Cut & lay. Pro-Number. Acrylic emulsion. 

If your eyes haven’t glazed over yet, they’re surely in the process. Exhibits, trade shows, and experiential marketing are chock-full of inside baseball—entire vocabularies seemingly designed with the express purpose of confusing you, the first-time (or even repeat) exhibitor.

There’s good news and there’s better news.

The good news? At Triple20, we’re fluent. The better news? You don’t have to be. 

From our project managers to our designers, we share an impulse for getting deep in the weeds (it’s a feature, not a bug) – and talking the talk is part and parcel to walking the walk.

Whether it’s your first time exhibiting or you’ve done this before, certain terms are bound to pop up time and time again. Most are only relevant to what we do behind the scenes, but a few are bound to slip through the cracks.

When that happens, refer back to this list, starting with our favorite…

Come again? We’re experts, not know-it-alls. Ask us what it means, ask us where it comes from, or ask us what’s the use. It’s not on you to know what the DIM weight is for an international shipment, it’s on us to put it in your language. 

Bill of Lading

The most critical document shared between shippers and carriers, affirming the transfer and possession of goods. 

Breakout

A smaller, more intimate session within your exhibit to speak directly with your customers, field-specific questions, or detail product offerings.

CAD

Computer-aided design. A general term that summarizes the software that allows us to create, visualize, and stress-test our designs before they hit the trade show floor.

Drayage

Moving items over shorter distances. In the context of trade show conversations, it refers to the handling of your materials from the loading dock to the trade show floor (and back again).

Fabrication

The actual creation of your exhibit. Filled with all sorts of specs and industry jargon we’ll spare you… unless you’re curious. Just ask.

Island display

Exhibits and booths surrounded by aisles on all four sides. 

Inline display

Exhibits and booths with a front-facing construction, typically inline amid a row of similar booths facing a single aisle. 

Lead capture

Oftentimes, the point of it all. Finding, collecting, and extending an invite to new customers is why you signed up for this in the first place, and where we’ll keep our attention.

Swag

Keychains, t-shirts, bags, wearables, and any other take-homes that’ll keep your brand top of mind. Tough as it may be to say it out loud, swag is a key fixture of any successful event. 

Staging area

Mostly what it sounds like—a spot near your exhibit used to temporarily store, prepare, and pretty up your materials before they’re on display.

Teardown

The dismantling of your exhibit at the day’s end. Affixing return labels, repacking your key components, and re-protecting the most delicate materials.

We said it before, and we’ll say it again…

It might feel like you need to know all of the jargon and the phrases that go with trade shows and exhibits. At Triple20, we’re here to tell you that’s not necessary. When you’re working with the right trade show partner, it’s their job to care about these terms so you can care about the things only you can care about.

Let us focus on your trade show experience, and you can focus on taking those connections and turning them into relationships, leads, and revenue for your brand.