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Increase ROI with Green Trade Show Displays |
| Date Added: June 29, 2011 10:52:58 PM |
| Author: John-Paull Davidson |
| Category: Advertising and Marketing |
| For the first 12 years of my career in design I dreamed of a day when clients would not dismiss using green display materials as being costly, unattractive, or “not right for our brand”. That day has triumphantly arrived. Today, clients are realizing that green trade show displays are not only affordable, but add aesthetic and brand value. In 2006, I sensed this sea change in consumer demand and began integrating my stash of cool green materials into designs and articulated visually how the aesthetic of “sustainable modernism” could help propel brands ahead of the curve. Boothster was founded and the clients started to find us through the magic of internet search engines. Back in 2006 the buzz words online were “eco friendly booths”. Today it has shifted to “green trade show displays”. Over the past few years as the trend has grown, a lot of green washing has occurred. It doesn’t matter what you call it, going green is key to a sustainable future. Our goal is to make the trade show display industry green, one booth at a time. In order to do that, first I want to define some terms: Green: In this context, the term “green” is anything that does not hurt the planet or living things in this planet. Green, and “eco friendly” are often used interchangeably. Sustainable: In this context the term “sustainable” refers to processes which serve to replenish natural supplies, rather then deplete them. Green Washing: This refers to describing a product, service or action green when there is no evidence to support the claim. Green washing most often occurs when companies are trying to ride the wave of all things green by making false claims about their product or service. Green Trade Show Display: A green trade show display is a trade show booth (graphics, counters, displays) which do not hurt the planet, period. I’d like to offer some tangible ways you can make your trade show display program green, eco friendly, sustainable (or whatever term you choose to use). Integrate Sustainable Business Practices into your Trade Show Program It really starts with talking about it. Make it a bullet point in your meeting agendas. Ask questions like: “How can we make our trade show program more sustainable?” “Are the materials in our trade show displays/exhibits eco friendly?” “Are we wasting a lot of brochures that never get read anyway?” “Are our trade show vendors engaged in sustainable or green business practices?” Use Common Sense Its obvious that it is not very “green” to print thousands of brochures that get outdated and thrown away. Its also obvious that using something once and throwing it away in the garbage is not very eco friendly. But sometimes common sense is not enough. Ask Experts, But Also Do Your Own Research Many experts will tell you that aluminum is a green material. Billions of tons of trade show displays have been made from it and many companies tout that it is a green material. Yes, it is recyclable but when compared to durable recycled fiber tubes, or wood even, it is not green at all. In fact, aluminum mining causes horrible environmental and social degradation. Our philosophy at Boothster is to use recycled fiber tubes instead of aluminum for our trade show displays. The tubes are far more biodegradable and sustainable. The more you learn about the materials, the more you can make informed decisions about what you are buying. Interesting Facts About Cardboard: - Cardboard glue is made from water and starch so that it does not make people sick when it comes in contact with food. - Recycled cardboard is more malleable than virgin paper which makes it easier to create the ridges in corrugated cardboard. This is one of many reasons we have replaced aluminum with cardboard for structural and signage applications for our trade show displays. TIP: Avoid using aluminum for display structures Experts might also have you believe that plastic is an eco friendly material. Only kind of, because it’s recyclable. Its much better to use post consumer recycled plastic such as our 40% recycled PET bottle plastic. It’s also key to close the loop by making sure when you do use plastic, you make sure it gets recycled. Honeycomb cardboard is even greener than plastic. When have panel graphics made, use cardboard or honeycomb cardboard. TIP: Avoid using plastic for sign displays. Use cardboard! There is a lot of misinformation about banners online. Soy or water based inks are touted as being “green”. Vinyl is claimed to be recyclable or biodegradable. Yes, some claims are partially true, but I go back to common sense. Natural materials like bamboo or cotton are obviously doing to break down in the environment naturally because they are natural. That makes them inherently more green than vinyl. When it comes to inks, soy and water based have been around for a long time, but they don’t hold color without being laminated- with plastic. So you think you are making a “green display” choice when in fact 95% of the banner is not eco friendly. Its better to go with a direct print ink which adheres to a supremely green banner material like bamboo fiber. We are really excited about our new bamboo banner fiber banner material which is grown in pesticide free bamboo plantations, is 99.6% biodegradable and REACH certified. When you are looking for a graphic trade show display which prints millions of vibrant colors, its the most “green” or “eco friendly” choice for exhibiting at trade shows. TIP: Use bamboo banner material instead of vinyl for banners. Get Creative to Stand Out Trade shows, events and conferences are literally a sea of plastic, aluminum and rickety parts and pieces. Conventional wisdom these days says do a full color, vibrant printed banner display. By all means do so, and make sure it’s eco-friendly - but what if there is a better way to stand out? If you just need to communicate a simple slogan, why not go “old school” and do a screen print on the back of an old banner? That would certainly stand out on the trade show floor! Conventional wisdom at exhibits, events and trade shows also says build a lightweight structure out of aluminum. Instead, why not build it out of kraft paper tubes that are every bit as structural, more aesthetically pleasing and, yes, green. The reality is that ROI is the first priority for booth strategy. What I suggest is that going green will increase your ROI. Green conscious consumers will notice your trade show display because of its creative use of aesthetically pleasing materials. http://boothster.com |
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