Dollars and Sense: How Storylink Optimizes Your Exhibit and Event Investment

In an era when everything costs more — labor, materials, freight, technology, even the coffee in the convention center Starbucks — exhibit and event budgets are under more pressure than ever. What used to be considered “nice-to-have” line items are now scrutinized, delayed, or cut altogether, while expectations for experiences continue to rise. Brands are being asked to do more, with less, in environments that are more complex, competitive, and costly than at any point in recent memory.

That’s why smart experiential marketing today isn’t just about bold creative or breakthrough technology. It’s about stewardship. At Storylink Creative, we view ourselves as guardians of our clients’ investments — responsible not only for what gets built and produced, but for how every dollar is spent along the way. From strategic planning and design through fabrication, logistics, and on-site execution, our role is to uncover efficiencies, eliminate waste, and find smarter ways to deliver maximum impact without unnecessary cost. In short, we believe great experiences should generate value — not just invoices.

Here, then, are 10 ways in which Storylink has cut clients’ costs, increased efficiencies, and optimized investments.

1.      Sourcing Swag

Storylink has worked with clients to source promotional products and branded giveaways direct from manufacturers — a practice that recently saved one client 45 percent. The quality and imprint were consistent with what the client had come to expect, and the process was streamlined by letting us oversee the process. While swag doesn’t represent a significant line item in the big picture of an exhibit- or event-marketing budget, a penny saved is a penny earned. And in this particular case, the savings amounted to 385,561 pennies for a single show.

2.      Crate Ideas

While booking trucks for a shipment in mid 2025, Logistics Coordinator Rob Bakken noticed that by adjusting the orientation of one of our frame crates (from vertical to horizontal), he could significantly reduce transportation costs by using different truck types more efficiently. He collaborated internally to review the numbers, and the new crate more than paid for itself on its first trip. In fact, one redesigned crate saves an estimated $2,410 (or 25%) in shipping per round-trip.

3.      Material World

Just a few weeks into 2026, and it’s clear that some materials are increasing at exponential rates. For example, one plywood material used frequently in the exhibit-build process has gone up by more than 30 percent. In another case, a chemical commonly found in spray adhesive was banned by the EPA, requiring a new glue for the laminating process that costs 150-percent more. While these specific line items aren’t likely to wreak havoc on clients’ new-build budgets, our team’s ability to proactively identify these increases and find suitable replacements helps keep costs under control.

4.      Strategic Stockpile

It’s not just building materials that are subject to price hikes. Finished business inputs (such as system-based components, LEDs, electronics, etc.) are also experiencing incremental increases. That’s where our purchasing team comes into the picture to ensure you get the best options at the most affordable costs. Storylink proactively reaches out to vendors on a routine basis to ensure we’re up to date on everything from pipelines to tariffs, and how those variables are likely to impact costs. In some instances, that insight has allowed us to stockpile inventory, effectively ensuring our 2025 clients enjoyed 2024 pricing on the most-affected items. Before you even approve a project, our internal teams are already evaluating the materials needed, our existing inventories, and current/predictive pricing. In other words, when you work with us, you can trust we’re making the best and most feasible choices possible at the time of your new build. 

5.      Frugal Fabrics

Fabric has become a staple in the exhibit-marketing world because its weight contributes to savings on everything from shipping and material handling to I&D labor and refurb costs. But the humble material has become worth its weight in gold as those specific line items continue to increase. And while fabric exhibits of the past might have appeared cheap or flimsy in comparison to traditional hard-walled structures, Storylink can weave wonders. (In fact, we won Exhibitor Magazine’s award for Best Fabric Exhibit in 2025.) A recent client wanted a substantial wooden structure for its most important event of the year. But by reengineering their design with fabric architecture — instead of the hard-walled components originally specified — we were able to save an estimated $500,000 in materials, labor, shipping, drayage, etc. Over the course of the exhibit’s lifetime, the savings related to that single material swap will more than pay for the entire new build.

