At some point and in some manner, in-person trade shows will return. But more likely than not, marketers will have less coin in their coffers when show-floor doors eventually swing wide. According to the EXHIBITOR Insight Report: COVID-19's Impact on the Trade Show Industry (published Nov. 25, 2020), 68 percent of respondents have already experienced a reduction in their overall exhibiting budgets, and 66 percent anticipate that only a portion of their booth budgets will return when trade shows resume. So how do you do more with less? And how do you make substantial financial cuts to your program without completely lacerating the very elements that make face-to-face events so effective?

That's exactly what EXHIBITOR asked several exhibit-marketing experts. Overwhelmingly, they advised that exhibitors first reevaluate their in-person event objectives and then re-examine the best ways to meet those goals. After all, what was a priority prior to COVID could be completely verboten or simply more of a "nice to have" element today. Once you've identified your must-have components, you can then make small snips – as opposed to saber-sized slashes – to these elements.

To that end, our experts offered 25 ways to curtail costs on essential components. By employing a handful of these tips, you should be able to trim the fat while reimagining your exhibit to accommodate the new normal.

1. Revisit Rentals and Reduce Your Footprint
Whenever trade shows return across the board, chances are that show floors will look a little different than they did in 2019, likely with wider aisles, smaller exhibit footprints, and fewer hands-on booth activities. That means standard booth sizes and configurations may need serious tweaking. What's more, this fresh reality will probably remain fluid, so what works in, say, June 2021 may be quite different from what you'll need in December. According to Dana Esposito, former vice president of creative services at Elevation3D LLC, rather than designing – and redesigning – custom concepts to keep pace, you could be better off renting, which involves a minimal cash outlay and allows you to flex with the ever-changing times.

2. Downsize Components and Upsize Staff Visibility
Trade shows are all about face-to-face marketing. And when you're trying to minimize expenses, it makes sense to funnel your resources into one-on-one interactions. Colt Briner, chief marketing officer at Ensemble Health Partners, recommends you reduce your footprint at shows but then outfit your team to stand out and create a strong visual presence elsewhere throughout the conference. Downsizing from a 50-by-50-foot space to perhaps a 20-by-20-foot exhibit or smaller has minimal impact on the attendee experience, but the effect on your bottom line is substantial. At the same time, ramp up staff visibility by reallocating your time and dollars into inventive staff uniforms, off-floor attention-getting tactics, and staff training to foster effective on-site conversations.

3. Partner Up
Sometimes it's better to share expenses than to eliminate them. Esposito recommends you partner with noncompeting exhibitors on everything from booth space and mobile-marketing experiences to online events. "It might take some time to find the perfect partnership, but co-hosting experiences with complementary companies can really help you maximize your dollars and your presence," she says. Plus, given COVID's financial impact, other companies may be far more willing to join forces than they have been in the past.

4. Re-envision Exhibits Altogether
Post COVID, Victor Torregroza, events program manager at Intel Corp., can visualize a whole new type of experience with less exhibitry and lower costs but more product and personal encounters – albeit socially distanced. "Just like 9/11 changed the experience of flying, COVID-19 will change the trade show world," Torregroza says. "Attendees always want to experience the latest products and speak with experts to learn more. So skip the expensive new exhibits altogether and design smaller, lounge-centric environments to highlight your products and truly connect with your audience from a safe distance." In terms of cost-cutting, this strategy means trading traditional, architecturally heavy environments for rental furniture, spacious theaters, and video screens.

5. Make it Modular
If you must purchase an exhibit, Frank Jones, director of creative services and events at RentPath LLC, recommends you go the modular route. While any exhibit investment is still an expense, components that can be reconfigured into countless footprints and perhaps even used for purposes off the trade show floor can be a cost saver in the long run. "Modular systems are like oversized erector sets," Jones says. "Able to be skinned and reskinned in fabric or rigid panels, they offer far more flexibility than more expensive custom-fabricated exhibits, all at a fraction of that cost." 6. Reduce, Reuse, and Repurpose
Why reinvent a perfectly good wheel? Briner recommends repurposing what you already own. Does your advertising team have some great commercials you can use? Or do your digital-content gurus have some killer video content lurking in their files? Maybe your company's main office has some fine fabric graphics. "See if you can borrow everything from digital to physical graphics for your trade show experience," he says. "Especially with many companies still working from home and clients rarely visiting corporate offices, there may be plenty of unused or unseen branded signs, banners, and more you can acquire."

