupan Custom Tile & Paint of Lowell, Massachusetts
Design and installation of ceramic tile and natural stone for floor, wall, and countertops
(978) 601-8774 | cupantile@gmail.com | view tile pictures and more

red_cedar

Make the best with what you have and can afford.
We are going to be doing a total of 4 this year. Not much but I believe its what you can do with a job that you contacted through the show that realy counts.

pre-reno

I have never done a booth at a show, but I helped a friend of mine set his up. He borrowed my plasma and a lap-top ran pics. He does landscaping so he took some pavers left over from a job, and used them on the floor. He had his daughter and her friends hand out flyers and biz cards. All in all his booth looked great just my two cents