How to exhibit at a trade fair: eight steps from application to dismantling

1–10 days

duration of step seven, the on-site build

Stand types

8 types

stand types chosen at step four

Stand types

Steps 1–3: fair, plot, budget

Choosing the fair. Look at the visitor profile and at which competitors exhibit; the organiser’s report on the previous edition is the only reliable source for this decision. Application and plot. Fill in the participation form, choose square metres and plot layout (row, corner, island); good plots sell out a year ahead. The exhibitor manual comes with the application; that document is the constitution of the design.

Budget. Space rental, stand, freight, staff, accommodation, promotion and hospitality are written item by item. A budget approved on the stand price alone turns the remaining items into surprises.

These three steps are the company’s own decisions; we advise on plot choice and on the stand line of the budget. The fair calendar and plot plans are reachable from our exhibition stand services page.

Steps 4–6: design, production, paperwork

Design. Starts with the brief: fair, plot, products, meeting need, budget ceiling. The 3D visual and dimensioned drawing freeze after two rounds of revision; a frozen design no longer changes. Production. The approved drawing goes to the workshop; timber parts are cut, painted and fully assembled, profiles are cut, graphics go to print. Graphic content is usually the last item delivered; we bring the text and image approval forward.

Paperwork. The stand approval drawing, the electrical load declaration, any rigging application, fire certificates and the contractor list go to the organiser. Deadlines are in the manual and mostly fall three to six weeks before the fair; a missed document stops the stand on build morning.

From step four we are the single point of contact: design, production and organiser correspondence stay in one team. The design step is described in detail on our design page.

Steps 7–8: build and afterwards

Build and dismantling. In the organiser’s window, with registered vehicles and crew. The stand is handed over at least a day before opening with power and screens working; a named contact with a phone number is available throughout the fair. Dismantling ends on closing night, your products and graphic panels are separated and shipped.

After the fair. Conversation records are called within the first week; offers go out in the second; sales closed by the sixth month are counted and the decision on the next fair is made on that number. The post-fair report goes to the manager who approved the budget.

One person should hold the calendar of all eight steps; when the steps are spread across departments no step waits for another and the delay surfaces in build week. How we work is described on our about page.

Do you have to be a company to exhibit?

Organisers register exhibitors as legal entities; a tax certificate and signing authority are required. In joint stand programmes several companies can exhibit under one application.

Is there government support?

For fairs abroad, Türkiye’s Ministry of Trade offers support; the application is made before the fair and the stand expense must be documented. Scope and rate are announced afresh each year.

What if only two weeks are left?

Design rounds shorten, materials come from stock, the type moves to modular or system. The one thing that cannot be shortened is the organiser’s paperwork deadline; once it has passed the stand cannot get height or rigging approval.