How To Choose a Display Brand

At least once a week we are being contacted by another new display manufacturer that is looking to sign us up as a dealer for their products and systems.

Founded in 1983, CDS Displays was a pioneer in providing lightweight, custom, portable and modular display and exhibit systems. Back then there were only a couple manufacturers and very few dealers/distributors in the US.

Most of our competition was building everything out of wood and metal which was very heavy and had to ship in large wooden crates. We competed by offering products that were much lighter weight and very portable. These solutions provided our customers significant savings and flexibility.

Back in the 80's there were only a handful of brands on the market including Featherlite, Nimlok, Channel Kor, Tiger Mark and Skyline. Today there are probably close to 100 different brands competing for space in our showrooms.

It is nearly impossible to introduce our clients to all of the brands and options available. Our approach now requires a stellar interview process regarding our customers needs and goals for their exhibit program.

Not every company is budget conscience regarding their exhibit program, but if we try too hard to understand budgets we risk being viewed as pushy. The truth is that budget concerns is the best place to start when trying to decide on a brand or system to recommend. The following are the factors that need to be understood to help a dealer figure out which of the endless brands and products to recommend.

1 - Budget (How important is it to reduce shipping and storage costs?)
2 - Design (Do you need a completely customized solution?)
3 - Ease of setup (Would you ever set this up yourself or are you concerned with show labor costs?)
4 - Flexibility (Will the exhibit always be used in the same size and configuration?)

With this information an experienced exhibit consultant can surely find you a product that will meet all of your needs and concerns.

Introducing the Featherlite Medallion Display

A smarter, better looking display has sparked a resurgence.

2 years ago when we were invited by Graeme Nelson (President of Featherlite) to visit his hospitality suite at "The Hotel" in Las Vegas during the annual Exhibitor Show our sales numbers with Featherlite were at a 10 year low. CDS Displays has been a Featherlite Dealer since 1986 and had been one of their top dealers during many of those years.

Unfortunately with the flood of lower priced (and lower quality of course) manufacturers hitting the market combined with cost conscience, recession-stunned exhibitors it had become increasingly difficult to sell the premium brands such as Featherlite.

However, what Graeme had to show us in Las Vegas was exactly what we both needed to reverse the trend and rekindle our position as a top Featherlite dealer. We knew immediately that Featherlite had a winner and CDS Display's customers have proved we were right by adopting the Medallion as the new, must have addition to their exhibit programs.

The Medallion has even opened the doors to many new clients we had been trying to meet with for years.

Some early adapters included United Rentals (The largest equipment rental company in the world), Nuance, (makers of Dragon TM Dictation software) and Emhart Technologies (Stanley, Black & Decker Inc.) just to name a few. Here are a few photos of them.




Click here for more information on Featherlite Displays or the new Medallion Display line.

Corporate Display Specialties, Inc.
www.cdsdisplays.com

Find out why the Featherlite Medallion is setting the standard for lightweight portable trade show displays and exhibits. 

Trade Show Traffic Builder

A Simple Traffic Stopper - The Prize Wheel

You know that you have looked around to find the source of the "clicking" wheel with people cheering while walking the floor of a trade show. We all do it. I actually won a Playstation Portable at a show in New York. That's much better than a t-shirt.

We recently rented a Prize Wheel to the Dr. Pepper group and when it came back it had some great prize slots including NBA tickets. (and some t-shirt spaces too)

Some times the main prize can be as simple as an entry to a drawing for a large prize such as an ipad or a large dollar value gift or gas card while the rest of the slots are filled with small prizes like t-shirts or flashlights etc.

Everyone like a free chance to win something and the sound of the wheel spinning will bring more people to stop and look than you would think.



Prize wheels come in many different sizes and can be floor standing or table top units. The prize slots most often can be printed out on your desktop printer and adding color including a photo of each prize will add to the magic. See on our website Prize Wheel.