If you are willing to participate in a trade show, then you will have to bear an initial cost. This cost would include space rental, purchasing or hiring trade show displays, telephones, internet services, travel, accommodation etc. After they spend his amount, it is quite obvious that the participating companies would want to make a profit.

The benefits you derive at a trade fair are many fold. There are four reasons why a company should want to join a trade show and incur the heavy expenditure that it has to. They want to:

1) Increase their sales and reinforce their market share

2) Launch new product

3) Correct a misconception

4) Create an impression

There are other methods such as advertising, door-to-door sales etc that can be used to get the same benefit. However, that too cost money. Trade show has some added benefits that these methods do not have i.e. trade shows enable you the companies to have peek in the activities of the rivals and at the recent industrial trends too. Besides, the companies often make valuable business contacts at the trade shows because these often turn out to be a meeting ground of industrialists and businesspersons. Therefore, the benefit they get is not solely monetary.

A trade show is of the following two categories.

1) Public trade shows that allows entry of the general public

2) Trade only shows that allow only the company representatives and member of the press.

These different types of trade shows serve different purpose. But there is one thing that is common trade show exhibits. The whole purpose is to grab the attention of the attendee before the company on the next stall does!

If you are planning to participate in a trade show, then you should be careful while choosing trade show exhibits. You can either purchase them or go opt for trade show display rentals. If you opt of the rentals, you still have a choice of turnkey basics or renting them individually. Choosing the turnkey basics would get you some help from an expertise. But its good if you at least have an idea.

There are different sizes of trade show displays. The are available in 10'x10' and 3mx3m in North America and Asia and Europe respectively. You can also get them in their multiples.

No matter what the country or continent is, there these booths are divided into some specific categories.

1) Linear or In-Line Booths - where the exhibits are lined up on either side or at the back

2) Peninsular Exhibits - where exhibits are arranged on three sides. Such arrangements generally need larger space (20'x20').

3) Split-Island Exhibit - it is actually a peninsular exhibit that shares a back wall with anther peninsular exhibit

4) An island Exhibit - such an exhibit needs large space where the exhibit is located in the center and aisles are left on all four sides

While renting a trade show display is popular in North America, cheap labor and raw material n Asia and South America makes building a new booth a sought after option.

The duration of the trade shows in Europe is longer as it is all about longer conferences, closing deals etc. this makes the trade show displays a bit different there.

Being a first timer, you should stress upon getting trade show display rentals. You can get these from various companies that sell then either in their showrooms or sell online. Once you are a few exhibitions old, you may think of purchasing a few equipments and renting the rest of them.