In 2024, Digital and Interactive displays appear at every trade show and in most booth spaces. It can look as simple as an iPad on a stand or a fully interactive charging station. Additionally, you might find self serve kiosks and lockers on the show floor! Beyond trade shows, these displays are common at McDonald’s and other major corporate retailers, banks, and museums. However, digital displays bring in new considerations to consider with your visual communication marketing. When talking trade shows, digital displays must be packaged and shipped carefully to avoid damage. Unlike a booth, where a damaged piece of extrusion is inexpensive and simple to replace, a damaged digital display can render it useless. Additionally, technology and software updates can prove daunting or impossible to maintain without an IT person. This is exactly why most digital displays are rentals! Lets go over the benefits of renting digital displays!
Logistics and Insurance for Rentals
The first and most obvious benefit of rentals is the logistics management. With a rental, we take care of the coordination to get your display to and from your booth. Additionally, the insurance and damage claims go through the supplier. That means the exhibitor has minimal liability with these very expensive products. Although, the exhibitor is responsible for damage or misuse at the show. This service alone is a huge benefit to renting digital displays. The Popshap Industry Showcase article on our blog covers this in great detail!
Insurance claims and shipping damage is another consideration for exhibitors and companies that participate in mobile events like trade shows. If you ship a lot, inevitably you will encounter some kind of shipping damage or a missing item. Although, relative to the amount of shipments that occurs everyday, its actually fairly rare. Nonetheless, with a digital display it is not worth the risk. If damage does occur it is the supplier that has to deal with the headache of damage claims, not you!
Software and IT Support
Technology companies and IT professionals usually purchase digital displays and program them in house. However, most companies do not have an IT person on staff. When renting a digital or interactive display with Creative Imaging Displays, we help you with this process! From guiding you through simple functions or coordinating with software engineers to build you a customized app, we have you covered! Additionally, most rentals include an on site IT technician that is available to help if any software issues occur during the show.
Customized apps are available directly through the software engineers for the specific display rental. For example, Popshap is our go to digital display partner. Their team can effectively and efficiently design simple or complex interactive software to your exact specializations. We offer a one stop solution for all of your interactive trade show needs!
Show Specific Signage
For some companies, each trade show requires a different kind of interactive display to accomplish the goals of the show. One show may require a self serve kiosk, while the next show requires a simple digital poster. Purchasing many different digital displays can deplete the entire trade show budget quickly. However, with rentals you can choose a new display for each show. This reduces the chance of obsolescence before ROI is achieved. There are no storage or IT requirements and logistics are taken care of. For the majority of exhibitors, this is the perfect solution for their digital needs!
Examples
Recently, many new interactive displays have come to marketing offering some very unique opportunities to increase booth traffic. The three products we will highlight and discuss are:
- Popshap Interactive Charging Locker
- Popshap Interactive Charging Kiosk
- Popshap AI Self Service Kiosk
Each of these items offer unique features that bring exhibitors to your booth. The charging locker and charging kiosk offer a hub for exhibitors to get some much needed battery revitalization. The charging locker offers the opportunity for exhibitors to leave their device at your booth and return later. This is a two prong sales approach because you can initiate a conversation at device drop off, then follow up when they pick up their device after visiting the entire show! This makes your booth a “home base” of sorts for trade show attendees!
When Should I Purchase a Digital Display
A few reason to purchase a digital interactive display over a rental include:
- If using for a long term permanent install
- Using the display at a retail or commercial location
- Plan to use the same display many times in a short time frame
- Have your own IT or tech team to maintain and implement software and updates
- In house storage and logistics management
These are some of the reasons to purchase a digital display, but it is different for every company. If you need help with this decision or would like to look into a purchase option please contact us!
Trade Show Booth Rentals
You might be asking yourself, do the benefits of renting digital displays apply to other exhibiting materials? The answer is yes! Trade show booth rentals are growing in popularity for many of the same reasons listed above. The primary benefit is changing the booth design for each show! Are you considering a rental booth or switching from purchased booths to rentals booths? Contact our team today to talk about the pros and cons! Our goal is to fit you with the right product to achieve your desired outcome at a show!
What are your thoughts on the Benefits of Renting Digital Displays? What will you do for your next trade show? Leave your comments below to offer insights for other exhibitors!