How Tive Used Trackers to Rescue Their Trade Show Booth & Scoop Best New Product

What's the best way to demonstrate that Tive's track-and-trace technology works? To show it in action, of course. Based on a true story, discover how Tive Account Executive Dave Brown, rescued a Tive trade show investment by using our track-and-trace technology, not only saving Tive's attendance at the EXHIBITORLIVE event but scooping the best new product award in the process.

Last-minute, Tive had booked space at EXHIBITORLIVE, the annual conference and exhibition for trade show and corporate event marketing, in Las Vegas. The race was on to get everything we needed for the event shipped on time. We packed and shipped our display, lighting, monitor stand, and other critical equipment and then designed, produced, and shipped a show-specific graphic to Las Vegas.

We shipped the vital new graphic with a Tive tracker directly to the show site and were under the impression that it was delivered on Friday during the first day of set up. Dave checked the tracker data via the Tive Platform to make sure the graphic was at the show. To his horror, he found that the shipment was still at the UPS Service Center, which was CLOSED for the weekend!

A Display with no GRAPHIC and the Show's Only a Day Away

It was early Sunday morning, Tive functionally had no display, and the show started at 9 a.m. the following day. Thanks to Tive's track-and-trace technology, and Dave's quick thinking, he sprang into action with a contingency plan. 

Dave quickly called on colleague Ryan Sullivan—who hadn’t flown out to Vegas for the event yet—to pick up a different 10 x 10 display from the office. Plan C was to get a reprint in Vegas, but every shop was booked solid for weeks. Fortunately, Dave is well connected with many people, thanks to 30 years of experience in the Tradeshow world. A printer was willing to shuffle priorities to fit in printing another booth graphic.  Instead of wasting time searching for the “delivered” package, the time was spent executing plans B & C because the show MUST go on!

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As a result, Tive experienced excellent traffic numbers at the booth on Monday, enjoying some fantastic discussions with prospective customers and attendees. And to cap it all off, by Tuesday, Tive's track-and-trace technology had won the Buyer's Choice Award in the 'New Product Showcase' as chosen by an independent panel of judges at EXHIBITORLIVE.

“Many of the other products were traditional exhibit products like lead-capture software, new LED screens, and other products you would have expected to have seen. But our solution was such an outlier; we caught the judges’ attention,” Dave said, adding that they asked several questions about how Tive works and spent nearly 30 minutes at the booth. “We were very, very happy that we were able to win that award, as it validated our vision to truly bring real-time visibility to the market.” 

Heart-in-Mouth Moment

In recalling the events, Dave says one comical moment that stands out was an exchange with a representative of the General Contractor, the company in charge of producing EXHIBITORLIVE.

"There was a guy from the show who was aware we had a lost package and he was checking around and behind our space for this missing package.  When I asked what he was doing, he explained he was looking for the lost package and thought he had found it, but I explained that was impossible.”.  When he insisted he found the package,  Dave said. "I held out my phone and said, 'See that dot? That's our package at the UPS Service Center. Our package isn't here!! This dot is where the package is.' The guy was dumbfounded and walked away.”   He went from  adamant that our package was in the building to amazed I could see where it really was."

Ironically, Tive's track-and-trace technology is perfect for exhibit houses and exhibit managers because they are ultimately in charge of the budgets, effectiveness, and success of their brands Tradeshow programs.  The design, build, transportation, and logistics budgets of any program are watched like a hawk to avoid any overtime and or cost overruns.  All of the tireless efforts of the brand, exhibit house, and trusted partners can be ruined in an instant if and when the dreaded phrase is uttered, “dude, where are my crates?”.

That's why the visibility of where an exhibit shipment is, in real-time, is critical to remain proactive and customer-centric. If exhibit service companies know of a delay, they can plan labor accordingly and proactively stay ahead of issues that can and will occur. Any tradeshow veteran will tell you how quickly the costs can escalate. 

Having Track, Trace, and monitoring technology offers distinct assurance and an insurance policy to help prevent cost overruns and last-second surprises. Tive also helps them win freight claims as they will have all explicit data that identifies the time and place where the damage occurred thanks to the trackers. 

The Advantages of Using the Tive Platform 

Dave's story demonstrates that exhibition halls are initially a scene of organized chaos. The first day of a tradeshow resembles the first day of moving into a college dorm for a freshman. In the midst of it all, exhibitors try to locate their crates amid the whirl of forklifts and crowded aisles.  So, If you have ever experienced losing a crate, case, or even an entire exhibit, you understand how Tive's track-and-trace technology can help with locating shipped items.

The advantage is that exhibitors avoid many pain points and huge costs. Good, bad, or indifferent Tradeshows can be expensive and all involved should plan on increased show costs in 2022. However, Tive trackers and software platform offer an insurance policy that will help reduce costs and save the exhibit house and exhibitor money and headaches!

Using Tive track-and-trace technology is a sensible option from a risk management perspective. With pre-set configurations and email/text alerts, you reduce the nonsense and the amount of manual outreach to check where exhibit assets are.  You don’t need to worry about it unless you need to, as you can see your shipment anytime and anywhere.  You can eliminate hearing, “the driver is almost there” and “want to play show floor scavenger hunt?”.  

Tive will free up your people’s time to focus on other things like customer satisfaction and revenue growth. The Tive platform helps you save time and improve responses to RFPs. Plus, it allows exhibitors to ensure that they are not overspending on shipping while providing constant contact with carriers through real-time tracing and condition alerts.

Meanwhile, for I&D companies, Tive gives them visibility and a record of condition when an exhibit ships back to the Exhibit House.   They can work collaboratively with the exhibit house or proactively include a Tive tracker so they can Track, Trace, and Monitor the condition of the exhibit they packed up for the potentially brutal shipment home. 

So, if any damage occurs or an item is lost, they can assist the exhibit house in definitively pin pointing the time and location where the damage occurred during the return journey. The Tive platform can help to eliminate the blame game if things go awry.  

Tive tracking technology covers all the bases for risk management, insurance, and accounting because everything is traceable at all times.

Eliminate Preventable Shipment Delays and Damage

Any exhibitor or exhibit service provider who has been in the game for any length of time will acknowledge they have relied on hope and crossed fingers at one point or another. Hope that everything arrives at the show on time and in full. Hope that the aisles are clear and things go as planned. The reality, however, is that hope is not a viable strategy and not knowing where exhibit assets are at all times is not a defense.  

Tive helps exhibit houses and exhibitors eliminate preventable shipment delays and damage. Actively manage location and the condition of exhibit assets in real-time from any device. You can reach out to Dave Brown direct - dave.brown@tive.com or contact Tive through our website.