Pillar guides
12-month timelines, RFPs, vendor briefs
Rental vs custom budgets by size
Measurement frameworks & benchmarks
Search active shows & exhibitors
Show-specific playbooks
Convention center & logistics by city
Vertical-specific booth strategy
Pre-show, at-show, post-show
Shipping, drayage, I&D
Custom vs modular vs rental
From the blog
Deep-dive articles that expand on the playbooks above.
The booth is just a stage. Staffing determines ROI more than design does.
CES is its own beast. Here's the playbook before you sign that exhibitor contract.
Most trade show ROI is lost in the 7 days after the show. Here's the playbook to prevent that.
Your floor plan position is fixed by the time doors open. Pick it deliberately.
Stop guessing — here's the formula CFOs actually accept for trade show ROI.
Stop exhibiting at shows out of habit. Score every show on these 7 criteria first.
The number nobody quotes you up front — the per-year cost of owning a custom booth.
Cost-per-lead benchmarks by industry — and how to calculate yours so you can defend booth spend.
Same booth, different cities, very different invoices. Here's how the major US show cities compare.
Use per-square-foot benchmarks to sanity-check vendor quotes for any booth size.
Island exhibits at 20x20 have very different economics than inline booths. Here's what to budget across rental and custom builds.
NRF is a retail-buyer pipeline play. Optimize for meeting density, not foot traffic.
Frequently asked questions
What's the fastest way to use these resources?
If you have a show on the calendar, start with the matching event guide and the city guide for the host city — those two pages cover 80% of planning decisions. Then layer in the booth cost guide for the size you need.
Are these guides written by booth builders?
No. Exhibit Bridge is independent of the builders we reference. Our guides are written for exhibitors and reviewed by trade show specialists with 10+ years sourcing booths across CES, HIMSS, SEMA, and similar shows.
How often is content updated?
City, event, and cost pages are reviewed at least twice a year. Event timelines are refreshed before each show's annual cycle.