The decision to take a booth at a show — a home show, a design show, etc. — is a tough one. For custom electronics integrators, it usually means shipping components, setting them up in a public environment and taking valuable employees off jobs to man the booth.

It's not cheap either. Harrisonburg, Va.-based Custom Wiring Concepts Inc. exhibits at its local home show, and president Shannon Orebaugh says its booth costs $1,300 plus the equivalent of five days of labor, which brings the total cost to $3,000.

So it better be worth it.

He says it is. "One good home theater job will break us even." Plus, Orebaugh adds, "Not only does it let us direct-market to homeowners, it also gives us the opportunity to let builders see our capabilities."

He's not the only integrator to recognize the potential payoff from participating in trade shows. Five Boston area integrators decided that it was worth it to exhibit in April at the Residential Design and Construction (RDC) 2007 show in Boston. The event is attended by architects, interior designers and builders. There is also a window of time for consumers to walk the floor.

Knowing who the attendees will be is the key for some dealers looking for bang for their marketing bucks. "I spent $5,000 on radio once and got zero jobs in return," recalls Orebaugh, explaining that the $3,000 Custom Wiring Concepts spends on the home show is a smarter investment.

All five Boston area integration companies stressed that the audience was the critical factor in deciding to exhibit. We talked to each of the companies about that audience and what they decided to show the attending architects, designers and builders.

1 - Educating Architects About Control

Demographically speaking, architects and interior designers are working with the clients smartHome wants, says president Mark Komanecky.

smartHome is a somewhat unique integration company, he says, because it started out primarily offering home control and evolved to include audio and video, as opposed to the reverse route. As a result, he says, the company tends to "do a lot of high-end jobs."

It doesn't have to be all about high-end jobs, though, and that's a major reason why Komanecky wants to be in front of this audience. "We see ourselves as a company that can provide a lot of information and education about where our industry is going."

He says he wants architects, interior designers and builders to know that the industry is moving toward a more affordable control model. He says prices are falling, making almost all architects' and interior designers' clients logical integration candidates.

"Also, we are still a small company," says Komanecky of smartHome, which originated in Westborough, Mass. "We can provide a high level of interaction."

2 - The Value of Getting in Early

You can say that Audio Video Design (AVD) uses a less conventional method of luring architects, designers and builders to its booth — cake. The Newton, Mass.-based company, with branch offices in Nantucket, Mass. and Osterville, Mass. is celebrating 35 years of business operations.

Keeping with the non-tech theme, AVD uses static displays instead of actual components in its booth presentation. Large photos in the booth depict technology in lifestyle settings — home theaters, great rooms, kitchen control — and with slick wiring jobs.

The idea, says system designer Ralph Catino, is to show architects, designers and builders the value of getting an integrator on the job early. The wiring shot shows the ambitious work that needs to be done before the walls go up, and the other shots show the fruits of that ambitious work.

There was one actual component in the booth — a Crestron tablet. During conversations with attendees, Catino says the tablet serves as a means of letting the potential partners interact with a control system so they can understand the benefit for their clients.

3 - Early Integration Means Upgrades

Getting architects' ears is important for AViX, according to Rusty MacDonald, who does business development for the Osterville, Mass.-based integration company. It's a big part of his job.

Partnering with architects benefits all parties involved, he explains. It allows integrators to get in early and provide the infrastructure for any level of home technology. The architects or builders benefit because they're able to sell technology upgrade options. The homebuyers benefit because they get to choose from those options and ultimately get a home that meets their needs and is upgradeable.

In addition to getting architects' ears, AViX looked to grab the attention of their eyes as well. The company put together a display that stresses whole-home automation, multiroom audio and home theaters. The booth has several components from Savant Systems' Rosie line of home control products and its plasma display. Savant president Jim Carroll, by the way, used to work for AViX.

The Savant plasma sits above a faux fireplace, and that setup generated a great deal of interest from builders. Builders could be heard saying that the TV is something they are frequently asked to provide. The display gave attendees the opportunity to talk about installation issues and segue into discussing the need for expert consultation.

4 - Friends with Lots of Benefits

A show like RDC makes sense for Elite Media Solutions because it's all about collaboration, says co-founder Brian Gibson. Partnering up with interior designers, builders and architects and teaming up with other trades is a fundamental element of Elite's business.

"There are a lot of integrators who like to say they do everything ‘in-house,'" says Gibson. He adds that Elite knows it does certain things really well and feels comfortable contracting out other tasks.

Even Elite's booth was about collaboration, as lighting partner Michael Hughson of Billerica, Mass.-based Signature Lighting was on hand. When Elite renovated its Wellesley, Mass. show house in 2005, it called on Signature Lighting to provide the lighting. Now, when Hughson wants to demonstrate lighting, Elite lets him bring them into its showroom since Signature doesn't have one.

It's a give-and-take, mutually beneficial relationship and Elite looks to forge others at the show. "That's why we're here," says Gibson. "We need to make contacts and get into jobs early."

For Elite, it's also about showing the technology that's made easier by pre-wiring. Like AViX, Elite opts to show a flat panel over a faux fireplace. The company, which recently exhibited at Boston's Flower Show, also displayed some of its outdoor capabilities.

5 - Show Them the Light

Lighting control is on the Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association's top 10 must-have technologies list, which was widely discussed at the recent International Builders Show and Electronic House Expo. Maybe Hingham, Mass.-based Advanced Communication Technologies (ACT) saw that list.

They chose to put lighting control in front of builders, interior designers and architects at RDC in the form of a doll house. Actually, it's a little model home provided by Lutron that demonstrates different lighting settings of Lutron's Radio Ra system. Next to the doll house is an AMX control panel that attendees can use to switch lighting scenes.

Lighting and lighting control makes sense for architects and designers, says project manager Bill Gerber, because it's a way to highlight the great work they do. "If you're a designer who has chosen a great piece of artwork for a home, lighting can enhance that," he says.

There is more to the ACT booth than lighting control as multiroom audio is also heavily emphasized. The company chose uses Niles components to show that iPods can be incorporated into a Niles multiroom audio system.

Just in case any of the attendees missed anything, ACT runs a slide show of its design-friendly installation photos on a Fujitsu flat-panel TV.