Maintain

Hint 25 - Buy or Rent

Has your trade show/Exhibit booth become obsolete. Is the laminate peeling, the graphics outdated, or the colour scheme washed out.

Here’s the tough question:

If refurbishment is not an option, do you buy or rent a new trade show/Exhibit booth?

Unfortunately, there’s no easy answer.

Although trade show/Exhibit booth rentals used to be considered taboo, today’s rentals form part of the business case for their technology and cost-effectiveness. Some companies may have policies to not acquire or store fixed assets due to warehousing capability, or cannot leverage financial instruments for insuring or maintaining a display.

However, many companies will hang onto their trade show exhibit booths for more than 5 years as an investment.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both buying and renting a trade show/Exhibit booth.

The following simple two-step process outlines the key performance indicators:

Step One: Financial Analysis

Exhibit ownership requires an initial purchase price, and needs to include depreciation expenses, storage costs, insurance payments, maintenance costs, refurbishment costs and final disposal fees.

Renting comprises rental fees for the display booth - check that transport and setup costs are clearly understood - associated hardware, insurances for damage, and contract entry/exit fees should your attendance at the event be compromised.

Consider Intangible costs including the ability to differentiate your brand with a generalised rental exhibit vs a purpose built branded exhibit. Remember, brand awareness is the key measure for being at a trade show or exhibition.

Other Intangibles include the number of trade shows you plan to attend each year, how an exhibit fits into your company’s marketing and sales objectives and budget, and your your short-term and/or long-term needs.

Step Two: Needs Analysis

Hitting the Mark, in buying terms means that every detail can be customised to your specifications, while renting may fail to meet some of this criteria due to the restrictions that exist for adaptation.

The exhibit is always available to you when you purchase, but may be rented by another company at an inopportune time.

Buyers must assume transportation costs in contrast to renters that may be able to reduce shipping costs by renting an exhibit in their destination location.

Hitting the mark for Renters is an ability to avoid storage, refurbishment, disposal and inventory management costs.

Buyers can reuse headers and graphics, while renters may have to adapt from show to show.

Short-Term Versus Long-Term Goals

Purchasers gain a consistent booth structure for at least 5 years, which is unavailable to renters.

Renters generally have limited-reuse applications, while buying is a good option if you exhibit at several trade shows.