Choosing between a rental or custom trade show display is like choosing between LeBron and Jordan: different strokes for different folks.
The only ‘right’ answer is what your gut tells you and, ultimately, what best suits your goals and budget.
But if you’re still on the fence and need more information before deciding which type of display will help you score a ‘slam dunk’ with your ideal customer (sorry), you’ve come to the right place.
In this article, Mike Graziani, our VP of Design, breaks down the pros and cons of rental and custom trade show displays—and explains why you don’t have to choose between one or the other.
Factors influencing the choice between a rental or custom display
If you plan to use the booth three times or more across a 12-month period, purchasing is possibly the more attractive option.
This is simply because if you use the display four or more times in the same period, you might spend more on the rental direction versus if you had purchased.
Another big reason people are attracted to rentals over custom displays is that they're able to experiment and dabble more.
Maybe they're going to a particular show for the first time, and they're not entirely sure if it’ll provide the ROI that they're looking for. Renting may therefore be more viable, as they can dip their toe in the waters without making a full commitment.
They may also have an opportunity to move up to a larger-size exhibit space at a show they normally attend with a smaller exhibit.
Again, in this scenario, rental can be a great way to test the waters without the huge commitment.
Some businesses that rent might continue to do so for the long term. It’s the same as people who choose to lease a vehicle year after year and never technically purchase it.
But although logic would suggest that renting is the go-to route for most new exhibitors, some decide straight away that they want to have a purchased property.
They want something very specific to their needs and a level of customization that they couldn’t create with a rental option.
The pros of rental trade show displays
1. Lower cost of entry
You're not paying for the structure; you’re paying for the graphics that you're skinning the booth with, plus any level of customization you may want to add, without taking ownership of all of the framing.
Sometimes, certain passages of, say, wood tones, solid white walls or solid black walls might be part of the rental display as well, so you’re not paying for them, either.
You're only paying for the panel skins that are effectively branded for your company.
As a general rule of thumb, renting is between one-third and one-half of the cost of a purchase.
Payment can be spread out, depending on usage.
2. More exhibit for your money
By renting, you might be able to stretch to a 20ft x 20ft display (if you can afford to buy the space) versus, say, purchasing a 10ft x 20ft display.
That island space is volumetrically greater, both in terms of depth and height.
You've now got a much bigger impact and presence and you might be able to get the same end result as a neighboring exhibitor who's opted to purchase a 10ft x 20ft display.
3. The ability to test some different ideas
You don't have to commit to just one option or put all of your eggs into one basket.
You also don’t have to worry about reconfiguring to different sizes and having a display that can work across different show settings.
The cost of discarding a few graphics that you might have had produced for the first show and getting new ones produced for the second show is no big deal.
And if you want to completely change up the structure from show to show, you can. This is a huge selling point for the ‘once a year’ exhibitor.
The cons of rental trade show displays
1. Working to a set system
When you’re working with what I call ‘rental-friendly structures’, these are usually going to follow some sort of system.
These systems tend to be somewhat common, and thus the designs you get might be a little basic, repetitive, or easy to recognize as a rental exhibit.
You may be at a trade show where attendees have just purchased exhibits themselves and are very in tune with what is available out there. They may spend part of their time walking the trade show floor critiquing other exhibits, assessing whether they’re rentals or custom-made displays.
So, if you’re conscious of your competitors paying attention to the nuts and bolts of your display whilst they’ve just rolled out a brand-new custom exhibit, you may want to consider whether renting is the best option.
2. An inability to incorporate bespoke angles and shapes
When we create custom exhibits, we can start to incorporate angles and curves that aren't stock shapes.
But with a rental exhibit, that's probably not going to be the case.
You’ll most likely get a display that’s at a 90-degree angle, parallel or perpendicular to the floor plane, with relatively upright layering.
With custom exhibits, we can start to incorporate a lot of layering and the client’s branding and logo treatments and so forth. With rental displays, usually you have your wall frame with a graphic skin on it, and that's about it.
So, again, you need to consider the level of interest you want to capture and the richness and detail you want to convey.
The pros of custom trade show displays
1. Limitless options
Assuming that you’re prepared to invest a certain amount of money, you can truly create almost anything you want.
With custom displays, we're trying to create something that creates a big wow factor, be that through the shape, language, colors, lighting, or AV components that we use.
No matter the detail, we're trying to create a big splash, as the trade show floor is normally congested and pretty busy. It's like Times Square, so being understated is probably not the best play for most trade show exhibits.
2. More cost-effective for frequent exhibitors
As mentioned, we normally ask exhibitors how many shows they’re going to, and if they say more than three, we normally recommend going down the purchase route.
This is because your rental costs will end up totaling more if you’re attending show after show than if you’d just purchased the exhibits outright.
