If you prefer to read instead of watching our short video, here is the transcript of the conversation between Mike Gilvar, Mal Gilvar, and Mike Graziani:

Mike gilvar: Thanks everybody for joining this session of The Bottom Line at TTG. Today we’re gonna talk about going back to shows. Mal, what’s going on? Are there shows happening? What’s the status right now?

Mal Gilvar: Yeah, you definitely are seeing a few shows happening here and there, mostly smaller events. The large-scale events look like they’re going to be more likely to occur in the second quarter of next year. We’re seeing a lot of shows now saying that, yes, we are on as soon as we hit March and April of next year, so I think we’ll see a mass grouping of shows that happen at that time.

Mike Gilvar: And, Graz, are you anticipating a lot of activity in the design department in terms of people getting ready to go back to shows in the second quarter?

Mike Graziani: Yeah, I think everybody is eager to come out with a fresh look, a fresh approach, and so we’ve been seeing already an uptick of design requests in the department for new exhibit designs, and people are thinking long term. They’re not just looking at what’s happening in the next few weeks or months, but they’re looking at what’s going to happen all of 2021 and beyond.

Mal Gilvar: And you know, Mike, I think one of the things, you know, to speaking to that point, our customers, I think, really need to be thinking about preparing much earlier than they normally would have in the past for their trade shows. Trade Group, and virtually every other exhibit company in the country, is faced with having to create these new incredible exhibits that we’re going to be designing with a far lighter staff than we had before the pandemic started, so because of that, if what took a month before is gonna take two or three months now.

Mike Gilvar: You know, looking, Graz, at going back to shows, what are some of the things that we need to be thinking about that, that exhibitors need to be thinking about, with regard to making attendees feel safe?

Mike Graziani: I think it’s kind of adopting standard protocols for safety, we need to incorporate more space within the exhibit components. We need to allow more buffer space between you and your guests and so forth. We need to incorporate things like death shields. Hand sanitizer stations need to be prevalent throughout both the exhibit as well as the hall in general. Demos and so forth need to have certain spacing between them, so it’s not gonna be that right on top of each other face-to-face contact that you’ve had traditionally.

Mike Gilvar: And do you feel that we can do that in such a way that it doesn’t diminish the overall brand effect that we’re all trying so hard to achieve?

Mike Graziani: Yeah, absolutely. I think these are small adjustments for the most part, so it’s not gonna have a tremendously negative impact on the overall exhibit landscape.

Mal Gilvar: And we’ve already created a line of standard products, for example, Mike, that go on, whether it’s a peninsula counter or a reception counter, we have desk shields that we’ve already created to fit those perfectly, so any of our customers who own one of those particular types of products, we have a standard shield that’s ready for him.

Mike Gilvar: Okay, great. So what’s the bottom line? Who wants to answer it? What’s the bottom line for people getting ready for second quarter shows?

Mal Gilvar: Bottom line, shows are coming back which is exciting. I think all of us are dying to get back to doing live events and, most importantly, I think we’ll be able to do it in a safe way, just with a little extra planning than we’ve had in the past.

Mike Gilvar: Thanks guys, that was great. Thanks for tuning in everybody, we’ll see you on the next session of The Bottom Line at TTG.

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