Setting Up A Durable Outdoor Trade Show Display

By Author: Connor Miller
Total Articles: 70
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How many times have you lost a trade show display to wind, rain or other adverse weather conditions? Even prolonged exposure to sunlight can render tarps brittle and cracked while tables can become moldy and unusable just from exposure to humidity in certain southern states. Here are a few tips for finding pop-up displays that will stand up to the harshest of weather conditions.

Durability is Key

A pop-up table that feels wobbly, that can't support more than a couple dozen pounds of weight is perfect for indoor trade shows. Outside, you may as well be using a kite with no string as your table. You may think you're saving money on the cheap table, but when it blows away with a slight breeze and you have to replace it after every trade show, you'll see that it makes a little more sense to buy a heavy duty, durable pop-up table just once than to buy cheap, flimsy tables one after the other.

Signs vs. Banners

When it comes to signs and banners, the cheap cardboard signs most trade showmen use are, again, great for fair weather, great for indoor use, but terrible for windy and rainy conditions. They can ...
... become soggy and moldy, they can blow away with the wind and so on and so on. The best way to keep that thing in place is to use either heavier signs, which can be difficult to move around, or banners, fastened snugly and securely to the booth itself. Just make sure that the booth itself is heavy duty or the banner will simply work as a sail in windy conditions.

Paperweights and File Folders

A stack of fliers, a business card display, these are great for getting your message across quickly, and not so great for staying in place. For when the weather gets a little testy, keep a business card holder that fits in your pocket, a durable paperweight for the fliers, or a file folder to hold everything in place. You can dig into the file folder (or binder, or shelf, or book, or etc.) whenever a prospect wants to get your information so that you can keep it handy without letting the wind take it away from you.

There's no point in skipping trade shows just because the weather is an uncertainty that weekend. Good trade show booths that can handle a little light rain and wind can make the difference between a great sales weekend and staying in your hotel room, having wasted another trip.

Find out more about trade show display. Get more information on trade show booths and pop-up displays.