The first thing you should do is ‘research’, check out your competitors, see what events they are attending and what events are relative to you and your product. You can also speak to organisers who will give you information on their shows as well as statistics so you can make an informed decision about whether to attend. Then you need to decide if you want to exhibit alongside your competitors or be different and target a market audience suitable to your industry or theirs if you are trying to move into new areas of business.
Once you’ve decided on the event, you need to set a budget. This should cover not only the space you take at the event (from the organisers) but also include an allowance for a stand builder and/or the product you are choosing to exhibit with.
You have 2 options with a stand space when you exhibit, shell scheme or space only. Paying for a shell scheme means you will be supplied with stand walls, generally flooring (from a set choice usually), some electrical allowance and possibly some furniture (a trestle table and a couple of chairs for example). This is great if you don’t have a huge budget and don’t want to worry about the look and function of the stand itself as most of this is dealt with for you by the organisers.
Your other option is space only, this will literally give you the space on the floor only. You will then need to arrange for a stand builder/contractor to build either a custom built or modular stand to fill the space for you.
There are still many ways you can attend an event whether you’ve chosen space only or shell scheme. What you decide upon will mostly be determined by your overall budget.
- You can take a shell scheme booth and simply turn up with any promotional goods you decide on and as mentioned above a basic package from the organisers.
- You can take a shell scheme booth and use a portable system to cover the shell walls and promote your business more visually – this is great if you don’t have a huge budget but want something more than the basic package. With this type of solution you can either purchase the system and install it yourself or you can purchase it and have a stand builder install it for you (generally this would be through the company you have purchased the system from).
- You can have a space only stand and have a more complex portable or modular solution installed by a stand builder/contractor. Giving you more presence than your competitors without breaking the bank.
- Or you can go to the next level and hire a stand builder/contractor that will not only design a stand for you based on your exact requirements but they will manufacture, install, dismantle and sometimes store the stand for you for future events.
With a space only stand and contractor they will generally include a complete package of in house services (as we do here at Neal Display) so you don’t have to think about forms being filled in, stand approval, ordering of services such as electrics, internet etc. This gives you more time to think about the function of the stand and your target audience. It’s all about finding the right one for you.