Unless you live under a rock, or don’t own a car. Ride in a taxi, take a train, or a plane, no doubt you have noticed the rising gas prices. Our industry is no different and has seen a dramatic rise in trade show transportation costs due to the high cost of crude oil and gas prices. Unfortunately there’s not a lot that can be done to lower the costs, but thinking ahead can lower your company’s individual trade show transportation costs. If you own your exhibit always plan your shipments in advance so you can use the least expensive mode of transportation. Ground or deferred shipping carries the best rates and will save you over the long haul. Plan your shipments well in advance and give your exhibit house enough notice to enable ground transportation to be utilized. If you are renting, in essence do the same – decide early, make certain your exhibit is built in a timely manner, and that your shipping costs reflect your early decision making.

It’s to be expected that you’ll have last minute shipments of collateral materials or product that may not have been ready with your exhibit freight. If feasible steer clear of separate shipments into the show venue. Many exhibitors Fed-ex or UPS shipments in small pieces to shows. This costs you in two ways. Clearly the higher cost of express or expedited shipping hits your budget, but the “hidden” or unseen charges that you get smacked with onsite such as “small package handling” fees levied by show decorators can really run your freight and handling costs higher than necessary. Did you know that at some shows the average cost to deliver a small box from the freight desk to your space is $75? Consider shipping to your hotel and consolidating your freight and then carrying it in. Even if you have four or five boxes every staff member can meet your taxi and carry it in!

Many exhibitors still hold fast to the old rule of shipping thousands of pieces of literature to their shows. We advocate a thorough evaluation of your literature and collateral policy. Surveys show that over eight percent of literature handed out at conventions never makes it out of the show city. Additionally, no one wants to carry your new four pound catalogue through a show for six hours; along with someone else’s four pound catalogue. A smart way of getting information into your prospects hands is to consider a USB flash drive with pre-loaded information about your company or products. This solves two problems! First, it provides a “give-away” item that’s very useful to almost anyone. Second it allows you to “package” the information onto the device thereby saving both printing costs as well as the higher cost of shipping literature to shows.

So there you have it – ship early, consolidate packages and ship to your hotel, and use flash drives as your giveaway with your company information. Savings all the way around!