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TOAST
TOAST is a special event and entertainment production company located in New York, Los Angeles, and San Diego. We have spent the last two decades working with some of the most iconic brands to produce custom-designed events and unforgettable experiences.
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Three types of trade show booth designs you should know about
If you're new to the trade show scene, you might be a bit baffled at all the jargon. What is a pop-up display, anyway? What's the difference between an island exhibit and a portable booth? Can you use the same display for each expo, or do you need to build a whole new one every time?
Relax! It's not nearly as complicated as it seems. Once you know the two basic types of trade show booth designs that companies use at conventions, you'll be able to decide what will work best for your company.
Portable Trade Show Booths
As the name suggests, a portable trade show display can be packed up and transported wherever you need them to go. These are generally comprised of several elements, including tabletop displays, banner stands, and pop-ups. They can be broken down into several small cases for easy transport and usually be assembled in less than 30 minutes (sometimes as little as 5!), making them an ideal choice for a smaller show.
Island Exhibits
Once you've become a heavy hitter within your industry, it will be time to upgrade your portable display and invest in an island exhibit. These are larger displays that often look like miniature storefronts and can feature multiple rooms or kiosks, meaning that you can expand your sales staff and, therefore, your contacts at the show. If you've dreamed of multimedia presentations, interactive displays, and even private consultation rooms, those dreams can become a reality with a well-designed island exhibit.
For smaller or new companies who are just dipping their toes into the trade show pool, it can be hard to figure out how to display your business. Start small, partner with a reputed corporate event production team, and as your presence grows, expand your trade show displays accordingly. With options from simple tabletop displays to fully customized island exhibits, you'll find a combination that suits your business's needs.
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Three types of trade show booth designs you should know about
If you're new to the trade show scene, you might be a bit baffled at all the jargon. What is a pop-up display, anyway? What's the difference between an island exhibit and a portable booth? Can you use the same display for each expo, or do you need to build a whole new one every time?
Relax! It's not nearly as complicated as it seems. Once you know the two basic types of trade show booth designs that companies use at conventions, you'll be able to decide what will work best for your company.
Portable Trade Show Booths
As the name suggests, a portable trade show display can be packed up and transported wherever you need them to go. These are generally comprised of several elements, including tabletop displays, banner stands, and pop-ups. They can be broken down into several small cases for easy transport and usually be assembled in less than 30 minutes (sometimes as little as 5!), making them an ideal choice for a smaller show.
Island Exhibits
Once you've become a heavy hitter within your industry, it will be time to upgrade your portable display and invest in an island exhibit. These are larger displays that often look like miniature storefronts and can feature multiple rooms or kiosks, meaning that you can expand your sales staff and, therefore, your contacts at the show. If you've dreamed of multimedia presentations, interactive displays, and even private consultation rooms, those dreams can become a reality with a well-designed island exhibit.
For smaller or new companies who are just dipping their toes into the trade show pool, it can be hard to figure out how to display your business. Start small, partner with a reputed corporate event production team, and as your presence grows, expand your trade show displays accordingly. With options from simple tabletop displays to fully customized island exhibits, you'll find a combination that suits your business's needs.
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Renting AV for your event? Here are three pitfalls you must avoid.
When it comes to renting audio visual equipment for your conference, gala dinner, exhibition, award show or exhibition, try to avoid these mistakes and make your next event the talk of the town for all the right reasons.
MISTAKE #1: Making the decision solely on price
There is nothing wrong with bidding out your suppliers and, considering the economy, it is certainly understandable to go for a low price. AV companies will work hard to earn your business, but if you make it clear that the lowest price company will win, unfortunately, many suppliers will do whatever they can to get you to sign on the dotted line. Once they have the contract, they will try to figure out a way to still make it a profitable endeavor, which may mean cutting corners or back billing for the type of items listed below.
