Vendors

There are approximately 2000 free parking spots at the Halifax Exhibition Centre. Parking in front of the loading doors, or other entrances/exits is prohibited during the event OR during set up and tear down. Vehicles parked in these areas may be ticketed and/or towed at the owners’ expense.

*Note that the parking surface is uneven and unpaved in many sections.

You must set up your own delivery and cover those costs (i.e. UPS, FedEx, etc.), including and duties and taxes. Freight will be accepted no earlier than two business days prior to the move in date. Shipments will be received Wednesday March 18th, Thursday March 19th and Friday March 20th from 9am to 4pm. Please arrange for your carrier to deliver during those times*. Contact your carrier to check on the delivery time to/within Canada. Delivery times may be significantly different than they are within the USA. CheerExpo will not issue refunds to companies whose packages do not arrive in time for the event. All received shipments will be delivered to the event floor on set-up day.

ALL INBOUND SHIPMENTS MUST BE SCHEDULED TO ARRIVE NO EARLIER THAN TWO BUSINESS DAYS PRIOR TO EVENT. DUE TO LIMITED STORAGE SPACE, ANY SHIPMENTS THAT ARRIVE EARLIER MAY BE REFUSED

*NOTE: CheerExpo, Cheer NS, the Halifax Exhibition Centre, HRM, and their staff and/or representatives will not be held liable for any loss, theft, missing items or damage of shipments 

Clearly label all boxes and materials with:

• Your Company Name

• CheerExpo

• The number of packages you are shipping (i.e. box 1 of 3, box 2 of 3, box 3 of 3).

Shipping Address is: Halifax Exhibition Centre 200 Prospect Road Goodwood, Nova Scotia Canada, B3T 1P2 Phone: (902) 876-1811

Oubound shipping is the responsibility of the Exhibitor (you) to contact the Carrier for pick-up. You must cover all shipping costs including duties and taxes. Pick-ups must be scheduled for Monday March 23rd between 9am-4pm.

• All outbound shipments must be boxed, sealed, and marked with a series indicating the number of packages you are shipping (i.e. 1 of 3, 2 of 3, 3 of 3).

• All boxes must be clearly labeled with SHIP TO address and include a Bill of Laiding from the Freight Carrier

Address for pick-up is: Halifax Exhibition Centre 200 Prospect Road Goodwood, Nova Scotia Canada, B3T 1P2 Phone: (902) 876-1811

All outbound shipments must be taken to the loading dock for pick-up. NOTE: ANY AND ALL MATERIAL LEFT IN THE EXHIBIT HALL AFTER THE CLOSE OF THE EVENT WILL BE DISCARDED. Outbound shipments not picked up within 24 hours of close of event will be discarded.

When you first arrive at the venue on set up day (between 3pm - 7pm), please leave your booth materials/products outside and CHECK-IN with CheerExpo staff and receive your package which includes your passes to ensure ease of entry during the event. You will need your exhibitors pass for security purposes. MAKE SURE YOU CHECK IN. The check-in desk will be in the front foyer on the right-hand side or at the info booth.

BRING

• A valid picture ID if you are new to the event

• Your 2 contributions for the CheerExpo Prize Giveaways

• Any unpaid fees due to CheerExpo

YOU’LL RECEIVE:

• Your Exhibitors Passes (up to four per company...if you require more, you can purchase two-day spectator passes). You must wear the passes for entry

• Receipts for all payments

• Floor map of the venue indicating where your booth is

After you check in you can start bringing in your products/booth materials. If you decide you need extra equipment at this time (tables, chairs, etc) it will be provided IF it is available at DOUBLE COST. Vendors are encouraged to bring their own tables since the venue has a very limited supply.

CheerExpo will provide FREE announcements to all exhibitors (maximum 2 per company). Due to the number of teams competing at the event and the tight scheduling required to accommodate them, time is limited and we cannot guarantee the exact time of your announcement(s). Please print neatly on the announcement request form so that our announcer can understand your announcements. Your announcement may be a commercial type announcement promoting a product, event or service, or you may announce any specials or contests at your booth. This is entirely up to you.