And, again, with that rental, you're probably limiting yourself with some of the things you can do. If you intend to use that exhibit for several shows over a 12-month period and then intend to use it over multiple years, which a lot of exhibitors do, then purchasing a custom trade show display is definitely the way to go.
3. Regular upkeep
If you own your exhibit, the upkeep is usually going to be very dialed in.
If, for whatever reason, a display suffers any wear and tear during its lifespan, this will be addressed as soon as it gets back to our warehouse.
Should the damage cost under a certain amount, we take care of it right away, and the display is then crated back up and ready to go for its next event.
In the event of ‘larger damage’, such as damage inflicted by a forklift, we’ll give the client an estimate of repair costs and make sure they have the proper documentation and photographs to file a claim. The third-party entity will then take care of the cost of the repair, rather than the customer.
How our custom display brought Colmet’s offering to life
Based in Garland, Texas, Colmet is America's most reliable manufacturer of steel lawn edging, landscape, and retail products.
It specializes in crafting high-quality steel products for both DIY enthusiasts and professionals and it’s a real ‘mom and pop’ business, having been established since 1957.
To celebrate its 65th anniversary, Colmet worked with The Trade Group to create a custom display.
This 20 ft x 70 ft display incorporated metal edging, a hanging sign, and dark green strips that resembled giant, oversized versions of their lawn edging. It was a really nice exhibit that got Colmet’s message across and captured the true essence of its offering.
Colmet is so happy with what we provided that it’s used this same exhibit for three years running.
At the time of publication, we're in the process of creating new designs that showcase more of that steel edging in an oversized form to reinforce Colmet’s products.
Colmet wanted to have some representation of a home. And so, rather than creating simply a literal rendition, we opted for a steel edging motif and bent it into the peak of a roof for a residential space.
As you can see, we added intentional breaks and made sure Colmet can use this display across different show sizes as needed.
The display features kiosks featuring different color samples, along with planter boxes, steel yard signs, and so forth.
Every significant detail we could pull out, we did with this display.
This project is a great example of how we can customize a display according to the client’s products and incorporate these products into the display’s primary visuals.
The cons of custom trade show displays
1. Limitless options
Yes, you read that right. This is both a pro and a con of custom displays. Sometimes having limitless choice can confuse matters, and you’re not completely clear on the direction you want to go down.
This is why working alongside a strategic trade show partner like The Trade Group is essential in alleviating the pressure on you and enabling you to make the most informed decision based on your needs.
2. A higher cost of entry
As you’ll appreciate, the years of expertise that go into creating a custom display containing all the bells and whistles come at a certain price point, which can be daunting to some.
It’s not unusual for clients to get cold feet and hesitate in writing the check, so to speak. We understand this is an important investment for them, which is why we’re transparent about associated costs from the get-go.
Depending on the complexity of their booth, the installation and show services can be extensive. If the booth has a lot of rigging overhead, rigging is the most expensive per-hour service on the trade show floor. When you rig a lot of elements, you can have a very expensive bill at the end of the project.
We bill half of the project costs up front during the course of production. The remaining half is due upon completion before the trade show.
3. It’s a long-term investment
We don't see many clients purchase a custom exhibit and then discard it after a year's use.
Most of the time, they're looking to get three years’ minimum use out of it, and many of them will stretch to five or six years, or even longer in some cases.
You may not want to stick with the same display for this amount of time, which is why it’s important to really consider if the custom route is right for you.
Can rental trade show displays be customized?
We get a lot of design requests where the client is asking for a rental solution, but what they're asking for requires more of a custom look and feel.
We don’t have to limit the client in one direction or the other. Some exhibit houses only offer full custom or full rental products, but we offer the perfect middle ground of customized rental.
We do many customizations of rental exhibits whereby the initial foundation of the exhibit might be all rental frames, but we’ll add elements that take away and disguise some of the overly ‘rental’ characteristics.
How does The Trade Group customize rental displays?
Illuminated logos are a common upgrade that we make to many rental exhibits, and this upgrade can be made quickly.
Another way in which we can enhance a rental display is by adding elements like recess-illuminated display shelves to showcase the client’s products.
We also receive a lot of requests from clients to add edge lighting around the perimeter of their exhibit.
Take the display we created for Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL), for example. SEL provides products and services to make electric power safer, more reliable, and more economical.
As you can see, we added blue edge lighting around the interior lip of the reception desk. This addition creates a certain level of crispness and emphasizes how powerful edge lighting can be in doing justice to your offering.
Start telling your story with The Trade Group today
At The Trade Group, we’ve helped businesses like yours create cutting-edge custom trade show exhibits since 1986.
We possess the perfect mix of agility and experience, having witnessed many developments across the trade show industry over the last 40 years.
Whatever type of exhibit you’re looking for and whatever goal you’re looking to achieve, our expert team is all ears.
Call us today at 800-343-2005 to get the ball rolling.