Remember, no one will ever ask you, “How much money did you save on that video projector that no one could see very well?” Nothing will lose the attention span of your speakers and audience than having a faulty sound system or a visual that is hard to see on the big screens. So cheaply did your event fail?” So, check around, ask for references, and call them. Go onto LinkedIn Groups and ask about audio visual service providers in your area. Find out the type of equipment they are renting (old or new), how experienced their technicians are, and how long the company has been in business.
MISTAKE #2: Failing to budget properly
Many event planners overlook event audio visual rental total costs. For a large multi-day program with many breakout sessions, the budget will likely include a charge for expendables such as gaffer tape, batteries, electricity (from the venue), labor charges, including meal penalties and overtime.
Hold your AV supplier accountable by asking for detailed, broken out budget.
This is important when sticking to your budget. Your AV needs can change halfway through the event, but there is no reason for any of your final invoices from an event audio visual rental company to have charges that you were not expecting.
MISTAKE #3: Failure to secure the right event audio visual rentals
If you are hiring a speaker or an artist for your event, understand that they will not be able to dazzle the audience without the right audiovisual equipment. So, request a production rider of your speaker’s audiovisual needs, make sure the presenter approves it well before the meeting and tests it several hours before they go on stage. Reputable AV companies have inventories of equipment that they can control the quality and guarantee its performance. “AV Guys,” who work out of their house, have to sub rent all their equipment and probably cannot be held accountable if something goes wrong.
Hiring audiovisual equipment allows you to get creative when planning your event, and your guests will surely thank you for it. Even if your guest will only include current employees, hosting an exciting event is also a great way to boost company morale. As always, it is always recommended to partner with professionals. An event production company in San Diego that provides audiovisual equipment can help you create a special occasion that perfectly reflects your brand.
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We have a wealth of consumer, sports and entertainment experience that fuels our events. Our creativity, passion and technical mastery, create guest experiences that make jaws drop!
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TOAST has worked with some of the most iconic brands and innovative professionals to produce custom-designed events and unforgettable experiences. Our team’s creativity, passion, technical mastery,and entertainment savvy means our events are meticulously planned, flawlessly executed, and truly inspired.
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Create a Lasting Impression with an Experiential Exhibit
It has long been the consensus that the hard sell is the only option when it comes to engaging attendees who visit a convention. Companies have been utilizing extensive product pitches and demonstrations for years, with the idea that this is the best way to make a lasting impression on potential customers.
However, current marketing trends are beginning to suggest otherwise. Many companies are now focusing on creating a memorable experience through their exhibits rather than inundating attendees with lengthy sales pitches and an overabundance of information. This concept of “experiential exhibiting” is taking the industry by storm and is definitely worth considering when the time comes to prepare for your next marketing event.
But first… what is an experiential event anyway?
Consider a day in the life of an average convention attendee. After an entire day spent on their feet, walking from exhibit to exhibit, and listening to an endless stream of sales pitches, there is bound to be an innate longing to be entertained – or at least to experience something out of the ordinary!
The idea behind experiential events in Los Angeles is to create an engaging space that conveys a desired feeling or mood. The result is an experience so memorable that the attendee actually associates that feeling with your brand and products, thus eliminating the need for the hard sell.
Identify the main feeling you want to convey
The first step to developing an experiential exhibit is to pinpoint the primary emotion you wish to convey to potential customers and carry it through your entire display. The feelings you hope to invoke should be in line with your company's brand message. Examples might include comfort, security, innovation, and excitement. No matter what you choose, it is essential to incorporate that particular quality into all aspects of your exhibit, from the colors you choose to the actions of your staff. If you want attendees to leave with a rush of excitement, you better make sure your employees can deliver in this department! Spend some time prepping your staff before the event to ensure they are prepared to become part of the experience.
Create an interactive experience attendees won't forget
Even though you are focusing on creating an experience, you still want to ensure that attendees receive at least a minimal amount of solid information about your company. Experiential events often include interactive event activities through which you can sneak in tidbits about your company. This might be done through any sort of technology with an edutainment feature, for example, an augmented or virtual reality game that incorporates facts about your company. Of course, your employees must be well-informed and able to sell your product in a manner consistent with the overall feeling or experience you wish to communicate as well.
