Exhibitors Guide

WHAT IS COMPLEXCON?

• ComplexCon Is An Expertly Curated Convention And Festival That Brings The World Of Complex To Life. This Is Our Generation's World Fair.

LOCATION

Long Beach Convention Center
300 E Ocean Blvd.
Long Beach, CA 90802

PARKING

• Free parking is not provided but exhibitors can park in any of the LBCC Parking Facilities for $15 per car, per entry.
• Directions & Parking

SET-UP DATES & TIMES

Important notes for Set Up Days:

• Exhibitor wristbands will be required.
• No one under the age of 18 will be admitted in the exhibit hall during move in or load out.
• Closed toe shoes must be worn.
• All items and materials that must be brought into the facility may be subject to Material Handling Charges and are the responsibility of the Exhibitor.
• All Exhibitors must follow Union Jurisdiction rules and regulations.
• A map for driver check in to access the loading docks can be found HERE.

Thursday, November 16th:

• 7:30 AM - 6:00 PM Exhibitor Will Call Open
• 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Exhibitor Load in & Setup

Friday, November 17th:

• 7:30 AM - 6:00 PM Exhibitor Will Call Open
• 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Exhibitor Load in & Setup

SHOW DATES & TIMES

Important notes for Show Days:

• All booths must be ready to go by 8:00 AM.
• Please plan additional time for security and bag check.
• The morning of the show is not a set up day so exhibitors will not be able to access the loading dock. No exceptions.
• All bags and/or boxes will be checked at the Exhibitor Entrance and all exhibitors must go through metal detectors.
• There will be no additional AM wristbands beyond each exhibitor's set allotment so please plan accordingly.
• Booths must be functional both Saturday and Sunday so please make sure to have allotments of merchandise for both days.
• Exhibitor booths must be manned at all times. Any damages incurred to booths will be the exhibitors responsibility so please do not leave booths unattended while attendees are on the show floor.

Saturday, November 18th:

• 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM Venue access: Exhibitors with AM Wristbands ONLY
• 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM VIP Early Access
• 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM Venue access: All Exhibitors
• 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM All ticketed attendees

Sunday, November 19th:

• 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM Venue access: Exhibitors with AM Wristbands ONLY
• 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM VIP Early Access
• 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM Venue access: All Exhibitors
• 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM All ticketed attendees

LOAD-OUT DATES & TIMES

Important notes for Load Out:

• Exhibitors may not start breaking down their booth until the show closes on Sunday.
• Empty crates will start being delivered back to booths after the show has closed.
• Trucks must check in with the dock captain and will be called to the loading dock when all materials are packed and ready to load.
• Do not leave valuables unattended in your booth during load out.

Sunday, November 19th:

• 7:00 PM - 11:59 PM

Monday, November 20th:

• 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM

SHIPPING

SHIPPING LABELS & MATERIAL HANDLING

Exhibitors have 2 options for shipping materials to the show:

1. Ship to the Freeman Warehouse
Receiving Dates: October 16, 2023 - November 08, 2023

2. Ship to Show Site
Receiving Dates: November 15, 2023 - November 17, 2023

As a reminder, ALL materials arriving at the Freeman Warehouse or directly to the Long Beach Convention Center are subject to material handling charges. LINK TO SHIPPING LABELS & MATERIAL HANDLING COSTS

LINK TO MAP: DRIVER CHECK IN FOR LOADING DOCK ACCESS

INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING

Phoenix International Business Logistics, Inc. (PIBL) is the preferred International Freight Forwarder / U.S. Customs Broker for the ComplexCon 2023. They are available as a service to help alleviate potential transport and customs clearance problems. It is not required to use their services, but it is recommended. ComplexCon show management is not responsible for any paperwork regarding international shipments by Exhibitors. LINK TO PIBL INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING GUIDELINES

BOOTHS

BOOTH RENDERING

All booth designs (prefab and raw space) must be pre-approved by show management.

