Is stand design worth the money?
If you're exhibiting at a relevant trade show, presumably you're there because you've done
your research and you know the visitors will be interested in what your company offers. You
have a stand that displays what you do and is clearly branded with your logo and key marketing
messages. It's of a decent size and reasonably prominently positioned. With all these elements
in place, why should you need to invest further in the design of your stand?
"Communication with the visitor starts 20 feet from the stand and an exhibitor has less than
five seconds to attract the attention of a passing visitor," replies Fiona Duffin, marketing
communications manager at The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre (QEIICC) in London. "It is,
therefore, vital that the design of the stand and use of lighting, movement and graphics work in
synergy to reflect the right message to the audience."
Equinox Design's sales and marketing manager Carl Criscione agrees, adding: "The design of an
exhibition stand encompasses much more than how it looks. There is a functional aspect to the
stand, which must drive the design. It must attract visitors and allow stand personnel to engage
with them, demonstrating products or explaining services."
Maximising ROI
So good stand design should work with your brand and sales messages to enhance your offer to
visitors and help attract them to your stand. This means your sales team should be able to
make more contacts, which should also be better quality as the key messages should have been
put over to visitors more effectively, all of which should generate more revenue and maximise
the return of investment (ROI) of your event presence – a vital factor when justifying your event
budget to procurement.
What's more, it's rare to be the only company offering your product or service at any given
exhibition, so it's essential to make sure you stand out, which carefully thought out stand
design will achieve.
Of course, not working on your stand design can have a more drastic effect that reducing ROI.
"Get it right and your stand will be awash with visitors," says Amanda Simpson, marketing and
communications manager at Warwick Conferences. "Get it wrong, and you'll be left high and
dry."
Explaining further, Criscione adds: "Quite simply, a poorly designed stand will not work and at
worst it could harm the perception of an organisation," and the last thing you want is the
investment you've made in exhibiting at a show actually having a negative effect on your
business.
Getting professional help
However, don't panic, you don't need to worry about designing your stand yourself, as there
are lots of stand design companies who can help. Even if you have design and marketing
personnel in house, it can help to get advice from experts experienced in specifically working in
the exhibition medium.
"The obvious advantage of using design professionals is that they are experienced in this line of
work and can, therefore, give advice on how best to communicate to your audience through
the design of your stand," explains QEIICC's Duffin.
Meanwhile, Warwick Conferences' Simpson says: "Good exhibition stand designers know the
best configuration and materials, as well as the latest trends in design and the potential pitfalls.
They can also work with your budget to ensure you obtain the best stand for your money."
The cost of stand design
So how much can you expect to pay for your exhibition stand, and how is design built into this?
"Your stand can cost anything from £600 for a small pop-up design right through to £50,000
plus for a large custom-built affair," says Simpson. "The costs really vary greatly according to
requirements, complexity of design, materials used, height of the stand, furniture, etc."
So clearly it's simply down to what budget you have allocated to your exhibition presence and
making sure that when evaluating stand costs, you include an element for design. The value of
your budget should depend on your overall marketing spend and how important exhibiting is in
your general marketing strategy. It should also take into account the level of competition you
will encounter at each trade show you exhibit at. Tailoring your stand to suit where and how
frequently you plan to exhibit can also help make your budget go further, and this is where
experienced stand designers can play a key role.
"To reach the objectives set by the client is paramount and, as long as the spend can be
justified by the ROI, then the investment is only dependant upon what budget has been
allocated, and by using a reputable company you will get what you pay for," says Criscione.
"Obviously, a simple shell scheme modular stand will cost less than a bespoke version. However,
if there is a schedule of shows, which can be planned over a period, we use something we call
custom modular. This allows a custom build to be created that can be adapted and modified to
suit a variety of stand sizes and shapes, maximising the effect of the budget and delivering a
custom feel to a number of shows."
Measuring effectiveness
Of course, it's one thing explaining why carefully considering the design of your stand should
improve the effectiveness of your exhibition presence, but how can you actually measure it?
According to Simpson, "as a rule of thumb, you should expect to generate sales from show
leads worth around three to four times the cost of exhibiting". And simply success at a show is
an indication that the design of your stand is working.
However, to get more of a handle on how big a part design is playing, the best approach is to
compare the performance to previous years when you may not have thought about design as
much or not have used design professionals. Alternatively, compare the footfall on your stand
to competitors' stands at the same event, which may not be as well designed. More
scientifically, you could actually ask visitors to your stand exactly what attracted them.
To find the right stand design professionals to work with, there really is no substitute for word
of mouth or testimonials, so ask around, demand to see example of work and make sure you
talk to previous clients. It also helps if the agency in question is a member of a recognised trade
association, such as the Event Supplier and Services Association (ESSA).