The key to a successful experiential event is for the experience to resonate with the attendee to the point that when they think of the type of product or service you sell, your brand is the first thing that comes to their mind!
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Engineer Your Imagination with 3D Event Rendering Services
From the seating arrangements and the table settings through to the color of the lights and the set backdrop, there are a million aspects to planning and pulling off a spectacular event. What if you had someone (or something) to assist you in the conceptual phase to orchestrate your next event more effectively?
Well, that’s what 3D artist renders are all about!
Using only the latest and the best in 3D rendering software, professional event production agencies can build a virtual model of your event beforehand. This photo realistic illustration gives you an accurate visual representation of what the venue will look like and just how everything will work together in your event space – whether you are organizing an intimate soiree or a grand red carpet event. When you know where the cables will go or where the stage will be built, you can plan other key components of your next event more easily.
These virtual models can help you save your time, efforts, and money – as instead of having to rebuild all the technical aspects of your event once everything is set up, you can simply ask for things to be rearranged in the virtual model. 3D renders can also help you prevent any unanticipated surprises on site as if there is a possible issue because of the layout, necessary precautions can be taken ahead of time to ensure that your event runs without a hitch.
With 3D rendering, you will know exactly what you pay for, and you will have a visual understanding thereof. So, if you are partnering with an event production agency in New York to help you construct your dream event, make sure that they offer 3D rendering services. Professional artist renders can help you bring your event vision to life.
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Using effective branding to differentiate your trade show stand
You may think that branding and brand management are considerations only for your company's marketing and advertisement teams, and not necessarily a top priority when it comes to trade show stands and pop up displays. This couldn't be further from the truth! Creating a consistent brand image that’s carried out through all avenues, from brochures to pop up displays, is a necessity in today's market.
Consistency Is Key.
The most important thing to remember when branding your exhibit is to be consistent throughout the presentation. All banner stands, backdrops and promotional materials must follow through with your company’s brand image. There are multitudes of trade show display products that can be imprinted with your brand logo, but the key to effective brand management is to ensure that each printed logo appears exactly the same. The font, color and shapes used should be in agreement throughout the display to ensure a clean, concise representation of your brand. You might also coordinate the colors used in the backdrop, drapes and rugs to match your logo – a subtle, yet incredibly effective method!
When creating a trade show stand or pop up display, it’s also imperative that you step outside your booth and take it in through the eyes of your eventual attendees. Is your message being communicated successfully through the exhibit? If not, make adjustments before it's too late and you've wasted valuable time and money on an ineffective display. Of course, it won't matter if you have the most appealing trade show stand in the venue if the employee representing your company doesn't reflect your brand image. Before leaving for the show, take the time to outline what is expected of employees in terms of appearance and message delivery.
Don’t Go Over The Top!
If you're looking to increase brand awareness and sales, a cluttered display is never the way to go! If there’s too much going on in a trade show stand, attendees will not only be confused and overwhelmed, but they're also likely to pass right on by. Conversely, a clean, simple trade show booth design will attract crowds; and with the right combination of simplicity, uniqueness and the occasional giveaway, it might also be the talk of the event, generating buzz around the venue. So, be sure that your exhibit focuses on one clear message conveying who you are and what you do, and carry this throughout this graphics, printed materials, and verbal presentation.
Keep in mind, creating simple pop up displays and trade show stands does not mean they should be boring! Separate yourself from the pack with vibrant designs and colors, unique business cards and giveaways - all incorporating your brand message. An enticing giveaway that includes your company logo and contact information is always a sure bet, but be careful when choosing promotional items. Try to select giveaways that are both small and reusable or, at the very least, difficult to throw away. Candy or food with a logo printed on the wrapper will soon be out of sight and out of mind, but a flash drive or water bottle can be used multiple times, serving as a lasting reminder of your company's brand.
Do you want a custom trade show exhibit that meets your marketing goals and highlights your brand in a way that you want to be seen – and that too, at an affordable price? Contact a corporate event production agency with an in-house fabrication team that can design and build your dream trade exhibit for you today!
