Insider's Blog - Alexis ExhibitsAlexis Exhibits

There is no denying that social media is a legitimate advertising medium that
is used across industries to promote a business’s products and services. With
the proliferation of social media use as a means of advertising, businesses
have begun investing in professional production to elevate the videos
that they promote. While candid live videos certainly have their place,
social media videos that are recorded in a professional studio space
can elevate your brand and capture the attention of your audience. Let’s
explore some of the types of social media videos that you can record in a
studio space and use to promote your business.

Product Demonstration/ Q&A
Product demonstrations and question and answer sessions are a practical
way to show your customers how they can use your products. While in many
cases, how a product is used is often self-explanatory, a product demonstration video allows your business to show how well the product works. Including
the answers to frequently asked questions can erase any misunderstandings,
uncertainties, or other lingering questions your customers might have. The
upper hand in using a production space is that you can control the lighting and
ambiance to truly highlight the benefits of your product.

Interviews & Testimonials
A great option for social media videos is to record testimonials or interviews
in a studio space. When you have a great customer who is willing to share
their experience, capturing it and sharing it on social media is an excellent
way to do so. Flatter your customer with professional lighting and production,
and the quality exudes professionalism to your potential customers watching
the video. Similarly, conducting interviews with senior management can help
convey information about your company or brand that your customers might
not have known.

Unboxing Videos
When it comes to social media videos, unboxing videos are an incredibly popular choice. An unboxing video is essentially filming someone opening a product and trying it for the first time. While this is similar to a testimonial, the
individual opening the box should not have prior experience with the product,
and as such, their reactions to opening the product will be genuine. This can be
filmed professionally in a studio space, or it could be sent out to influencers/
customers for them to record their own video.

Trade Show and Event Recaps
For businesses that exhibit at trade shows, an awesome way to capture the
excitement of the trade show and share it on social media is to record a recap
video. While the best recap videos require some post-production processing
to merge in live video from the event, the recap itself can be filmed in a social media production space. A recap video offers your customers (and even
your industry colleagues) an insider’s view into all the happenings of a recent
event, such as a trade show.

Thank Yous and Holidays
Although cards and gifts are a nice touch to express gratitude or share in
holiday cheer, many businesses decide to record videos in a studio space and
share those via email and social media. These videos can be socially distanced
yet personal and offer a way to connect with your customers.

Use a Professional Studio Space For Social Media Videos
Regardless of what type of video you might wish to promote on social media,
using a professional studio space can make your videos look polished and
professional, which reflects positively on your brand.

Ready to rent studio space for your next
social media video shoot? Send us an email
and let us know what we can do for you

posted on 20 Jun 21

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by LocalLabMkt

Enhance Your Trade Show Booth Display With Lighting

Trade shows or conferences are often held in large spaces with high ceilings and little to no natural light. The big overhead fluorescent bulbs cast shadows, and ultimately don’t provide a lot of light, especially once the trade show booths are installed. The good news is that there are a number of different lighting options that can enhance your trade show display. Read on to learn more about what lighting can do for your trade show booth.

Draw Attention to Your Booth

Lights are an excellent way to draw attention to your booth. As show visitors are walking the exhibit hall, they will see nothing but a sea of displays. Having a lighted booth will easily make your display stand out. Choose from standard lighting options or add a pop of color with LED floor lights. No matter what you choose, lighting will add interest and capture attention.

Create a Focal Point

When you have a booth visitor, you likely want to draw their eye to a particular part of your booth. Whether that is a demo item, messaging on a banner display, or a kiosk to collect leads, lighting can help create a focal point in your booth by highlighting a specific feature. Choose from a number of lighting options to illuminate your special feature.

Make Your Brand’s Colors Pop

Another way that you can enhance your trade show booth with lighting is by utilizing colored lighting to make your brand’s colors the focal point of your display. Not only will it create a look that garners attention, but it will also be a memorable one as people will associate those colors with your brand. Additionally, your brand’s colors are unique to your business. By proudly displaying them, you will easily be able to make your booth stand out.

Use Backlit Displays Backlighting can be used to make a powerful statement by illuminating the back wall of your display, which adds a wow-factor to your display. Not only does this create practical lighting that makes your booth warm and inviting, it also can add intrigue to your booth’s overall look. Additionally, backlighting is a great way to make banners more visible and easy to see.

