Last year, The Trade Group made quite a showing at the annual EXHIBITORLIVE conference, where we were recognized as one of the EXHIBITOR Find It Top 40 Exhibit Producers in the United States and Canada. At the time, we stated that our goal was to make the Top 40 list again at next year’s show.

So, we did.

The Trade Group is proud to announce our 2019 selection as one of the Top 40 Exhibit Producers in the United States and Canada by Exhibitor Media Group.

“This program is intended to spotlight the best exhibit producers in the industry, while also providing a valuable resource for exhibit managers searching for new potential partners,” Randy Acker, President and Chief Operating Officer of Exhibitor Media Group, is quoted in an article about the award. “The second-annual Find It – Top 40 represents the most exclusive list of U.S. and Canadian exhibit providers in the industry and serves as the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval when it comes to the companies behind many of the most successful trade show stands in the world.”

Companies were evaluated on more than 50 individual criteria. The judging attempted to simulate the process that a client goes through when selecting a production house. The criteria were categorized into five primary areas:

• Company and capabilities
• Honors and awards
• Thought leadership and industry participation
• Service and reliability
• Creativity and key differentiators

“It is an undertaking in terms of the application process and the judging process, it’s quite extensive,” said Stephanie Chavez, Director of Marketing for The Trade Group. “There were more than 100 exhibit houses that applied for this award. EXHIBITOR stated the difference between the 40th company and the 41st was less than four tenths of a point. To be named as part of this list is a great honor, but we were also delighted to earn the top score for the ‘Honors and Awards’ judging category.”

“The competition for a spot on the 2019 Find It – Top 40 list was extremely competitive. After evaluating dozens of criteria and totaling the scores, nine companies were within a single point of making the cut,” said Travis Stanton, Editor of EXHIBITOR magazine. “That’s a testament to not only how well this industry is served, but also the significance of this accomplishment for the 40 companies who qualified.”

During the evaluation process, the judges surveyed each applicant’s current clients, past projects, selling points, and innovations. The 40 firms who earned the highest scores were announced during an awards ceremony at EXHIBITORLIVE.

EXHIBITORLIVE is an annual event for trade show and event marketing professionals. This year’s conference was held February 25-27 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, where the exhibit hall featured the largest exhibition of trade show and event suppliers.  

In addition to The Trade Group making the Top 40 list, five of the client projects we submitted in 2018 were named as finalists in several award categories.

“Since we designed our first display in 1986, creative, design-driven solutions have been the key to The Trade Group’s and our client’s success. EXHIBITOR is truly a leader in the event marketing industry, so we feel incredibly honored to be recognized as a finalist in five categories this year,” said Chris Stone, President and CEO of The Trade Group.

The Trade Group’s finalist clients include leaders from a variety of industries, including travel, video gaming, plastics, and electronics.

• Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment at MBA 2018, finalist for Best 10’x10’ Exhibit.
• Norwegian Cruise Lines at IMEX 2017, finalist for Best Fabric Exhibit.
• Facebook Gaming at Gamescom 2018, finalist for Best International Design.
• Onkyo USA at CEDIA 2018, finalist for Best Reconfigurable Exhibit.
• Indorama at NPE 2018, finalist for Best Use of Technology.

“Additionally, during the awards ceremony, we discovered that the display The Trade Group designed for Event Architecture was named as one of six finalists for the Best of Show Small Booth Award,” said Chavez.

As for The Trade Group’s exhibit, it served as a callback to last year’s display while also delivering something completely original.

“Our custom display at last year’s EXHIBITORLIVE was so popular that we actually decided to turn it into a kit and make it available for sale and rental.  We named it the METALLI® Vienna (METALLI is our line of modular displays, which includes more than 20 convenient options),” said Chavez.

“This year we returned to EXHIBITORLIVE with the Vienna but with entirely new graphics, so it looked like a completely different display. That’s what’s so great about using lightboxes and SEG fabric. It is so easy to get new fabric graphics printed, and you have a whole new look and feel. It is very cost effective and can give a booth a brand new face without breaking the bank.”

The Vienna includes a 16-foot tall bridge structure, a V-shaped “leg” featuring frosted acrylic that supports the front of the bridge, three 18-foot staggered, backlit vertical walls, branded graphics, and slat wall elements behind the lightboxes.

“Those little touches, like the slat walls, and attention to detail is really important,” said Chavez. “We had three little lights that were hanging from the ceiling, and I had so many people comment about how much they loved the lights, they really softened the environment. To have a great booth, you really have to look at the whole experience and not only provide a welcoming atmosphere but provide quickly and succinctly who you are and what you do.  The better experience you can create in the booth, the more attractive and memorable you will be.”

The booth also featured a free-standing Chiosco Vertical Touchscreen Kiosk with a 55-inch LED touchscreen display. At the kiosk, guests were able to peruse different examples of The Trade Group’s award-winning exhibits, environments, events, and experiences. In addition, our videography and motion graphics expertise were on display on eight vertically stacked Digital Display Blocks attached to the back wall of the Vienna display.

We are incredibly proud of our showing at this year’s EXHIBITORLIVE. And, after three days of exhibiting, we have an even deeper appreciation of what our clients regularly experience on the show floor.

“Exhibiting at an event is great because we get to truly be in the shoes of our clients,” said Chavez. “All the little stresses that lead up to the event, worrying about the things that can go wrong and do go wrong and how to handle them. It encourages us to find new methods to ease those worries and make the entire process easier for our clients from start to finish.”

Anyone interested in learning more about our work can swing by The Trade Group headquarters and check out our showroom or give us a call at 800-343-2005.

The post Recap of Exhibitorlive 2019 and Accolades Received appeared first on The Trade Group.