You may submit announcements during the show hours by handing them to the Info Booth or to the emcee/announcer.

Guidelines for announcements:

• All announcement requests MUST be written in third person. Do not write “our company”, “we”, “us”, “our”, etc. They must be written as “they”, “them”, “their”, or with your company name.

• Your announcement should be written as it will be read by the emcee. Do not write “We’re having a contest at 3:30. Please make an announcement about it”. Write exactly what you want said.

• Announcement must fit in the allotted space on the sheet

• No bashing! CheerExpo will not announce anything that puts down another company, even if they are not exhibiting at the event. For example: You CAN say “XYZ has the best ABC (prices, service, uniforms, etc)”; but you cannot say “XZY has better (prices, service, uniforms, etc.) than EFG”.

• Print clearly! If the emcee has to decipher and de-code your announcement, it will probably get tossed.

• All announcements must be suitable for all age groups.

• CheerExpo reserves the right to change, alter, or exclude your announcement for the benefit of the event.

Friday - Set up day and last day to book booths if space is available. The past few years we have been fully booked by the fall. However, sometimes last-minute situations arise where a booth space becomes available for the event. ASK! Exact times for set up will be sent at least one week prior to the event (generally it is between 4pm and 7pm).

Saturday/Sunday: Exact event hours will be announced one week prior to the event; depending on how many teams are registered. It generally runs from about 9am-7pm both days. Exhibitors will be allowed entrance each day at 7:30am to get set up. Doors open to the general public at 8:00am and the competition begins at 9am. It is strongly advisable to be at your booth no later than 8:00am each event day as that is when the general public is permitted entry.

Sunday - between end of event and 8pm: The Expo is over and clean up begins! Anything left on the floor will be discarded. Items to be shipped back must be packaged and clearly labeled with a bill of laiding from your shipping company and you must contact the company to pick it up Monday between 9am-4pm. Packages not picked up within 24 hours will be discarded.

8:00pm(ish): The CheerExpo doors in Halifax close. Now you can sit back, relax and think about how successful you were at this event!

Monday: Your packages must be picked up be the end of the work day or they will be discarded. Start thinking about the next CheerExpo and planning your strategies.

Tuesday - Friday: Follow up on all of your contacts and mail out any information that was requested.

CheerExpo Logo Usage:

Exhibitors may NOT use the CheerExpo logo or make reference to the event itself (i.e. CheerExpo, CheerExpo Nationals, CheerExpo Grand Championships) on any distributed or sold item, including bows.

Who to send: 

• Your booth should have at least 2 people at all times. It’s a busy event. Eventually, your exhibitors may want to have lunch or use the bathroom facilities. You’ll want these people to be able to check out the services, products, and prices of other companies as well, having at least 2 people at your booth should allow you to do this.

• Send someone that is familiar with your companies’ business dealings and who is capable of making business arrangements. Staff with people who are professional, punctual, responsible, and comfortable dealing with all age groups. We expect this event to be very busy so make sure that your people are able to deal appropriately with stressful situations. Attendees may feel a little apprehensive about approaching booths that do not have products for sale. Send people that are enthusiastic and welcoming. Don’t expect people to just come over and see what you have to offer, you may have to invite them over.

• DON’T send “whoever is available”. The exhibitors should be excited about promoting the company. These people are representing you!

• Don’t expect your handouts to provide all of the information. Handouts should be used as a reference after the event. Coaches will not read a 3-page information package if they have no idea what it is about. Give them some key information beforehand with a link to a website or way to find more details. Your handouts will do you no good if they’re in the garbage.

Booth Set Up: 

• • • • Music may NOT be played during the expo as it may interfere with the event. It will also be very loud in the venue. If you are promoting music at your booth, make sure that you bring your own music player, a good pair of noise cancelling headphones and pre-order electricity.