LINK TO STANDARD PREFAB BOOTH PACKAGES

DUE DATE: Friday, September 29, 2023

Please include the below plans in your booth rendering submission (if applicable):

• Storage
• Queue lines
• What are you doing with the walls? Painting? Vinyl? Other?
• VIP Experience
• Branding - what will your booth branding look like? Are there any other brands that you are planning on displaying in your booth?
• Vehicles
• Security
• ADA Regulations
• Talent appearances
• File Type: .png, .pdf, .jpeg

DISPLAY RULES

General Booth Rules:

• EVERYTHING outside of the basic booth package MUST be pre-approved by show management
• ALL Exhibitors must follow Union Jurisdiction Rules and hire appropriate labor.
• NOTHING may be more than 10 FT tall without prior approval.
• If you would like to go over 10 FT, please submit your request with your booth design to Liz (elizabeth.wachs@complex.com) for approval.
• EVERYTHING you bring must fit in the booth provided. You may not merchandise outside of the booth into the aisles (this includes mannequins and queue lines).
• ALL BOOTHS must meet the minimum requirements for neatness & tidiness.
• EVERYTHING must meet fire marshal rules.
• You MUST incorporate queuing space into your booth design.
• You MUST have an employee in your booth at all times. Each brand is responsible for their own booth walls and will be billed back for damages so do not leave your booth unattended.
• NO STICKERS
• NO AMPLIFIED SOUND
• NO SMOKING OF ANY KIND
• NO PROMO MODELS
• NO ANIMALS (all service animals must wear visible paperwork and vest)
• NO OUTSIDE FOOD OR DRINK
• NO LOAD OUT BEFORE THE SHOW CLOSES ON SUNDAY
• NO SPRAY PAINT OR TAGGING MARKERS
• NO SHARING WRISTBANDS
• HELIUM BALLOONS ARE PROHIBITED WITHOUT PRIOR APPROVAL FROM OPERATOR FOR CERTAIN DECOR. IF BALLOONS ARE APPROVED AND ACCIDENTALLY RELEASED INSIDE THE FACILITY, THE FEE TO RETRIEVE IN THE EXHIBIT HALL IS $200 PER BALLOON.
• BOOTH MUST BE FUNCTIONAL BOTH SATURDAY & SUNDAY
• RAW SPACE BOOTHS MUST BE DESIGNED, BUILT AND FINISHED ON ALL FOUR SIDES

ComplexCon management is entitled to insist on changes to the booth design in this regard. Exhibits that cause a significant disruption to the event because of their appearance, smell, noises, vibrations, or similar properties, & particularly because they pose a serious hazard or inconvenience to other exhibitors or visitors, or to the exhibits of other exhibitors, must be removed should ComplexCon management make such a request. If the exhibitor fails to comply immediately with our request, the latter shall be entitled to remove the exhibits in question at the expense & risk of the exhibitor, or to shut down the exhibitor’s booth without being held liable in any way for claims against it by the exhibitor.

PREFAB BOOTHS

Booth Package

If you have a PREFAB booth, ComplexCon will provide you with the booth walls chosen on your contract, (1) 5amps outlet, brand ID sign, & lights.

PLEASE NOTE:

Booth packages are rented and Exhibitors will be billed back for any excessive damage that needs to be repaired after the show. To avoid damaged wall panel fees, make sure to utilize Freeman or other preferred vendors to decorate your booth walls. A full breakdown of fees can be found HERE.

Excessive damage includes:

• Any hardware, staples, screws or nails not removed of any size.
• Excessive holes left in walls by any hardware, staples, screws or nails.
• Screw or nail holes larger than 0.25" (6.3mm) in diameter.
• Graphics, wall coverings, graffiti spray paint, art drawings, wallpaper, glue or adhesives not removed or that cause panel surface to be stripped upon removal. Please note: if Freeman produces and installs the graphics, Freeman will be responsible for removing those graphics on their behalf.
• Painting of any kind on booth wall panels. Please note: if Freeman paints your booth walls, their cost includes refurbishing fees.

Wall Panel Guidelines

Always use Freeman to assist with:

• Vinyl wall printing and installation (if you are not printing with Freeman or Mighty Printing, please consult with Freeman before installing)
• Hanging shelves, wall decor, display units
• Painting
• Electronics installation
• Any drilling into wall panels for installation purposes
• Electrical wiring

Mounting on the wall panels:

• LINK: Easy Wall Panel System
• The majority of the wall panel can hold lightweight items up to 22 lbs.
• If you have items heavier than 22lbs, the frame inside the panel can hold up to 66 lbs. Please connect with Freeman about mounting anything heavier than 22lbs.

RAW SPACE BOOTHS

Raw Space booths come with floor space ONLY.

Your booth may have full visibility and all sides must be completely finished.

