When to Rent vs. Buy Trade Show Exhibit Components
Planning your trade show strategy involves complex decisions about allocating resources, maintaining flexibility, and creating a lasting impact. Choosing to rent versus buy your exhibit components is not always straightforward—and perhaps it shouldn't be. Many brands are discovering that a thoughtful combination might better serve their goals. In this guide, we discuss considerations leading to each approach and share a hybrid strategy for creating powerful brand experiences.
Why Rent Exhibit Elements?
Companies often rent exhibit components because they offer flexibility and lower upfront costs. Renting makes sense for businesses that attend only a few shows annually and prefer modular exhibit elements that can be changed at an affordable price. It also eliminates storage and maintenance costs.
For companies renting, there are some interesting nuances beyond cost savings. Many value scaling their presence up or down based on a specific show. A larger footprint makes sense for major industry events and a smaller setup for regional shows. Renting components offers design flexibility from one show to the next.
Why Buy Exhibit Components?
Purchasing exhibit components represents a longer-term investment that may be cost-effective for companies that attend multiple shows annually. You can purchase custom components that follow your brand specifications and allow for modifications over time. While the initial investment is higher, per-show costs decrease with each use. Companies also maintain complete control over the availability of their components.
When purchasing exhibit components, lifecycle management is an important consideration. However, you will be responsible for the costs of storage and maintenance for the purchased exhibit components, including wear and tear. On the plus side, companies can amortize the cost over several years, potentially making it more attractive from an accounting perspective.
How to Choose Between Renting and Buying
The decision often depends on factors like:
- Annual trade show participation
- Available budget and cash flow preferences
- Need for design flexibility
- Storage capabilities
- Brand positioning and competitive considerations
- Timeline
The Best of Both: Hamilton is a Full-Service Experiential and Event Marketing Agency
Brands are not limited to renting or buying. Instead, a hybrid approach allows brands to own key branded elements and rent supplementary components as needed to make their exhibit unique. Hamilton utilizes a comprehensive approach to hybrid exhibit solutions.
What makes Hamilton unique is our early-stage collaboration between design and production teams. Our project engineers are engaged in the initial concept phase, ensuring that every design decision optimizes aesthetic impact and practical execution. The integrated workflow allows us to:
- Strategically blend owned and rented components
- Maintain exceptional quality control
- Deliver consistent brand experiences regardless of scale
- Provide flexible solutions that grow with our client's needs
- Optimize costs while maximizing impact
About Hamilton
Hamilton is a full-service experiential and event marketing agency with a 75-year legacy creating immersive brand experiences for companies worldwide. We design, produce, and execute integrated experiences – exhibits, events, environments, and digital solutions – that drive meaningful connections between brands and their audiences.
To learn more, contact Hamilton today.