We’ve booked an exhibition stand... now what?

For many marketing teams, this is the point where a relatively simple event booking suddenly becomes a much bigger job. Whether you’ve booked a shell scheme stand or a space-only exhibition stand, there are graphics to organise, furniture to source, screens to consider, flooring to choose and deadlines to meet, usually alongside everything else already on your to-do list!

So, where do you start?

First, find out exactly what you’ve booked

Before thinking about how your exhibition stand will look, make sure you know exactly what the organiser is providing.

If you’ve booked a shell scheme exhibition stand, you’ll usually have a basic structure already in place, but what’s included varies from event to event. Flooring, lighting, power and furniture may be included, or they may all need arranging separately.

If you’ve booked a space-only exhibition stand, you’ll essentially have an empty area of floor and will need to arrange the stand design, build and installation.

Get hold of your exhibitor manual, floorplan and stand specification as early as possible. Knowing the dimensions, wall configuration, height restrictions and what’s included gives you a much better starting point for planning the space.

Think about what you need the stand to do

It’s tempting to jump straight into exhibition stand design and start deciding where the logo should go, but first think about how the stand needs to work.

• Are you mainly there to meet existing customers?
• Do you want somewhere to hold conversations?
• Are you demonstrating a product or service?
• Do you need a screen for videos or presentations?
• Will you have brochures, samples or giveaways?
• Do you need somewhere to store bags, coats and boxes?

Your answers will influence everything from the layout and furniture to your exhibition graphics and AV requirements.

A good-looking stand is important, but a good-looking stand that doesn’t work for the people using it can quickly become frustrating.

Make your brand visible

An exhibition hall is a busy place. Your stand is competing with dozens, sometimes hundreds, of other brands for attention.

That doesn’t mean you need to fill every available inch with logos and messaging.

Good exhibition stand graphics should make it clear who you are at a glance and give people a reason to take a closer look. Strong branding, a clear message and well-designed graphics can transform even a relatively simple shell scheme.

And if you attend several events throughout the year, it’s worth thinking beyond just one show.

At Rocket, we can produce reusable exhibition graphics designed to work across multiple events. Instead of starting from scratch every time you book another exhibition, you can reuse your graphics and adapt the rest of the stand around them.

It can make future event planning considerably easier and help you get more value from your initial investment.

Don’t forget what goes inside the stand

Once the main structure and graphics are sorted, think about the details that will make the space useful and inviting.

A TV can run product videos, brand content or presentation slides. A touchscreen could let visitors explore your website, product range, or dashboard themselves. A storage cabinet gives your team somewhere to hide bags and boxes, while literature displays keep marketing materials organised and accessible.

Even practical details such as flooring, lighting and refreshments can change how the finished stand looks and feels.

You don’t necessarily need everything. The key is choosing the right elements for your event, your audience, and the space available.

Think about the practicalities early

Exhibition planning isn’t just about what visitors see.

Organisers also have deadlines, artwork specifications, electrical orders, health and safety requirements, delivery arrangements, and build schedules to consider.

Then there’s the question of who is actually getting everything to the venue, building the stand and taking it away again afterwards.

These details can easily become a significant part of your workload, particularly if you’re coordinating several different suppliers.

Sorting them early can save a lot of last-minute emails and a fair amount of stress.

You don’t have to manage every supplier yourself

You might need graphics from one supplier, flooring from another, AV equipment from somewhere else and someone else entirely to install it all.

Or you can have one team bring everything together.

Rocket can manage the different elements of your exhibition stand, from the initial design and exhibition graphics through to flooring, furniture, AV, lighting, installation and dismantling.

For shell scheme stands, that might mean taking the basic space supplied by the organiser and turning it into something that feels much more considered and much more like your brand.

For larger or space-only exhibition stands, it could mean managing the complete stand design and build.

Either way, one team oversees the stand rather than a list of separate suppliers to coordinate.

Give yourself more time than you think you need

If the event still feels a long way off, it’s easy to put the stand towards the bottom of the list.

But starting earlier gives you more options.

You have time to properly consider the exhibition stand design, refine your messaging, get artwork approved and make decisions about furniture, AV and other stand enhancements without everything becoming a last-minute rush.

And when the inevitable event deadline arrives, you’ll have much less to worry about.