Electricity, brand ID sign, & lights are NOT INCLUDED with raw space.

Every Raw Space booth must be built by Freeman or an approved EAC who has hired appropriate Union Labor.

PRODUCT

 IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO ALLOT AN EQUAL AMOUNT OF PRODUCT FOR BOTH DAYS SO THAT YOU DO NOT SELL OUT ON THE FIRST DAY. THERE IS AN OPTION TO PURCHASE A SINGLE DAY PASS SO THERE WILL BE CONSUMERS COMING ONLY ON THE SECOND DAY AND YOU DON'T WANT THEM TO MISS OUT.

STORAGE

EMPTY STORAGE

• Freeman will store empty boxes and crate during the show at no charge.
• When items are ready to be stored, please visit the Freeman Service Desk on site to pick up an Empty Storage Sticker. Once your items have been properly labeled, you can place them in the aisles for pick up. Boxes and crates left in the aisles at the end of load in that do not have an Empty Sticker on them will be deemed as trash and disposed of before the show opens.
• DO NOT leave merchandise in Empty Storage containers as they will not be accessible during the show.
• Empty containers will start being returned to booths at the end of the show.

BUILT IN STORAGE

• It is highly recommended that exhibitors build in as much secure storage space into their booth design as possible.
• Freeman offers Built in Storage solutions that can be added on to PRE FAB booth packages.

ACCESSIBLE STORAGE

• Accessible Storage can be arranged on site at the Freeman Service desk. This is not a service that can be pre-ordered.
• The rate is $1.30 per pound and can be accessed as many times as necessary for that rate.

INSURANCE

INSURANCE COVERAGE

Exhibitors need to maintain commercial general liability (cgl) coverage with a minimum combined single limit of $1,000,000 covering bodily injury (including death), personal injury, & property damage liability, with extraterritorial coverage.

EXHIBITORS CGL INSURANCE MUST NAME AS ADDITIONAL INSURED:

• BUZZFEED MEDIA ENTERPRISES, INC., its affiliated entities (including, without limitation, BuzzFeed, Inc., The HuffingtonPost.com, Inc., and Complex Media, Inc.), and its officers, agents and employees:
• 229 W 43rd St, New York, NY 10036
• SMG, the City of Long Beach, their officers, agents and employees:
• 300 E Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90802

INSURANCE / LOSSES

Exhibitors must also maintain workers compensation insurance for employees participating in ComplexCon, as required by law. Failure to comply with the insurance requirements does not relieve the exhibitor of its indemnification obligations.

Exhibitor understands that ComplexCon & the venue do not maintain insurance covering exhibitor's property, & it is the sole responsibility of exhibitor to obtain such insurance. All exhibitors must maintain property insurance covering exhibitor's property on an "all risk" basis at all times, including, without limitation, when (as applicable) property is stored on the show floor. This is especially important if you are housing valuable items in your booth. If any of your samples go missing, we want to make sure that you are properly covered and will be reimbursed through your insurance coverage.

Certificates of insurance must be available on site during the show & must be furnished by the exhibitor if requested. Show management does not bear any responsibility for damage to exhibitor's property or for lost shipments either coming in or going out of the venue, pre show warehouse or for moving costs. Damage to inadequately packed property is the exhibitor's own responsibility. If exhibitor's products to be exhibited & / or display materials fail to arrive, exhibitors are still responsible for the total contract fee for ComplexCon booth.

PREFERRED VENDOR

Rain Protection

EXHIBITOR CREDENTIALS

THERE ARE 2 TYPES OF EXHIBITOR CREDENTIALS:

EXHIBITOR & AM EXHIBITOR

Exhibitor AM wristbands are extremely limited. Complex limits VIP Tickets sales and the amount of Exhibitors on the show floor to elevate the VIP experience and keep it exclusive for the first hour. All booths should be set up and ready to sell at the end of Load In on Friday, so only a limited number of employees will need to work the booth at the show open. Requests for additional AM Exhibitor wristbands will not be granted so please plan accordingly.

EMPLOYEE PASS ALLOTMENT PER BOOTH SIZE

Please note: These passes are for EMPLOYEES ONLY and are non-transferable. Exhibitor credentials have access to the entire exhibit show floor but are NOT allowed to wait in line at any booths before the show opens to the general public at 11am. If an Exhibitor is found attempting to shop at another booth during the VIP hour, their wristband will be removed and they will be asked to leave.\