6.      Value Engineering

The one factor likely to have the biggest impact on your exhibiting budget is the location of the shows you choose. Specifically, show services such as electrical and rigging can make an affordable exhibit in Atlanta, a budget-busting impossibility in New York. To combat this issue, Storylink can audit clients’ invoices to identify precisely how much more an exhibit will cost in certain cities, and make strategic recommendations to help you sidestep unnecessary expenses. For example, axing your overhead sign in one venue could save over $2,000 just in rigging costs, not to mention related shipping and drayage fees. And swapping from a 40-tile LED video wall to a similarly sized lightbox graphic could easily save an additional $20,000 or more, plus additional savings on shipping, electrical, and I&D labor. Still, that’s a reactive approach we prefer to avoid. Rather, we aspire to design your new booth with future show sites in mind whenever possible, ensuring you don’t need to dilute your presence to avoid city-specific sticker shock.

7.      Advance Notice

Another proactive approach Storylink takes is ensuring your assets are shipped to the advance warehouse whenever possible. Shipping to the advance warehouse is one of the simplest ways trade show exhibitors can save both time and money, because it removes much of the uncertainty and last-minute stress that comes with direct-to-show delivery. Advance warehouses allow materials to arrive days or even weeks before move-in, reducing the risk of missed delivery windows, carrier delays, or costly waiting time on the show floor. Exhibitors benefit from lower drayage surcharges, fewer expedited shipping fees, and smoother coordination with general service contractors, since freight is already on site and ready when installation begins. In practical terms, that means crews spend less time waiting for crates to arrive, labor hours are used more efficiently, and exhibitors avoid the premium costs that inevitably pile up when something shows up late and everyone is forced into emergency mode. Additionally, if a client has two shows in the same part of the country, we can explore warehousing your freight between events, whereby you don’t incur the cost to ship everything all the way back to our warehouses, only to have it ship out again days later. Instead, your freight can be stored in closer proximity to the two events, reducing your shipping charges considerably.

8.      Multipurpose Planning

At Storylink, we take a programmatic approach. In other words, rather than focusing on a specific event, we prefer to gain a holistic understanding of your needs and plan accordingly. More often than not, this approach results in an ability for us to design for reuse, meaning your initial exhibit or event investment will result in content, components, and activations that can be repurposed in myriad ways — stretching your budget further in the process. Often, that means the exhibit for your largest annual show can be reconfigured to accommodate any number of other events on your calendar. Other times it means creating digital content that can be repurposed across other channels, or ensuring owned assets can be deployed in lieu of rental options that count up over time. With a solid grasp of your goals, assets, and long-term plans, we can ensure our solutions don’t just check one box.

9.      Event Audits

If rising costs are threatening your program, one option is to take a closer look at the events on your annual calendar. By establishing a clear understanding of your goals and objectives, Storylink can review your upcoming events to determine an optimal mix. For example, if new business development is your top priority for 2026, it might make sense to dial back your spend on those legacy events where you already have a high saturation of brand awareness. Alternately, if your primary goal is reducing your cost per lead, it might be wise to prioritize more small, regional shows in tier-two cities that attract a higher concentration of buyers than to shell out for marquee events that have more cache than actual cash-in-hand buyers. While it’s rarely an exact science, undergoing an event audit will help you make informed decisions about where to spend your budget — and what you’re likely to get for it.

10.  Flexible Financing

Storylink understands that marketers’ needs don’t always align with their fiscal budgets. For example, if you’re planning for a new exhibit in 2027, but a corporate rebrand necessitates reskinning your existing structure, it might make more sense to change course. After all, fast-tracking that new build to align with the rebrand allows you to make a bigger impact in 2026. What’s more, you’d sidestep the expenses related to reprinting graphics for an exhibit you don’t plan to use again. While that’s a specific example, the fact is that every situation is unique. And our team is well-versed in finding the best approach. That might mean renting or purchasing your booth, buying it outright or paying in installments, or timing invoices to better suit your fiscal calendar. Bottom line, we want you to have the exhibit that’s best suited to your needs, and we’re willing to work with you to make that possible.

If you’re ready to work with an agency that ideates before invoicing, considers your budget long before you’ve signed off on a build, and proactively does its due diligence to ensure efficiencies, contact us now at info@storylinkcreative.com.

We can’t wait to hear from you!