DENVER --- The old saying goes, “to make money you have to be willing to spend money.” And that really goes for the trade show industry where capturing the shows audience is part of the battle.

Within that battle is the fight for having the most attractive and trend-setting trade show display at your show, which hopefully attracts your audience like a moth to fluorescent light.

If you have a product or company that has a lot of competition, creating a custom trade show display may serve as a great avenue to gaining a better share of your market, thanks to the extra attention given to your booth, which in turns brings awareness to your products, message and company.

However, you have to be able to justify spending the amount of money it takes to create a custom display, which can range from a few thousands to several thousands, even upwards of a million dollars. Here is an example of how you can rationalize spending more for a custom trade show display.

If you spend $10,000 on a non-custom trade show display and it generates $50,000 in sales you earned a 500 percent return on investment or five dollars earned for every one spent.

If you spend $20,000 on a custom trade show display and it generates $200,000 in sales you earned a 1000 percent return or 10 dollars made for every one spent.

Again this is only a hypothetical situation showing the possible increased sales and exposure of your company and product. The unknown is whether you will see a higher return of investment with a custom exhibit. To measure this impact you need to spend a great deal of time examining your industry, marketing strategies, company, competitors, and current and past displays.