Exhibitor Checklist

Last Revised May 15, 2023

Once you have confirmed your booth space and signed your exhibitor contract, please review the following checklist:

1. Process the invoice you have received for your booth space. If you have any questions about your invoice, please contact John Benson by e-mail at john@defsecatlantic.ca or by phone at (902) 982-6985. Companies who have not paid their booth invoice in full will not be permitted to setup on the floor until payment is received.
    
2. Arrange for transportation, handling, installation, and enhancement of your booth (contact info for all suppliers can be found here):
    
   
   1. If all of your material can be directly carried in by an individual going into your booth to setup in a single trip, you do not need to deal with Global Convention Services for material handling. Again, only If you can do so in a single trip, material may be brought in through the front door of the Halifax Convention Centre located on Argyle Street, then proceeding directly to the Exhibition Hall on the Convention Level. Or if you are parked underground at the Nova Centre Parkade, then please take the elevator, and exit on the Convention Level, proceeding directly to the Exhibition Hall.
       
      If you are not able to carry your materials in a single trip, you MUST use Global Convention Services to do your material handling via the loading dock located on Market Street. This service is not included with your booth, so be sure to contact Global Convention Services and fill out their requisite pages for Material Handling in the Exhibitor Manual that you will receive from us. If you require any additional handling such as advanced shipments to their warehouse and pre/post-show storage, you should also contact them and make those arrangements directly. Costs for these services will be provided and billed directly to you by them.
      
      An Exhibitor Appointed Contractor (EAC) is a third-party contractor hired by you, the exhibitor, to provide assistance with your equipment, display, or products during move-in and/or move-out and is not an employee of your company (with the exception of manufacturers' reps) or from Global Convention Services. If this is the arrangement you have for your booth setup and teardown, you MUST submit a completed EAC form by e-mail to registration@defsecatlantic.ca NO LATER than September 1, 2023.
       
   2. If you are shipping items from out of country and require customs brokerage, our Official Customs Broker is PF Collins International Trade Solutions. Contact Jeremy Dennison if you have any questions and/or require assistance.  As well, our official CBSA Event Recognition Letter is included in the Exhibitor Manual that we will be sending to you. A copy of this letter should be included with ALL international shipments being sent for the conference.
       
   3. Our Official Trade Show & Exhibit Services Supplier is Global Convention Services. As noted above, they can handle your booth materials on arrival and departure from the Halifax Convention Centre. They also provide warehousing, electrical services, vehicle marshalling, wired internet services, booth decorating services, plants, furnishings, cleaning, turnkey setups and much more. As well, you should contact them for a quote and order for any rigging services that you require. They generally offer advance discounted pricing, but in order to take advantage of it, you must place your order and send payment in full by September 18, 2023. Their Exhibitor Kit is included as part of our Exhibitor Manual. Also, you can access their online catalogue until September 26, 2023, using the login information provided on the first page of their Exhibitor Kit. Be sure to contact Mike Klemm if you have any questions.
       
   4. Our Official Custom Exhibits & Displays Supplier is Beaumont Exhibits. They specialize in creating and installing custom exhibit displays & accessories. Contact James Court with any questions.
       
      
   5. Encore Global are our technology experts and Official Audio/Visual Services Provider. Please contact them regarding audio/visual requirements, lighting services, presentation staging services, digital services, and electronics equipment rentals. Their order form is included in the Exhibitor Manual that we will be sending to you. Contact Cameron VanBuskirk to inquire.
       
3. You will be sent an e-mail with instructions on sending us all of your relevant company contact information, description, etc. so that we can then create a company profile for you on the appropriate technology platforms. The sooner that info is submitted, the sooner it can be entered into your company profile and visible to everyone who is registered for DEFSEC Atlantic this year. Again, we will NOT have a printed edition of the Show Guide this year, so this listing via our online platforms will replace what you would normally have written in a printed edition. Logos are automatically included with your listing and we will reach out directly to you if we do not already have a current logo on file for your company.
   
