Vendors How Do You Transport To Shows?

[toofun]

I guess this is a vague question but I am wondering how most of you vendors get to the shows and get your products there? Reason why I am asking is my company shows in areas that are about 2-8 hour drives so we load up a ryder truck and drive to pennsylvania or newyork from the boston area. We would like to do more shows like some in TEXAS and California but would lose so much time driving down that it would not be worth it.

So how do some of you do it? Do you hire a pod service and fly down? Any help would be greatly appreciated and any names or procedures on how to go about it would be appreciated also.


Thanks
Mark
TOOFUN

[BADVELLE]

A few that I know all have one of their people drive the rig down to the show, then the owners/top people fly in the day before the show. Don't know if there is any different way to do it, unless you had different facility across the nation that you could pull from, but not in this industry.

[toofun]

Well the reason I ask is this. My company was recently at the Hershey Pennsylvania show and we drove down with a ryder truck full of seats, displays, interiors etc... When we got there we saw a couple of mini storage containers called PODS on the grounds. When I looked further into it they actually drop the POD off at your place of business, you load it, then they pick it up and drop it off at your spot on the field. You UNLOAD it then after the show you load it, they pick it up and bring it back to your place of business. Unless I am understanding it differently?

Mark
TOOFUN

[Boesch]

We use a 12 passenger van with all the seats removed. We load all of our display stuff in the back and off we go. We do all of the Good Guys shows all over the US that way. It definitely takes a lot of time to take your product to shows.

[bret]

It ranges from UPS-ing a small tradeshow type display to a full blown company owned semi. When we [Air Ride Technologies] started out in 1996 I used my 1990 C1500 that had 120,000 miles and a borrowed 16 foot enclosed trailer. I would normally leave after work the day before the show, drive all night, and set up quickly the morning of the show. Now we have a 40 foot gooseneck with a dropped dually and one guy whose sole job is to oversee 30 shows per year. A couple of us fly in the day befoe the show and fly out on Sunday night or Monday morning. It is a problem no matter what size you are. When you are at a show production at the shop drop dramatically.
One thing I will say...no one can represent your product as good as you can. Customers want to talk to someone who has the company name on thier paycheck. Anything les is really a serious compromise and IMO, a waste of money. I will also say that direct exposure at a show is absolutely the most effective method of promoting your product...nothing else comes close. It does, however, take 2-3 years for people to notice and begin to trust you. Be patient. Another benefit of going to a show in person...you learn as much from your potential customers about their opinions and needs as they learn from you about your product. Guerilla market research at its best!
I've been doing the display thing for 21 years...I could bore you for days with facts, lies, and opinions. Good luck!

[Bob Johnson]

It ranges from UPS-ing a small tradeshow type display to a full blown company owned semi. When we [Air Ride Technologies] started out in 1996 I used my 1990 C1500 that had 120,000 miles and a borrowed 16 foot enclosed trailer. I would normally leave after work the day before the show, drive all night, and set up quickly the morning of the show. Now we have a 40 foot gooseneck with a dropped dually and one guy whose sole job is to oversee 30 shows per year. A couple of us fly in the day befoe the show and fly out on Sunday night or Monday morning. It is a problem no matter what size you are. When you are at a show production at the shop drop dramatically.
One thing I will say...no one can represent your product as good as you can. Customers want to talk to someone who has the company name on thier paycheck. Anything les is really a serious compromise and IMO, a waste of money. I will also say that direct exposure at a show is absolutely the most effective method of promoting your product...nothing else comes close. It does, however, take 2-3 years for people to notice and begin to trust you. Be patient. Another benefit of going to a show in person...you learn as much from your potential customers about their opinions and needs as they learn from you about your product. Guerilla market research at its best!
I've been doing the display thing for 21 years...I could bore you for days with facts, lies, and opinions. Good luck!
dang Bret...all the time I thought you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth..lol...what's this BS of a COUPLE of us fly in..Everytime I see you guys, there are a bunch of you..hate to see your travel expenses...especially all the cars you tear up thrashing them and letting media and anyone else drive them like they stole them. no one is more visible than your company (and you) at the many shows around. Lots of us really appreciate what Air Ride does for this hobby..and I know it ain't cheap...

[1offwizard]

Being a small company (Billet Accessories Direct), when we started traveling to shows we bought a small 6x12 trailer. After a couple of years we moved up to a 28ft enclosed, but we still drive to every show. We are centrally located (Oklahoma) and have traveled as much as 18hrs one way. It sucks while you're driving, but nothing beats meeting people and talking "cars" at a show!