7. Convert to Digital
Now is the perfect time to switch to digital graphics, Torregroza says. Printed graphics are prone to damage and require a complete redo to alter the image or messaging. As such, they're a costly line item you pay for again and again. With digital offerings, you can alter your content continually for a comparatively smaller expense. Plus, they're hugely advantageous given the current fluidity of the trade show world. Today, you need messaging and a delivery medium that can change with the times. Once you buy a physical graphic frame of any sort, you're locked into that shape and size. "Whereas digital graphics allow you to show content on everything from a jumbotron to a tablet [with appropriate file sizes] and to position those electronics practically anywhere the laws of physics will allow," Torregroza says. You may incur a fee for digital-asset creation (unless you reduce, reuse, and repurpose), but those charges will likely be lower than the fees for a plethora of printed panels.

8. Share Your Assets – and Their Expenses
If you must create graphics, whether they're the print or digital variety, brainstorm ways that other departments at your firm can leverage your purchase and thus share the expense, Esposito says. "For example, if you want to create a digital asset for your booth, consider how it could be reused on your website or by your social-media team," she says. Then see if you can get financial buy-in from these other users to make a collaborative purchase. Just remember that your media-development team will need to know all of the potential uses prior to designing the project so it can build the files to meet various needs.

9. Leverage In-house Creative Talent
The Economic (Custom) Survey from the Experiential Designers and Producers Association reveals that graphic-design charges average $106.34 per hour. So why not eliminate some of these fees by using internal company resources to craft your graphics? True, not every firm has agency-quality designers, but according to Jones, excellent in-house creatives are far more commonplace than you might think. "More and more companies are building high-level creative teams," he says. "And these internal talents have a far better understanding of your brand than any agency ever could. Employing existing talent, either from your company's creative group or departments such as advertising or digital content, might save you money and improve quality."

10. Explore Alternative Production Options
If printed graphics are mandatory, sources urge you to contemplate all production options. Janice Breuer, CTSM, the former (now retired) trade show specialist with FFF Enterprises Inc., recommends a little comparison shopping. "When it was time to buy new graphics for my banner stands, I used a local sign shop to create replacements rather than purchasing from the dealer," she says. Switching suppliers saved her 65 percent for each graphic. Granted, you need to find a quality producer, not just a cheap one. But it can pay to shop around. 11. Inventory and Purge
"It's vitally important to conduct an annual inventory of purchased exhibit assets so that you can maximize your storage space and purge outdated properties," Jones says. Doing so keeps storage space and costs to a minimum and helps maintain an accurate inventory, which in turn allows you to better repurpose elements within your program. "If we haven't used an item in three years, it's donated or recycled," Jones says.

12. Consider Alternative Storage Options
"Remember when you used to lament how little storage space you had in your office building?" Briner says. "Now, with many employees ensconced at home, you could play field hockey in some offices. So now might be the perfect time to move your exhibit storage in-house, at least temporarily." Other options include climate-controlled self-storage facilities, portable-storage pods, a warehouse belonging to another division of your company, etc. But remember that you may need to do your own pull-and-prep services and transport any damaged elements to your exhibit house for repairs.

13. Opt for Rentals
Esposito reminds us that rental exhibits can completely eradicate storage charges – while eliminating refurbishment and repair fees and perhaps even transportation and drayage costs. Even just renting some of the larger, more cumbersome booth elements can knock a few hundred dollars off your monthly storage costs.

14. Pack With Purpose
Multiple sources advise that one of the best ways to minimize storage expenses is to pack your properties like you're assembling Russian nesting dolls. Try to eliminate "dead space" by placing items inside one another. For example, cabinets normally filled by staffers' personal belongings, giveaways, etc. at a show are the perfect place to store small exhibit items such as office supplies, gang boxes, power cords, tablet stands, and more.

15. Buy (or Rent) a Van
Admittedly, this option doesn't apply to massive stands. But according to Briner, it's a great fit for many small- and medium-size programs. Rather than shipping your exhibitry, contemplate buying or renting a van, branding it with your company name and messaging, filling it with your freight, and driving it to the show, along with a couple of staffers. Once your exhibit has been unloaded, staff can drive the vehicle around the local area or airport to spread your messaging. For one show, Briner devised an ambulance-themed program and bought a used emergency vehicle and medical-responder uniforms for his staff. After transporting the exhibit and a couple of staffers to the show, the ambulance made appearances outside of show-hall entrances and near evening events. This tactic probably isn't the perfect fit if your firm is in California and all of your shows are in New York, but the point is to explore all transportation options.

16. Store Strategically
Always consider storage and transportation costs as you select an exhibit house, Esposito says. For example, if all of your critical shows are on the East Coast, you want a firm with a storage facility nearby to minimize shipping fees. Or if your shows are scattered across the country, you might be better off with a firm with storage in a central state. Plan strategically so the distance between your storage facility and the majority of your shows is as short as possible. 17. Reclaim Your Crew
The more times you assemble an exhibit, the faster and more efficient the process becomes. And since time is money, using an installation and dismantle crew familiar with your stand can be a huge cost saver, Jones says. He prefers his I&D team to include at least one labor supervisor from his exhibit house that has previously installed the structure or set up the booth for a preview. Whenever possible, also try to reuse general-contractor or exhibitor-appointed laborers that worked on your stand at prior shows. And always endeavor to employ the same team for both install and dismantle, as the knowledge workers gain during the setup process can grease the wheels during teardown.