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TOAST brought the heat to Miami for one of the most highly anticipated weekends of the year, Super Bowl LIV.
DaBaby and Jabbawockeez Headline Super Bowl Weekend
The NFL’s annual championship game, referred to as an unofficial national holiday, is the biggest television event of the year, drawing in more than 100 million viewers. Since its evolution, the Super Bowl has expanded beyond a four-hour spectacle into a multi-day affair dedicated to celebrating the big game. During Super Bowl, 2020 weekend, host city Miami came alive with countless parties amalgamating the world of sports, music, and entertainment. From athletes to A-listers, prominent figures across all industries were in attendance and TOAST was responsible for the talent at multiple events.
On Saturday, February 1st, Sports Illustrated hosted “The Party ” at the Fountainbleau and our team surprised over 2,000 elite partygoers with a performance by America’s Best Dance Crew winners, the Jabbawockeez. Sunday, we partnered with the San Francisco 49ers, general manager John Lynch, head coach Kyle Shanahan, and the York Family to bring Grammy Nominee DaBaby and the Jabbawockeez to the team’s private after-party with Lil Wayne and Saweetie at Xfinity East Plaza, in the American Airlines Arena.
In a recent article highlighting the event, TMZ reports, “The San Francisco 49ers didn’t go home with the Lombardi trophy … but they got a sick consolation prize — an all-out rager with Lil Wayne and DaBaby … and it was LIT!!!” Win or lose, TOAST kept everyone in “great spirits” with the exhilarating performances.
You can read the full TMZ article here.
We congratulate our friends on the 49ers for an amazing season. TOAST is proud to have partnered together and to have brought such incredible talent to Super Bowl LIV.
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Booking a celebrity for your next event? Don’t overlook these two details!
Booking a celebrity is usually considered an easy way for concert and event planners to improve their ROI. But did you know that you could actually lose money on artist bookings?
Booking a celebrity is only a little piece of the puzzle. There are many more details you should consider to make sure that your event ends up being a fruitful endeavor for you. With this in mind, let’s explore two of the details that are often left out of consideration by planners, but can mean the difference between a profitable event experience and a nightmare.
The Artist’s Rider
Every touring artist has a rider as a part of their contract that sets terms for everything they might need (or want) to put on a performance – from the dressing room and hospitality stipulations to technical/stage set-up and meals. Of course, the specifics of the rider can vary depending on the celebrity, and not paying close attention to the fine print can cost you a lot of money! So, always make sure you’ve thoroughly reviewed the rider before agreeing to the celebrity’s terms.
Accounting
Like everything else in the process of booking a celebrity, setting the ticket price can go pretty bad, pretty fast, if not done correctly. It’s not really an easy task to figure out how much you should charge for tickets: set the prices too low, and you can be sure you won’t make nearly enough to offset the expenses; set the prices too high, and most people will not even bother to pay. So how do you price your tickets right? Well, all you need to do is to determine your break-even point and identify a realistic ticket sales quantity. From there, it’ll be easier for you to find the sweet spot.
There are enough variables in event planning – even more so in the process of booking a celebrity – to keep event planners on their toes. But by partnering with a reputed celebrity talent booking agency, you can minimize the number of unknowns and focus on what you do best: putting on a great show.
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Over the years, we have collaborated with the likes of Bon Jovi, Kanye West, Avicii, Tiesto, Pitbull, Snoop Dogg, Lauren Hill, Jane’s Addiction, Pharrell Williams, Travis Scott, Janelle Monae, Macklemore, LL Cool J, Blake Shelton and many other pop icons.
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Have Some Fun At Your Next Product Launch!
When planning a product launch, there are many factors to consider to better the odds for success as well as to ensure that your company is maximizing opportunities to further brand exposure and promotional reach. Details such as which decorative theme to go with, how to designate attending staff members, and even how to compile generated leads, all demand immediate attention when going through the checklist of “to-dos” before any big event.
Unfortunately, all too often, businesses get caught up in simply checking things off the action item list that they forget one critical component of every successful event – fun!