      • Unless you are selling a great deal of product, do not place tables across the front of your booth – this says, “Do not enter!” Instead, push your table back to create a more welcoming space.

      • Keep your inventory of merchandise behind the table instead of on the table, and put just samples on display. This will help prevent “missing inventory” and will help keep you from reorganizing your table every 5 minutes.

      • Display information easily. If you are giving out information sheets, make sure that they are easily accessible.

      • If your product or service demands a working demonstration, provide one! Either live or by video.

      • Accessorize your booth! Use light boxes to illuminate graphics and products, podiums for storage and direction of traffic, and shelving panels for product display. Confirm that you have requested electricity for your booth when you registered if you are planning on using lighting at your booth.

      • Make sure that your booth is not too cluttered. Your backdrop should have 3 main features: 1) An impact graphic, 2) Logo and company name, and 3) Secondary graphic. Number 1 gets their attention, number 2 tells them who you are, and number 3 tells them the main thing that you are promoting.

Advanced Preparations

• Pre-Market!! Inviting people to your booth before the event will ensure that you get good traffic at the event. If you are planning to do a special promotion at the event, or put some merchandise on sale, LET YOUR CLIENTS KNOW! You can promote during clinics, events, social media and/or on your web page. The more people that are seen at your booth, the more people will come to see your booth. This way you can use your existing clients to get more clients.

• Bring Bags! Attendants will not want to lug around products and promotional materials in their hands. A bag (reusable, plastic or otherwise) with your logo will help promote your presence at the event and draw people to your booth to get their own bags.

• Don’t give out all of your expensive information packages at the event. Create inexpensive information flyers with Canadian prices listed that provide key information and offer to mail out additional information to interested coaches. Make sure that you get their contact info right and follow up by sending out the information that they requested after the event. You may want to bring some complete packages to the event to give to especially interested coaches, but make sure that you get their contact information for future reference.

• Give out free samples! Samples and bags will help you draw traffic to your booth. The samples do not even have to be something concerning your company. Free is Free, even if it’s deodorant, lip gloss, stickers, pens, or key chains…whatever it takes!

• Don’t just provide information. Attendants are coming ready to shop so if you don’t have anything to offer, expect lower traffic. You will have to approach attendees more than companies that are selling items. If your company does only team orders or, mail order only, give out samples, souvenirs, or bags to help create some traffic at your booth.

• Make sure that you stand out by offering unique items (music, jewelry, books, videos, hats, etc). Also, keep in mind that this event is for all ages, so bring a variety of sizes if you’re selling clothing. Bring smaller items as well, key chains, socks, pendants, patches…attendants will want to get as much as they can at the event. If they only bring $30 and everything you sell is $20, that’s $10 that you are missing out on.

• Bring a large inventory or at least have a plan if you run out of merchandise by lunch time on the first day. Make sure that you have access to more merchandise if you need it or are able to quickly set up orders.

• Make sure your reps know “how low they can go”. If you still have a large inventory of a certain item by 12 noon on

• Sunday, then drop your prices to get rid of it quick.

• If you are doing cash sales only, try to keep most your prices in multiples of five ($5, $10, $15, $20, etc), if not, you will run out of change.

• There is an ATM machine onsite

Special Promotions

Brainstorm about special promotions that your company can offer. Attendees are looking for great deals and if you don’t give them, someone else will! Don’t be disappointed! Ideas:

• Organize a prize draw for coaches in exchange for their contact information.

• Provide special event prices for your merchandise / services and make sure to let everyone know that this is a special event price only

• Provide coupons for your online order items and/or set up an easy but fun game to win coupons/small gifts.

• Pre-Market your promotions by letting clients know that by coming to the expo, they could get this great deal.

• Offer free samples, bags, or promotional items. If you are selling items, give out promotional items to people who spend at your booth (i.e. “If you buy $30 worth of products at our booth, we’ll give you a free water bottle!”, etc)

Get creative! Be different and stand out.