Custom Displays

How can we help you?

By handling every detail, we free up your staff and save you time and energy. Kallman can manage the tradeshow display process from start to finish (or as much or as little as you require) including:

Research   o Utility requirements (e.g., power, water or compressed air)   o Architectural/Engineering   o Show specifications   o Technical forms completion for stand design approval • Design • Build • Graphics • Shipping Assistance • Set-up • Onsite Project Management • Maintenance • Tear-down • Storage Forget your stapler? No worries, we have that covered, too!

Navigating an ever-changing international construction environment isn’t easy! But with years of experience and a strong network of global contacts, our staff experts make the process as smooth and worry-free as possible. Some of the ways we make life easier for you:

• Translation and interpretation  

Whether you need someone to interpret live conversation for foreign speakers or translation services to read another language, you can depend on our preferred vendor.

• International payments   We’ll invoice you in convenient US dollars, no matter where the show is. • Customs  • What can be shipped, what cannot  • Necessary forms  • Time requirements  • Packaging  • Fees--and what currency you may need  • Something "stuck" in customs? We can often help • VAT   We do not charge VAT on any of our builds in any country • Cultural differences  

Our helpful online and onsite resources will have you acting like a Roman in Rome among other places

• Power  

110 or 220? What equipment will work? What type of converter is needed? Is a transformer necessary?

• Measurement conversions   Imperial (feet) to metric (meters) and back again • Calendar   Weather, holidays • World time   No need to set your alarm for 2am to talk to your stand builder when we’ve got that covered. 5 Questions to ask any builder for your international tradeshow display: 1. Experience  

How many projects like mine have you built? Have you worked in this country before? At this show?

2. Customer service  

Will I have a single contact or will I have to speak with whomever picks up the phone? If I’m in a different time zone—maybe halfway around the world—will you be available to me during the tradeshow workday?

3. International expertise  

Do you have a full Rolodex of onsite contacts? Will you handle international invoicing challenges like payments (can I pay you in US dollars?), VAT, exchange rates? Are you highly experienced with power, currency, measurement, time, culture differences?

4. Resources  

What is the size of your staff? What is the average number of years of their experience? How many shows do you handle a year? Do you get best pricing based on your relationships, knowledge and expertise? Do you have back-up onsite resources?

5. Reputation  

How do you measure your reputation? How many customers have you worked with? How many are repeat clients?

The Secret to Your Success

Success begins with a thorough plan, where both creative consultant and exhibitor understand the project’s requirements and stand’s possibilities. Whether this is your first time or the 100th, budgets, vision, products, technology and personnel change from project to project, so it’s important to spend a little extra time at the beginning to avoid problems at the end, when you’ll want to be free to focus on the rest of your presentation and your customers. Five must-brings for your first design consultation:

1. Your corporate and/or product positioning statement  

Don’t have a formal statement? How do you answer “Why did you start this business” or “Why do you work for this company?” “How is this product different than its competitor?” “What problem do we solve—and for whom?” Who are your customers? What is their age, their gender, their culture, their background?

2. What are you trying to accomplish at this show?   •

Who is your target audience at this show; what five prospects are you most hoping to see?

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What is the message you want to convey? Are you focusing on a specific product or service, or this is a branding initiative? Bring sell sheets, backgrounders, executive summaries, mindmaps, etc.

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What results do you want from the show? Leads? Sales? Publicity? Connections? Insight? Intelligence? Ideas? Suppliers?

3. Your design vision  

Photos or tear-outs of other stands or other collateral you’ve liked—your own or someone else’s. Sales/marketing collateral of your own that you like—and why was it successful? Does it make you proud? Does it represent your company particularly well? Do you have special requirements, like an oversized product to display—or one that may not be ready until the 11th hour? What will your staff be wearing?

4. Budget  

What are inflexibles/and flexibles? What do you envision being re-used, what can you provide yourself?

5. Corporate style sheet: Colors, fonts, logo specs  

Don’t have one? Bring some rip-outs of fonts and color schemes you like from other shows, magazines or websites.

Insider's Dos and Don'ts Do:   Plan early! It’s when you have the most choices and the most control, and when changes are the least costly.

Ship early. Short term and overnight fees to international destinations can be staggering.

Carry as much as you can with you—but be careful; new airline fees may make carrying extra weight cost prohibitive.

Rent vs. buy. The benefits depend on the size of the item, how often you’ll use it and how difficult it is to bring and set up onsite. Furniture, phones, computer equipment, plants, and audio/video equipment are the most often-rented items.

Consider a few inexpensive plants to warm up your stand and make it instantly welcoming.   Don't:     Choose trends for your stand that you won’t be able to use again. Re-using the design or elements of your display again cuts that expense in half.

Brand your promotional items with the name of the show and the year; they’ll be outdated the day after the show closes. Better to promote your name, phone, website and tagline.

Choose collateral or promotional items that are heavy or oversized. Visitors will be reluctant to carry anything too bulky around the show or on a plane. Consider having one item on display and offer to mail it to your best prospects.