Breaking up the monotone vibe at your product launch is a perfect way to generate buzz around your new product and get your business noticed.
Yes, you need to have polished and professional staff around the venue, ready to inform interested buyers about the merits of your new line of products. However, nothing says you can’t inject a little fun and excitement into your event as well. Fortunately, you don’t have to reinvent the proverbial wheel when it comes to instilling a little fun into your next product launch.
What better way to add fun to your event mix than with games?
Event games have come a long way since the days of the traditional prize wheel. While those beloved prize wheels are still effective today, you can also find a myriad of other games and attractions that can generate some buzz around your event. The good thing is, games can now be customized to incorporate your brand message, including logo, company colors, and slogans. Make sure your brand message is coming through loud and clear when attendees take their turn at your game.
Interactive elements can also enhance the fun factor at your event.
So, go ahead and add on some eye-catching LED lights, include some large-screen monitors to run presentations, or set up tablets throughout the venue to add an interactive element to your event. Hire a professional audio visual service provider to ensure that everything runs seamlessly.
It’s important to remember that organizing a product launch is an advertorial technique and should always be regarded as such. Sleepwalking through your preparations and keeping everything ‘corporate’ can be a major marketing misstep. Not only can it make your business look like a giant corporate yawn, it can actually deter prospective customers from getting a closer look at what your organization has to offer.
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Interactive Trade Show Displays Can Engage Prospective Clients
Marketing conventions have long established themselves as a leading promotional tactic for businesses in virtually every industry – and with good reason. In a world of virtual and online customer connection, they offer businesses an invaluable opportunity to see and be seen by a host of prospective customers in a face-to-face environment.
Despite their long tenure as a promotional powerhouse, it’s important to note that trade show displays and exhibits are consistently evolving. In a modern marketplace where competition is fierce, business owners recognize that they must consistently revise their existing trade show displays to ensure that they are not only keeping up with but also exceeding the performance of the opposition at any given event.
What’s one of the best ways to effectively connect with the passing crowd and garner market share?
Choosing an interactive trade show booth design, that’s what!
Rather than simply “talking at” passing crowds, interactive trade show displays help businesses instantly connect with the attendees who visit their booths. Keeping the crowd enticed, engaged and enthralled will not only prove fun for them, but it can help your business make a more impactful first impression.
If you’re looking for ways to interact with participants at the next event, read on. Understanding three proven engagement strategies can help ensure that your business stands out from the competitive crowd at the next convention. Consider using your trade show displays to offer:
Product Demonstrations
Offering a product demonstration is an interactive tactic that serves a myriad of purposes. First and foremost, allowing exhibit visitors to test out your product line is a great way for prospective customers to get an up-close and personal look at what your organization has to offer. Additionally, product demonstrations are a great way to engage the senses of a booth visitor – a perfect way to help ensure that they’ll remember you long after the convention has concluded.
Interactive Visual Displays
It’s no secret that successful exhibits at marketing conventions often rely heavily on technology to help inform and compel visitors. Despite the powerful resource technology has proven itself to be, many organizations drop the ball when it comes to leveraging booth functionality to better connect with an audience. Rather than incessantly looping a stagnant video clip, use flat screens and monitors for trivia questions, fun crowd quizzes about your product or even to peruse your company’s online catalogs. If you do want to use a clip, create one that, when viewed on a tablet, responds to touch and allows visitors to scroll through at their own pace.
Just For Fun Functionality
While it is important to give visitors ample information on your company and products, nothing says that you can’t also offer some interactive imagery that is there just for fun! Floors that light up when stepped on or surfaces that play music when touched are both great ways to encourage booth visits. Once they have had reached their “fun quotient,” it’s up to your team to keep them engaged enough to want to learn more about your product.
Are you tired of being a convention wallflower? Get in touch with a seasoned corporate event production agency and make a great first impression at your next marketing event!
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TOAST creates and produces live events for the likes of ESPN, Rolling Stone, Oprah, YouTube, Covergirl, NASCAR, NCAA, and Coors Light. We oversee red carpet arrivals, manage talent, build custom environments, shoot and script live performances. We are TOAST.