   Any questions regarding your listing should be directed to John Benson, who can be reached via e-mail at john@defsecatlantic.ca or by phone at (902) 982-6985.
    
   
4. Registration for exhibitors will be completely online and encompass registering each of your attendees individually. Any booth and/or service requirements will be coordinated directly with the appropriate service provider. The process to follow is:
    
   
   1. Register your personnel.  The same as what was done last year, for a number of important reasons, ALL attendees MUST now be registered individually. A link will be sent out to all exhibitors, as well as posted on our web site once live. All attendees will either "pay" by using a coupon code provided to each exhibiting company for their "included" passes OR they will be required to pay by credit card AS they register. There is no post-event billing this year for attendees.
      
      To clarify how this will work, an example is that Company "A" has a 10'x10' booth which has an allotment of 2 Full Exhibitor Passes but would like to bring 3 people. Just before Online Registration opens to everyone, the Registration Desk will send an e-mail to Company "A" with a coupon code unique to that company that can only be used 2 times (i.e., the same number of times as they have allotted Full Exhibitor Passes). Two of the individuals will be given that unique coupon code by their company DEFSEC coordinator and one of them will have to pay right away using a credit card when they go to register. This will be the process for everyone who requires payment, there will be no exceptions.
       
      
   2. Plan your lunch.  It is important to note that this year that no attendee passes of any kind automatically include any meals and there will be NO on-site lunches this year - this includes the "Bagged Lunch" that has been available to Exhibitors in past years. There are well over 20 restaurants just within a 3-block radius of the Halifax Convention Centre and even more just outside of that distance.
       
   3. RSVP for official receptions.  Both of our official receptions will be taking place in-person this year and all exhibitor passes include being able to attend those receptions. When completing your registration, each reception will have its own screen in your registration process and will also be available for you to add to your itinerary. We ask that when coming to these screens in the registration process that you indicate (to the best of your knowledge) whether or not you are planning to attend that particular reception.
       
   4. ACADA Gala Dinner.  A popular event that takes place the Wednesday evening each year alongside DEFSEC Atlantic that creates a platform for Atlantic Aerospace and Defence member businesses to be showcased. Attendees typically include key national and international industry members, military and government representatives and delegates.  The evening typically features a reception, high-quality meal, speakers & entertainment, and presentation of the ACADA Industry Excellence Awards.
      
      Individuals will have the option to purchase a single ticket for this event under their name directly through our registration process this year. However, it is very important to note that a number of exhibiting companies opted to include tickets to the Dinner when booking their booth. If you already have booked tickets for the Dinner using this route, there is no need for your employees to also individually purchase tickets as part of their registration process with us. The only exception would be if your company has a certain number of tickets purchased and that person would be over and above the number of tickets already paid for with the booth invoice. Individual tickets are priced at $225 + HST each. Corporate tables of 10 can also be purchased, however those must be booked directly through ACADA.
      
      If you have any specific questions, you can also contact the organizer, Catherine MacDonald, either by e-mail at catherine@ac-ada.ca or via mobile at (902) 483-5664.
       
5. If you would like to have an insert placed into the bags being given to all of the attendees, please inquire with us as you can purchase this opportunity for a nominal fee of $400 + HST. Orders for inserts should be placed by September 1, 2023 and the items to be inserted should be received at the DEFSEC Atlantic office no later than September 22, 2023.  For any questions or to place an order, please contact John Benson, who can be reached via e-mail at john@defsecatlantic.ca or by phone at (902) 982-6985.
    
6. If your company requires a dedicated private meeting room, they are available for rent for One or Both Days during the Show. They are located on the Convention Level (same level as Exhibition), Argyle Level (one level above Exhibition) and Summit Level (four levels above Exhibition) of the Halifax Convention Centre. Detailed information about the private meeting rooms can be found by clicking here.  Please direct any questions and/or orders to John Benson, who can be reached via e-mail at john@defsecatlantic.ca or by phone at (902) 982-6985.
    