18. Remove Rigging
According to the Exhibition and Event Industry Labor Rates Survey from the Experiential Designers and Producers Association, hourly rigging costs average $109 for straight time and approximately $197 for Sunday and holiday work. That's why numerous sources identify rigging as one line item that could easily fall by the wayside. However, you'll likely need to identify ground-based alternatives for flown elements such as lighting, banners, and ID pieces. But these options are becoming more commonplace, and as such, they'll often integrate well into your designs. Even if you still hope to hang a handful of elements, eliminating just a couple of rigging points could save time, which equates to banked cash.

19. Arm Your Army
Every minute your labor crew spends looking for tools, instructions, diagrams, etc. takes an unnecessary bite out of your budget. Stephanie Chavez, CTSM, global chief marketing officer at Zen Media LLC, suggests that you arm your labor team with everything they'll need to start work immediately and keep plowing through the chore unabated. For example, before they walk onto the job site, make sure you've assembled (or requested) any special tools, detailed instructions, photos or renderings, cabinet keys, and any notes about how to work around tricky components. The more tools and information they have at the ready, the less time they'll burn searching for them.

20. Buy Only What You Need
Far too often, exhibitors over-order their electrical supply simply because they're not 100-percent certain how much they're going to need, and they don't want to run short. Steve Deckel, principal at Deckel & Moneypenny Inc., says ordering a little extra is probably a good practice. But buying way more than is required simply because you're uncertain of your needs is unnecessary. Consider purchasing a power-measurement device such as a Kill a Watt EZ Electricity Usage Monitor, which is available for roughly $25 online. You plug each of your devices into the monitor one at a time, and it tells you how much power each one draws. Then you simply add up the active power (watts) for all of your equipment – and perhaps tack on a contingency of 10 percent to account for errors – to determine how much electricity you should order.

21. Investigate Union Regulations
Since many states and venues require you to use union labor, many exhibitors get into the habit of purchasing it for each show. But Chavez asserts there are 27 right-to-work states where you may be able to set up your exhibit using your own company employees. As long as the venue doesn't stipulate the need for a union crew, you might be able to dramatically save on labor costs. The point is to simply investigate each venue's labor stipulations and to plan accordingly – as opposed to blindly maintaining the status quo. 22. Bring a Small Yet Savvy A-Team
"Regardless of COVID-19, exhibits should never be packed with too many staff members," Jones says. "A space saturated with staff can be intimidating to visitors, and when you have way more employees than attendees, it not only gives off an air of desperation but also unnecessarily increases your staff-travel costs." Rather than filling your space with warm bodies, select only your best personnel to help meet your marketing objectives, and keep actual as opposed to pre-COVID attendance figures in mind when determining the number of people you'll need. Also note that the entire staff doesn't have to arrive and depart on the same days. Instead, staff your space based on your needs and attendee traffic, the latter of which will likely vary each day of the event. And of course, whenever it's feasible, use staff that are local to the conference to minimize travel and lodging expenses. "If you don't have local staff, consider hiring temporary trade show talent from the show locale for tasks such as crowd gathering or survey administration," Jones says.

23. Incentivize Staff Thriftiness
Multiple sources suggest that you encourage frugality with some monetary incentives. For example, for staffers that spend less than their per diems, contemplate rewarding them with half of those savings. Let's say a staffer was given $500 but only spent $300. He or she would get a $100 cash reward – and your program would pocket 100 bucks. It might not sound like much, but maybe you have 20 staffers at a multiday event, and they each cut $200 off their total-show costs. After you dole out their shares, you have an extra $2,000 in your coffers, and staffers received a little morale boost to boot.

24. Eat as a Group or Off a Limited Menu
Another great way to curtail travel costs is to take control of dinner as opposed to allowing staff to eat on their own, perhaps in upscale restaurants. Schedule this meal as a group activity where the team can discuss objectives, troubleshoot issues, and enjoy some bonding time, Jones says. Doing so allows you to select a restaurant with mid- or lower-range prices or to work with the venue to develop a cost-conscious, preselected menu.

25. Share Ground Transport
Try to arrange for your staff to share ground transportation, Jones says. At the very least, you can stipulate that nobody rides in a taxi alone, or everyone needs to pair up in ride-share vehicles to and from venues. (You may need to carefully coordinate flights to facilitate such an endeavor.) You can take it one step further and hire a van service to shuttle your staff in larger and perhaps less-expensive groups. Do some research to determine which options are cheapest and most accommodating in each show locale. "Ride sharing as a group not only cuts costs but also improves staffers' security and camaraderie," Jones says. E