Enhance The Visitor Experience

Lighting absolutely enhances the overall experience of a trade show attendee who visits your booth. A booth that does not have any lighting will feel cold, dark, and unwelcoming. Adding strategic lighting can make your booth feel more comfortable, which will make attendees not only want to stop and visit – but they’ll want to spend some time at your booth, as well. When an attendee has a memorable experience at a booth, they will recall the company and there is a better chance for your business to make a sale from the exhibit. Lighting absolutely enhances the visitor experience.

Update Your Booth

If you have an existing trade show booth that doesn’t utilize lighting, simply updating the hardware and lighting can refresh the overall look. Lighting is a modern feature that can update your booth’s appearance without requiring a huge investment.

Ready to incorporate lighting into your next display? Give us a call or contact us here.

posted on 01 Jun 21

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by LocalLabMkt

When trade shows are put on hold, made virtual, or canceled, how can a business market their products and services? When COVID-19 nearly halted the industry, we looked for new ways that we could help our clients grow their business despite the challenging times. As more businesses are tapping into social media marketing, the need for video production increased. Since our warehouses already had ample open space to display trade show booths, we were able to easily convert some of our space to offer video and live social media production studios so our clients could market their products and services.

“We had a great experience creating our TROY-BILT training video at ODI. The space was perfect for what we needed and the ODI staff was extremely accommodating to our needs and requests.”
– Peggy West | TROY-BILT

The Studio Space You Need to Film Professionally

We set up several large sections in two separate facilities, which offer ample space for shooting video as well as for live social media broadcasts. You’ll have ample space for your video and photography equipment, production staff, products, props and more. Shoot a video or hold a live social media broadcast without interruptions, external noises, or other distractions.

Easy Studio Access

All of our video and live social media production spaces are close to the dock, so you can easily move equipment in and out without having to deal with narrow doors and hallways or other limiting issues. In fact, our dock and drive in doors are large enough for you to be able to move in vehicles, trucks or large products.

Showcase Your Products or Services

No matter what type of products or services you sell, you will be able to create videos, live social media broadcasts, and commercials in our spacious studio. If you sell a service, you can demo materials, hold Q&A sessions, and more in our space. If you sell a product, you’ll have more than enough room to set up your products (no matter how large they are) and have room for whomever is being featured in the video to work comfortably.

Workspace That Works

Our video and live social media production studio space also offers amenities that keep long workdays comfortable. Those who rent the studio space gain access to a general seating area with workstations equipped with charging stations. This general space is perfect for guest waiting areas, breaks, or review sessions before going live. If anyone gets hungry or thirsty during the production, studio space renters will have access to a clean refrigerator to store snacks, beverages, and lunches. Perhaps most importantly, all guests will have access to 5G Wi-Fi access while they are at the studios.

Choose Alexis For Your Next Live Social Media or Video Recording Session!

Our studio space has been used by professionals like Troy Bilt and The Ridge Tool Company to shoot Instagram tutorials. The ample space and amenities proved to be especially useful for these companies for the ability to bring in large-sized equipment. Whether you want to use the studio space to demo your products or services, or to showcase your virtual trade show booth, we are always looking for new ways to assist our clients with their marketing needs! Rent components from us or we can set up your trade show exhibit – for live (and recorded) product demonstrations and presentations– similar to what you would typically do on the trade show floor. The options are endless!

Ready to book your shoot at our video production space? Give us a call or reach out online.

posted on 10 May 21

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Who is Alexis Exhibits?

When it comes to the signage and exhibits industry, experience matters. We’re proud of our rich history in producing high quality exhibit booths, signs, graphics, and more. Five years ago, we had an opportunity to come together with a company, Ohio Displays, Incorporated. ODI had existed and thrived for more than 100 years — through the Spanish Flu in 1919 through the current pandemic. Once we got together, we knew the possibilities were endless. Today, we are working together as one company focused on serving every aspect of a company’s display needs. Keep reading to learn a little bit about what we are making happen together every day for our clients.

We offer everything from planning to promotions for our clients. When it comes to trade show exhibits, we handle each step of planning, designing, and producing custom trade show exhibits, as well as portable, system, and modular exhibits. We also offer rentals. Our design team’s eye for detail means you have a display that proudly garners attention. Couple that with our expertise in production, and you have an effortless display that looks incredible.

Our work doesn’t stop there, though. We offer unmatched trade show services, with 10 storage and maintenance sites in major cities across the country. Count on us for trade show management, shipping and receiving, and anything and everything having to do with keeping your booth properly maintained, looking good during the show, neatly packed away after the show and functioning properly for many years.

