Comments
PCMA@LinkedIn: Exhibitor Breakdown
ANDREABAUERFEIND,CGMP, director of event strategic services for AetherQuest Solutions Inc., recently postedthis questions toPCMA’s LinkedIn group:“Howdo you pre- vent your exhibitors from breaking down their displays early?” Here are two of the responses
that she received:
THEREARELOTSOFREASONS for an exhibitor to leave early. Some- times as a promoter,we forget exhibitors have personal lives and expenses completely unrelated to our event thatwe need to be considerate of. Possibly even the close of a sale to a contactmet at that trade show. Personally, I let them go ahead
and break down no matter what the schedule. As long as they stay out of the aisleways—no penalty, etc., and I’ll take their money next year. They must, however, leave their exhibitor name present in the booth.You can explain to them that the attendees are entitled to know what they missed and who didn’t think they (the attendees) were important enough to wait for.You should also note to them that you typically relay the situation to the booking coordi- nator and that although they will not be “banned” from your next event, it will affect their booth place-
ment (they can stand in the corner next year). Just remember when you go to
rebook the event, that representative and their attitude may no longer be a part of the company. Punishing the client for the rep’s actions may not be in your best interest. Another way to push exhibitors to stay in their booths is to endorse/enforce your decorating contractor guide- lines for labor and drayage. This is a service, not a penalty, which more exhibitors would use if they had a better understanding of how it works and the benefits. MarkAnderson Vice President of Sales and Marketing Tellme Scenic Solutions
ALLOWINGANEXHIBITORTO break down early is a really bad idea, inmy opinion.Once one starts, it can start awave across the hall.And a hall full of booths that are in the middle of tearing down is not an appealing place to be for an attendee whose only opportunity to visit the exhibitsmay have been the last 90 minutes of the show. Permitting exhibitors to tear downwhile there are attendees in the hall is also poten- tially dangerous. While the exhibitors’ intent and efforts are to confine their teardown to their booth space,what’s to prevent a part of a display fromfalling over into the aisle and hitting someone? As to the original question—
“You can explain to them that the attendees are entitled to knowwhat they missed and who didn’t think they were important enough to wait for.”
how to prevent it—I think the answer is pretty simple, and it boils down to making an unwavering commitment to not allowing it ever. First, from the very beginning, make sure your exhibitors are aware of the rule by putting it into the con- tract for booth space that their booth will be staffed at all times dur- ing the published show hours and that abandoning their booth will result in a financial penalty. In our
8 pcmaconvene March 2012
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