Making the move from an inline exhibit to an island costs more, gets your company major attention, and the stakes are higher. Of course you are now in the big leagues as your exhibit can be much taller and you can now have a hanging sign. These are great attention getting devices. Since you now have four sides you are dealing with 80 feet of store frontage or beach front property and your design needs to make the most of all four opportunities to engage show attendees. An island trade show exhibit needs the flexibility to adapt to a variety of space sizes depending on availability at your current show lineup, especially if you are going to avoid excess spending to fit all those booth sizes. Of course we always suggest rentals as the best solution.

With opaque walls and even double decks, island exhibitors can host private meetings that allow them and their guests to converse, negotiate, and make deals with abandon. Exhibitors can show off their latest new products to their trusted buyers, without tipping their competitors off. Rental exhibits offer the ability to change the look, booth size, and message more easily than an owned exhibit does – and at a lower cost if you only do one or two shows a year.
An island exhibit requires more time to get designed and built. In all likelihood the leap to an island includes private meeting areas, closets, demo stations, lounge areas. With all of those requirements it seems there are more people with a request or an opinion in your company. You need more booth staffers to cover and work an island exhibit and more emphasis on booth staff training. When the booth staff arrives from all over there will have to be training sessions at the show site before the show starts.

ROI – Return on Investment. You are making a much larger trade show investment and in all probability you will have to justify both your island exhibit’s initial buying (or renting) decision and the total operating costs, compared against the opportunities at trade shows to build your brand awareness, profitably generate sales leads, and meet your other sales, marketing, and operational objectives. You are in the bigger leagues now, just be prepared and good luck!