Attending a trade fair

[Susie H]

A 2m x 2m stand (which is the smallest they do) cost me just over £750 (+VAT) for the Birmingham show, but then there are extra charges for electrics (~£150 + VAT), a barcode scanner (£100 + VAT), insurance (~£90 + VAT) etc - so it works out quite expensive altogether.

Thats not bad you know, the last show I was involved in was IPEX, for the electronic pre press machines, 12 years ago the stand we had at Earls court cost us £250,000 plus vat, then there was the stand furniture, electics with buffer box, hotel bookings for 5 engineers and 10 sales men, expenses for them all and this was for a total of 2 weeks. One week set up 3 days of show and 4 days pack down. Total cost, just over £600,000. Thankfully IPEX only comes around once every 4 years:biggrin:

 

[Ruth Mills]

Thats not bad you know, the last show I was involved in was IPEX, for the electronic pre press machines, 12 years ago the stand we had at Earls court cost us £250,000 plus vat, then there was the stand furniture, electics with buffer box, hotel bookings for 5 engineers and 10 sales men, expenses for them all and this was for a total of 2 weeks. One week set up 3 days of show and 4 days pack down. Total cost, just over £600,000. Thankfully IPEX only comes around once every 4 years:biggrin:

Wow!!! But that sounds like it was selling hard-core kit - I bet the stand was huge! This is just 2 days, plus setting up on the Saturday (24th) which will just involve me and a friend driving down to the NEC with the folding table and chairs, two boxes of flyers, a couple of folders of screenshots, and various laminated logos and screenshots to blu-tack to the shell to add a bit of interest. Plus 2 or 3 flatscreen computer monitors and a couple of laptops of course! But the laptops are coming home each day anyway.

 

[Susie H]

Wow!!! But that sounds like it was selling hard-core kit - I bet the stand was huge! This is just 2 days, plus setting up on the Saturday (24th) which will just involve me and a friend driving down to the NEC with the folding table and chairs, two boxes of flyers, a couple of folders of screenshots, and various laminated logos and screenshots to blu-tack to the shell to add a bit of interest. Plus 2 or 3 flatscreen computer monitors and a couple of laptops of course! But the laptops are coming home each day anyway.

Oh yes, massive stand with a sprint in place ready to demo, those babies are bigger then my living room and each one of those machines was £250.000 plus the super fast mac or pc to run it, all the soft ware mods to get it to do what ever the customer needed, or the sales person promised:irked: pur madness! Caffeine, niccotine and sheer buzz, from start to finish................... I miss it

 

[Ruth Mills]

Oh yes, massive stand with a sprint in place ready to demo, those babies are bigger then my living room and each one of those machines was £250.000 plus the super fast mac or pc to run it, all the soft ware mods to get it to do what ever the customer needed, or the sales person promised:irked: pur madness! Caffeine, niccotine and sheer buzz, from start to finish................... I miss it

Well, there are some similarities then - software to do whatever the customer needs, caffeine and sheer buzz - it's going to be a fab couple of days!!!

 

[Susie H]

Well, there are some similarities then - software to do whatever the customer needs, caffeine and sheer buzz - it's going to be a fab couple of days!!!

lol I promise to come see you, I'm bringing Kay with me as well :biggrin:

 

[stirky]

thanks ruth, think I'll just have to wait for blackpool show again next year...Hair gemz are specific and blackpool was all hair related..I only paid around £600 for the smallest stand but it was in a brilliant posistion but then again when we have been to manchester show there is far too many stall and you can hardly see them... i thought blackpool was expensive till i saw prices for other stands...
I really dont know how some of these companies make enough to pay for stands because most of them were massive stall costing at least a couple of grand and they are only selling scissors so was everyone else!!!! They must do ok though because lots of them had done the show for the last few years...

 

[Ruth Mills]

lol I promise to come see you, I'm bringing Kay with me as well :biggrin:

Oh cool, we will get to meet at last!

 

[Ruth Mills]

thanks ruth, think I'll just have to wait for blackpool show again next year...Hair gemz are specific and blackpool was all hair related..I only paid around £600 for the smallest stand but it was in a brilliant posistion but then again when we have been to manchester show there is far too many stall and you can hardly see them... i thought blackpool was expensive till i saw prices for other stands...
I really dont know how some of these companies make enough to pay for stands because most of them were massive stall costing at least a couple of grand and they are only selling scissors so was everyone else!!!! They must do ok though because lots of them had done the show for the last few years...

Yes, you probably would be best focusing on hair-specific shows - as Beauty UK is primarily beauty related.

Maybe some of the stands selling things like scissors are primarily there to increase awareness of their "brand" - as they'd have to sell a shed load of scissors to break even probably (although maybe they do - as I'm sure quite a lot of people make "impulse buys" at the show, especially if the sales people are good at what they do)!

 

[angel fingers]

the cost of talking a stand is rarely covered by sales on the day, its more to generate sales in the future by demonstarating your products and forming relationships with prospective clients as well as broadening your public profile.

its more a public relations exercise than a market place.
i think these stalls that sell handbags etc must be getting the space at a greatly reduced price to make it worth their while exhibiting.

 

[Ruth Mills]

i think these stalls that sell handbags etc must be getting the space at a greatly reduced price to make it worth their while exhibiting.

If that's the case, then it's really unfair on the "serious" stands that are paying full whack to be there!

 

[botoxwales]

Hi hun, maybe I'm wrong but I would expect health and wellbeing to be full of natural health care, and to attract people who would want things like crystal healing, massage, aloe vera etc.
I think you would do better, if it's joe public you want to target, to go to the wedding fairs.

Ah. Wedding fairs - good idea !

 

[skymark]

I would agree with Susie. I may be wrong but I too would question whether the 'health and wellbeing' show would give you the right target audience.

I would look at finding private cosmetic dentists you can switch marketing material with as a lot of people who invest in whitening and cosmetic proceedures also spend on derm cosmetic proceedures.

 

[angel fingers]

If that's the case, then it's really unfair on the "serious" stands that are paying full whack to be there!

i totally agree. i believe you can get a stand at the last minute at a reduced rate to help fill the venue. probably they have to take whats left when the 'proper' exhibitors have chosen their patch.

there is definately more to trade shows than meets the eye.before i got involved working them i had no idea of what an investment it is to close your business or cover it for a few days, transport goods, transport staff, pay staff, accomodate staff [especially dear in london] and thats before you add in the stand which is just a patch on the floor and add essentials such as power and lighting.

 

[smooth]

Did you go to it in the end, from what I have read I would have said that it would be crystals etc not botox and fillers.