Thinking of Reusing Your Graphics…Think Twice!

Thinking of Reusing Your Graphics…Think Twice!

Exhibiting at a trade show can be very costly. Many exhibitors try to recoup expenditures on one show by reusing properties at their next shows.  This is commonly done with exhibit walls, furniture, special displays, fixtures and other accessory items. It’s an effective way to get the most use out of your exhibit components before either refurbishing them or retiring them.

Some exhibitors make a common mistake of trying to use this same method with their graphics. Full color large format Graphics can be expensive depending on the application. Over using old or outdated graphics can hinder the company’s ability to deliver their message. You don’t want your potential customers to come across your booth with the feeling of “they did this last year” or “that’s not a new product”.

Each time you exhibit at a trade show you are trying to convey a message to your customers, whether launching a new product, making a specific marketplace statement or projecting your corporate Brand identity. The reason and objectives of each exhibitor’s show floor presence in itself should dictate the possibility of redeploying graphics and if reused, how long a shelf life these visuals have.

There is nothing worse than display graphics looking the same year after year if it is not intentional. Attracting buyers to your booth is the name of the trade show game and detracting from your exhibit environment by cutting corners with dog-eared, tired graphic display images is counterproductive to that objective..  You want your exhibit to look clean, crisp and bright with vibrant colored brand logos, product images, enlarged marketing pieces and advertising reprints.  However, if your graphics only consist of company logos or other marketing pieces that can be used year by year, reusing them will not be an issue and is helpful in keeping exhibit budget costs from wildly escalating.

If you have a tight budget and need to reuse your graphics remember the cardinal rule, “Image is everything!”  You should never feel hesitation reusing a graphic.  If that’s the case, it’s time to redesign and print new materials.  The line item exhibit costs you are trying to save by not overhauling your graphics may be more costly in the long run to your Company’s image.

Contributed by: Michael Carvalho – Designer

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