A guide for first-time exhibitors

8 stand types

types to compare at a first participation

Stand types

Small but properly done

Two opposite mistakes dominate first outings: taking more floor than you can fill so the stand looks empty, or buying the cheapest package so the stand disappears beside its neighbours. The right route is a small plot built properly. A well-lit stand carrying one message stops more people in a modest area than a cluttered one twice the size.

In a small plot the order of priority runs: lighting, one legible message, the product at eye level, and somewhere to sit and talk. Once those four are covered, the rest of the budget goes on materials.

The rate per square metre rises on small stands, because design and installation costs do not scale with area. We publish the range on our pricing page. A first outing also means choosing between a shell scheme and a bespoke build. A shell scheme is quick and predictable, but without lighting and graphics it is indistinguishable on the floor. Bespoke asks for more preparation. For a first year, something between the two — plain but with a layout of its own — is usually the most balanced choice.

Six items in a first budget

A first budget usually starts from the stand price, and the rest appears later. Write all six items down at the outset: floor rental paid to the organiser, the stand, power and services orders, freight and any customs, travel and accommodation, and the staff on the stand throughout.

Which of these surprises you depends on the sector. Heavy exhibits push freight up, going abroad pushes accommodation and staff up, technology products push power and screen hire up.

For fairs abroad, participation support schemes may cover part of the budget where the conditions are met. Applications run before the show, so the assessment has to happen early. Put a contingency on the budget as well. A first outing throws up items nobody foresaw: extra power, material bought on site, an unplanned delivery. A sensible margin on top of the total makes decisions easier during show week. Write the actual figures onto the same sheet afterwards; year two’s budget is built from it.

Setting the right expectation

A first fair can produce orders, but its real output is information: which product draws interest, which question keeps coming back, how competitors position themselves, which country the buyers travel from. That information writes the brief for the second fair.

The team is learning too. Standing on a stand, opening a conversation and keeping records are habits that take practice. Build the shift plan with more slack at a first fair, and hold a short review each evening.

Whether the stand can be reused at the second fair is one of the early decisions. A reusable system raises the first cost and lowers the second; we compare the difference on the stand types page. Keeping notes at a first fair is a habit worth forming. Write three lines each evening: what went well today, what went badly, what changes tomorrow. By the close you have four days of record, and it is far more useful than a report written from memory. The same notebook is the first draft of next year’s preparation list.

How much space should a first stand be?

The volume of what you are showing and the number of simultaneous meetings you expect decide it. Space you cannot fill leaves a worse impression than a small plot.

Is a shell scheme enough for a first fair?

If the budget is tight, yes, but add lighting and graphics. A bare shell scheme becomes indistinguishable on the floor.