7. Make arrangements for transportation to the venue: Depending on where you are coming from, this could be as simple as driving and parking OR as complex as flying and getting transportation to downtown Halifax upon arrival. 
    
   
   1. If you are travelling from outside of Canada, make sure that you are aware of the requirements for entering into Canada. Click here for more details.
       
      
   2. If you are travelling from within Canada, but outside Nova Scotia, there are no longer any restrictions.
       
      
8. Book your accommodation as early as possible to ensure availability. To find out more details about our partner hotels and to book your room, click here.
    
9. The next steps all involve our integrated technology platforms.  It should be noted that once they have launched, ALL technology platforms EXCEPT the Matchmaking module of the B2B Meetings Platform will have their content available right up until the end of October. The technologies are:
    
   1. New for this year will be the development of a Web App which will allow for enhanced access to event information on a year-round basis.  We are starting its development and expect to launch it early in the Summer months.
       
   2. In late Spring, we will launch our Online Registration Web Platform which has two modules, both of which will be available upon launch.
      
      The Registration module is straightforward and setup to allow you to register to attend the various aspects of DEFSEC Atlantic. If there are any sub-events within DEFSEC Atlantic, you will be able to register for those as well using this system, plus all attendees will have the option of purchasing tickets for the ACADA Gala Dinner.
      
      The Itinerary module allows you to choose from a variety of "sessions" listed in the master schedule which you can then add to create your own personalized schedule which you can continue to update and access through the system all the way through the dates of our event.
       
   3. The next technology, the B2B2GO Web Platform, will launch in the first week of September and will have three modules.
      
      The Messaging module will be active right from the launch date. This feature allows all registered attendees who have activated their profiles in the platform to view other active attendee profiles and message back and forth with them. This is used as part of the process of arranging and confirming meetings, but can also be used simply to communicate with those attendees. It will continue to be available after the dates of the B2B meetings (October 4 & 5, 2023) right until the end of that month.
      
      The Matchmaking module combines matchmaking and meeting scheduling all into one site.  The platform is used to facilitate the in-person meetings at our event.  We will have four large rooms inside the Halifax Convention Centre dedicated to B2B meetings known as the "ACADA B2B Zone". Inside them are 30 dedicated 8' x 8' divided spaces which will be setup for in-person meetings on Wednesday, October 4 and Thursday, October 5.  Where the platform is planned to launch on Monday, September 4, attendees will have that time to find each other, make connections and plan arranged meetings using the system on the event days. Access to this module will end at the close of business on the last day of meetings (October 5, 2023).
      
      As we did last year, we will be recording all of the presentations taking place in the ACADA Presentation Pavilion. The Video Presentations module will start to be available in the B2B2GO Web Platform once we post the recordings on Friday, October 6 and they can be viewed on-demand when you are logged into the platform right until the end of October.
       
10. Correspondingly with the technologies we make available, then plan your activities taking place while on-site at our event. These can include:
     
    1. Visiting both of the exhibition halls and viewing the exhibiting company booths.
        
    2. Participating in networking opportunities and social events.
        
    3. Attending the presentations and panels in-person, and watching what you missed or would like to view again via the on-demand videos.
        
    4. Participating in one or more of the educational workshops to become more informed on a number of topics pertinent to working within the industry.
        
    5. Meeting with other attendees in-person to conduct and develop your business.
        
    6. Take note of several peripheral/related activities taking place during the week of DEFSEC Atlantic and participate in those that interest you.
        
    7. And enjoy the warm hospitality of the people of Halifax and Nova Scotia in general!
        
11. If you have special requests for your booth or require special arrangements or simply need a question answered, please do not hesitate to contact us.  We'll do our very best to assist you!

If you have any questions, please e-mail registration@defsecatlantic.ca.