Display Industry Cites Lower Costs, Cost Effectiveness
Trade Show Exhibits Spread the Word on a Budget
BY NATASHA LEE
Staff Writer
San Diego companies are renewing their interest in exhibit designers and producers as an effective means of marketing, according to some local exhibit distributors.
Despite the dampening effect Sept. 11 had on trade show events and attendance, business appears to be climbing steadily.
For the current fiscal year, the San Diego Convention Center reported an 8 percent increase in contracted business for both the Convention Center and Civic Theatre, and a 3 percent increase at the concourse.
“It’s just a very good way of getting your name out there,” said Gloria Warcup, co-owner and co-operator of Cyclops Displays, Inc.
The local business designs and produces trade show displays and accessories for such companies as California Bank & Trust and the Navy.
Companies tend to advertise themselves through telemarketing, commercials and fliers, but depending on what’s being sold, sometimes those mediums aren’t enough, Warcup said.
“You don’t want to buy a car over the Internet,” she said.
People generally want to see a product in order to get a better understanding mentally and physically of what they’re about to purchase.
“(At a trade show), a person can touch and see what you do, besides just receiving your pamphlet in the mail,” she said.
Success at a trade show depends highly on the appearance of a company’s display booth.
As displays become more elaborate and customized, graphics, lighting, fabrics and murals are becoming increasingly popular accessories.
A business will feature its name several different places on a booth, including having it in lights to draw a customer’s attention.
– Getting The Message Across
“(Companies want you) to feel the mood when you walk in (a trade show) and make sure they’re hitting you strong with their message,” said Chris Wilson, president of Mostre Design, a full-service exhibit provider in Carlsbad.
Wilson added it is also important to make sure a customer recognizes the message rather quickly when that person approaches a booth.
“We look at who (a company) they are, products and services offered, target audience and we come up with a structure and plan that allows them to have an image on a trade show floor,” he said.
A person is more likely to remember what your exhibit looked like than a salesperson’s pitch or a pamphlet so it’s equally important to put a strong emphasis on an exhibit’s appearance, Wilson said.
Interest in display marketing has recently increased among companies in the health care, sporting and beauty industries, Wilson said.
The rise in interest stems from a more cost effective business approach that appeals to a larger buying audience.
Displays offer businesses incentives that are more affordable than having a salesperson lugging around a product and trying to sell it on their own.
Factors such as lower transportation costs, weight and configurable in size , meaning a display can be made larger or smaller , offer one-third the cost of paying transportation and salary expenses for a salesperson, Wilson said.
Also, companies don’t have to pay sales tax on out-of-state purchases at trade show equipment such as display booths and exhibits.
While businesses generally buy displays from local venues, the elimination of sales tax provides an advantage, particularly on booths that can average from $50,000 to $200,000 in sales.
– Display Industry Remains Healthy
Just five years ago, as the Internet became more dominant, many thought trade shows would become cyber-shows, giving customers a virtual rather than a physical presentation.
Still, the competition for the display industry in San Diego has remained healthy despite the Internet and several other deterrents, including the fall of the dot-com industry and San Diego ranking rather low in status on the trade show circuit, Wilson said.
San Diego still fails to attract large convention and trade shows, unlike major venues such as Las Vegas and New Orleans, Warcup said.
“Compared to other cities, our Convention Center is lacking some things,” she said.
The expansion, doubling the Convention Center by more than 525,000 square feet, increased exhibit hall space, while taking away space from other amenities needed to run a successful trade show such as parking and marshalling yard space , allotted space for trucks to park and unload freight.
Warcup said not having a marshalling area has made it more difficult for businesses to move in and set up displays quickly and efficiently, causing congestion for freight companies and yielding complaints from clients.
“It’s great that there’s other hall space, but there’s no empty space,” she said.
Carol Wallace, president and CEO of the San Diego Convention Center Corp., said the issue is not so cut and dry.
City requirements maintain that an adequate marshalling yard have a minimum of 10 acres of land located within 10 to 15 minutes of the Convention Center and have immediate freeway access.
– Search Continues For Permanent Site
The recent boom in Downtown real estate has taken some of the potential land away for residential and retail use, and has the ballpark now under construction.
Besides, the value of bayfront properties surrounding the Convention Center would drop should a marshalling yard , an unattractive plot of land , be located in the heart of Downtown, said Gayle Falkenthal, vice president of marketing for the Convention Center.
“Bayfront property is pretty valuable and extraordinary to look at and wouldn’t be used just to store trucks,” she said.
A temporary marshalling yard, located off Pacific Highway, will be available until the end of the year. Wallace, working with the city and the Port District, is hoping to find permanent spaces for site parking.
The temporary site has proven satisfactory for trade show freight and loading, Wallace said, adding that she had not received any complaints on the matter.
“It (finding a permanent site) has been a challenge for us, but we’re confident that we’ll find a solution,” she said.