Anyone involved with trade shows knows that when it comes to exhibiting, it is imperative to engage your target audience and make sure your targets know that you’ll be at a show — and when. That’s why we also incorporate services that our clients need most: extra brainpower to strategize profitable trade show marketing plans. We can help you figure out how your live presentation will work, how to incorporate interactive elements into your displays, and how to launch, monitor, and build your promotional campaigns.

We also offer lead management and can train your trade show booth staff to make the most out of your experience. Knowing how and when to follow up after trade shows is critical, and it’s something that many companies struggle with doing — but we’re here for you.

In today’s day and age, and especially with the global pandemic, trade shows aren’t yet functioning at the full capacity and manner that they used to operate. While we can’t wait for those days to return, we know we have the ingenuity and staying power to keep thriving, just as we did after the Spanish Flu, through five wars, and multiple economic depressions and recessions. We’ll be here when things get back to normal.

As one company with over 100 years of experience creating signs and displays — craftsmanship and knowledge passed down generation after generation — combined with innovative ideas, impressive skills and smart technology, we know the sky’s the limit. So, who is Alexis Exhibits? We’re a whole lot packed into one company that’s rooted in family, tradition, and craftsmanship. Without a doubt, incredible starts here. Let’s see what incredible thing we can build for you.

Let’s see what incredible things we can build for you.

Read more – HOW EXHIBIT COMPANY OHIO DISPLAYS HAS SURVIVED 2 PANDEMICS AND 5 WARS

posted on 22 Apr 21

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Thinking About Changing Exhibit Companies?

Feel like your current tradeshow exhibit service company is holding you hostage? Are you getting the level of service you deserve at a reasonable cost? Is it time to look into a new provider? The most common way to start this process is to do some research, contact a few companies, and request some proposals. The problem, however, is that when the proposals come in, none of them end up looking alike. How are you to compare?

When looking for a new tradeshow booth or services provider it is important to seek out “apples-to-apples” pricing: competitive quotations that are all including the same types of services.

Request an Apples-to-Apples Quotation

There are many different ways a tradeshow exhibit services company can write a quote, which can make comparing them difficult. Also, depending on the company you are dealing with, there can also be many different ways to hide costs that come after everything is said and done. It is important to make sure that all of the quotes you are comparing include everything you need. Otherwise, you may choose what looked to be the most inexpensive quote, but when your tradeshow ends, you can find yourself looking at an invoice with thousands of dollars you were not expecting to have to pay.

The best way to make sure that you are getting an apples-to-apples quotation is by sending companies a format for their proposals. All you have to do is take a current tradeshow exhibit services invoice and copy the descriptions of each line item and ask prospective vendors to fill in their prices for the same items. This way they know exactly what services to price and the final product will be quotations that you can easily compare. You can also learn a great deal about each bidder by seeing how willing they are to participate and how well they follow your directions.

Once you have the numbers, make sure to review each proposal for disclaimers and fine print. Once you’ve narrowed the field, interview each company that is being seriously considered and check their references.

These kinds of apples-to-apples quotations will save you time, and quite possibly a great deal of money.

posted on 02 Oct 18

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Extraordinary Trade Show Displays: How to be Best in Show

The fundamentals of effective trade show displays boil down to your story, your staff, and your execution. Before and during the show, there will be plenty of distractions or gimmicks at other booths, but if you relate to your audience and to the context of the broader show, you won’t get lost in the din of the event.

The Best Story

The best trade show displays tell a story—your story—clearly and engagingly. Vagaries, misdirection or over-generalized displays won’t do you or your brand justice. You have to assume that visitors have already been annoyed by other booths that take too long to understand. This doesn’t mean that you have to be boring or robotic in presenting your brand, but it should be relatively straightforward for people to ascertain your basic mission and offerings in about a minute. A clear and upfront story buys you time to expound on your latest projects, rather than clearing up confusion over the basics.

The Best Staff

Send some members of your staff around the show floor to explore other trade show displays. In this way, you’re taking advantage of your presence at the trade show by learning things you can only learn by actually being there. Pay particular attention to your competitors, of course. It’ll make the investment in the show that much more valuable.

When you’re knowledgeable about other displays, you can also anticipate visitors’ reactions, preempt their questions and explain how your services are different or superior to those of others on the floor.