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Which style of signage is right for your trade show branding?
Trade show exhibits come in a wide variety of sizes and designs. Some of these can be used interchangeably, while some occupy a very definite niche that few others can replace. Picking the right style for your needs can be difficult, but making a wise decision will boost your company’s ROI in the long term and ensure that you offer a positive trade show experience to the attendees.
Outdoor signs
Outdoor signs have a very clear purpose: they are to be used outside. They are weatherproof and durable in ways that indoor exhibits aren’t. These sturdy stands are meant to hold up outside, while still conveying your brand’s message. They are typically smaller than a trade show booth and aren’t used as part of an actual convention (as few trade shows take place outside.) Instead, outdoor signs are placed on the street to help drive traffic into your booth inside a trade show venue. Depending on your needs, you can purchase outdoor signs with a marker board, chalkboard, or interchangeable graphics panel that will allow you to re-customize the unit without purchasing new outdoor signs.
Pop Up Displays
Pop up displays have a less clearly defined niche than outdoor signs. Pop up displays can come in many sizes, from tabletop scale to freestanding large enough to match any other booth. They can showcase almost anything and can be combined with podiums or other exhibition add-ons. They are among the most lightweight Trade Show Booth Design styles, which makes them an excellent choice for frequent exhibitors. Pop up displays can also be used as a supporting addition to a larger unit, perhaps to highlight a new product or to create a “booth within a booth” to draw focus and interest. Almost every brand could find a use for pop up displays; they are among the most versatile units.
Custom Exhibits
Custom Trade Show Exhibits are usually the most expensive units on the market but can make up for that expense with lead generation. Custom booths are the large exhibits which seem completely different from everything around them; they are designed to stand out, and the budget is generally not a major constraint in the brainstorming process. Because these units are a larger investment than pop up displays, they must be considered with much more care. It’s generally unwise to invest in a custom unit until you have attended several conventions with a more inexpensive option. Once you see how trade show marketing tactics play out for your company, you can start debating the merits of a custom booth.
The Right Choice for Your Brand
Once you have decided your brand needs a presence at an upcoming convention with a trade show exhibit, you can partner with seasoned event professionals to understand the ins and outs of the booth selection process. With professional assistance, you can easily and quickly choose an exhibit style that's optimal; one that gets you the absolute best returns possible.
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Bring Your Event Concept to Life with Photo Realistic 3D Modeling
If you want to get the most out of your event space, one of the most effective design tools at your disposal is a 3D artist rendering.
In the context of event production, 3D rendering refers to a photo-realistic illustration of your concept created with state-of-the-art digital modeling technology. Let’s explore how you can maximize your event impact with the help of a professional 3D artist rendering.
Whether you are hosting a non-profit fundraiser or a red carpet entertainment event in Los Angeles, when you have a 3D perspective of the space, you can see exactly what your room will look like even before it exists. This digitally created model makes it easier for you to visualize space requirements and come up with design solutions that are in line with your vision and best for the space, you are working with. In other words, with 3D renders, you can quickly and easily fine-tune your initial design concept and eliminate any potential issues ahead of time, so you always stay on budget and on schedule.
What’s the takeaway?
Whether you are working on the best layout for your floor plan or determining the elements of your space design, 3D virtual reality rendering allows you to bring your project to life.
The Last Word
If you want to take your event space to the next level, you may want to consider working with seasoned event producers on-site and throughout the planning process. Using advanced software, an experienced 3D rendering artist at a professional event production agency can recreate textures and materials, play with different color schemes, swap out décor, and incorporate other design considerations to provide visualizations of your creative concepts. When used in conjunction with professional audio visual services, 3D renders will help you design an event that excites the imaginations of attendees and leaves them wanting for more!
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The team at TOAST is honored to have our very own Todd Cooper recognized as one of the Top Event professionals in the United States by BizBash — North America’s leading source of trends, news, and inspiration for event professionals.
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