The trade show communication checklist we give every exhibitor

Most comms problems at a show aren’t equipment failures. They’re planning gaps that only surface at 7am on load-in day. This is the checklist we walk through with exhibitors before the truck rolls.

Four to six weeks out

• Lock your talkgroup list — who needs to hear whom.
• Decide handheld count per group, plus who needs a second unit.
• Confirm whether your footprint needs a repeater or LTE radios.
• Check whether venue Wi-Fi is worth ordering or whether hotspots cover it.

Two weeks out

• Send us the channel plan so units arrive pre-programmed, not blank.
• Pick accessories per role: speaker mics for loud floors, surveillance earpieces for customer-facing staff, standard belt clips for everyone else.
• Count charging positions. Multi-unit bank chargers need power and a secure place to live.
• Name the on-site contact who signs for delivery and owns the check-in sheet.

Load-in week

• Confirm the delivery window against your actual build schedule, not the published one.
• Get booth number, hall, and dock access instructions to us in writing.
• Assign every unit to a named person on a sign-out sheet. This is the single biggest driver of loss.
• Do a radio check across every talkgroup before the crew disperses.

During the show

• Swap batteries at shift change, not when they die.
• Keep spares in one known location that everyone can name.
• Call us the moment something misbehaves. We replace to site, usually within the hour.

Tear-down

• Collect against the sign-out sheet before people leave the floor.
• Return accessories with their units — mics and earpieces are the usual strays.

Print it, share it with your booth lead, and cross off what doesn’t apply. If you want us to run the plan with you, that’s included with every rental.