The Best Technology

Remember that a trade show is powerful, old-fashioned, offline interaction. Even if you decide to use screens, computers or other gadgetry for demos, the particular presentations should be unique and unlike anything that a visitor can easily view online at home. At the same time, visitors to your display should be eager to go home and check out your site. The show doesn’t end when you pack up the display. If you present yourself right, it’s only the beginning.

posted on 04 Sep 18

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How to Attract Your Ideal Visitor to Your Tradeshow Display

Attracting the ideal visitor to your trade show displays begins well before the day of the show. With a few proactive initiatives and show-day follow-up, you can leave less of your booth attendance to staff and start attracting potential customers.

Preshow Marketing

Preshow marketing can be an effective way of driving interest in your company. Many trade shows today have Twitter hashtags, for example, to which you can refer when making Tweets about your upcoming trade show displays.

Starting conversations on social media sites or joining existing ones in anticipation of the show can help you isolate potential visitors and learn something about them and their interests before show time. At the show, you’ll match a face with the name and, because of your previous discussions, will be more likely to earn a visit.

Game Day Face-Time

Remember, your trade show displays’ best asset is the face-to-face sales time you have with potential clients. Once you’ve attracted your ideal visitor you don’t want to lose them too quickly to another booth or distraction. Do some research and know as much about your ideal visitor as possible. Study the show program and know what education sessions will be popular. Be aware of keynote speakers so that you can initiate a timely and interesting conversation with prospects.

Other staff tips for engaging and retaining visitors:

Have a few introductory questions prepared that cannot be answered with yes or no.
Remember that each visitor is important and should be treated as such. If, for whatever reason, a discussion has to be cut short, offer to follow up and do so.
Standing staffers are better than seated ones. Standing allows for more engagement and mobility while generally showing more interest in your visitors unless, of course, they can pull up a seat next to you.
Breathe and stay relaxed.
Smile. (Let’s hope you don’t have to teach your team this technique.)

Do you need help with your trade show strategy? Let’s Talk.

posted on 07 Aug 18

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Vacuuming Is Not Something to Overlook at Your Trade Show

It is no secret that exhibiting at trade shows, while widely considered the best dollar-for-dollar marketing investment, are chock full of costs. When it comes to saving money at shows, the devil is certainly in the details. Sometimes you can grossly over pay for services you might not think about until you even get to the show.

When exhibiting, people are going to be coming and going in and out of your booth all day for as many days as you are exhibiting. If you have carpet, you are probably going to need to think about vacuuming if you want to keep your booth presentable. If you are not careful, this can result in major costs for you once you get on the floor.

One of my clients, a software company based in California, was exhibiting at a five-day show in Chicago. They had a carpeted 20’ x 40’ booth, so they knew they were going to need some vacuuming services. When they requested this service, we looked into the hall for vacuuming prices. Having the booth vacuumed once every night by the hall would have cost our client over $1000!

Most trade shows will allow you to vacuum your own booth, but if you want someone else to do it, you must use the designated contractor.

Instead of having our client pay such a ridiculous price for something that one of their staff members could do in less than 10 minutes we came up with a solution. We simply made space in one of the shipping crates and included a vacuum cleaner that could be assembled on the floor and then stored in their trade show booth. Their carpet was swept every day for the show, they got the word out about their new products, and the show was a success.

posted on 09 Jul 18

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Establish Goals and a Strategic Plan Before the Trade Show

I believe that the best way to choose a spot is to take the time to study the likely behavior of the attendees. At medical shows, there are normally a large number of educational sessions and the path that the attendees will follow will be into the exhibit hall directly from the meeting rooms.

Certain other attractions for attendees are worth considering, if there are large dominant exhibitors in the show it may pay off to be close to these booths. Close proximity to catering, lounge areas, restrooms or association booths could also be considerations.

Marketing executives, who have experience in retail, often opt for “end cap” or peninsula booths. These spaces normally have very restrictive rules pertaining to exhibit design that can turn out to be a disadvantage. Sometimes high volume traffic is undesirable. Too many “tire kickers” can distract the booth staff and allow the real prospects to get away.

I have read about a study conducted at a major national show where RFID sensors were placed in the badges of attendees so that traffic patterns and time studies could be analyzed. The area that got the most traffic and held the exhibitors for the longest time was an area just right of center and just a little farther than halfway into the exhibit hall.

In summary, there is no one answer to picking the right spot. You need to establish goals and a strategic plan and then carefully study the entire show/convention schedule to maximize your return.

posted on 05 Jun 18

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