Ok, let’s get some context here; In the exhibition world, the size of your stand doesn’t always matter, and by that we mean you don’t have to have the biggest one to impress your clients/competitors. Those of us who have been in exhibitions long enough will know this already, however coming off the back of nearly 2 years with no events, people switching industries, new companies being created, and a whole new generation of EventProfs coming through, this may not be immediately obvious or apparent.

Maybe this case study will get your creative juices flowing on how to approach this?

When looking to book space at a show, a DM will be shown the event floorplan, and a list of available stands to choose from. It’s not always clear or obvious what the best options are, (and spoiler alert… there are usually different agendas at play). When I started selling exhibition space years ago, we would have simply upsold the client the largest space possible, filled the floorplan, hit our targets, job done! Let’s be honest, where was the benefit of advising a client to book a small space? Everyone wanted the biggest stand they could afford, however this didn’t always guarantee there was sufficient budget to spend on building & dressing the stand. It really seemed like a bit of an afterthought.

Fast forward 20 years, and this no longer stands (excuse the pun). Events now have to be super relevant and focused, with serious consideration towards sustainability, from all parties involved. They need the right balance of exhibitors, with professional, creative stands that need to deliver a return on investment to the business. There is a fine balance here: cost of space vs cost of stand vs ROI.

Many exhibitors don’t really ‘do’ ROI. It’s a bit of a black art. And that return can be financial, brand-boosting or lead-generation.

Not long ago, stand builders literally did just that. They built stands. At Human Built we consider ourselves to be a next generation agency; A network of trusted event professionals who will go even further to help support and advise their clients. If our customers are new to the exhibition world, we help right at the start of the process; with impartial, objective advice on which events to consider attending. It’s not often the obvious ones. We can help to identify which spaces to consider booking, based on size, location, orientation, configuration, traffic flow and of course budget. We would happily advise they book a smaller space, if it means their budget can then be split fairly/equally across space and build, and one that delivers ROI.

Gone are the days (mainly) of businesses outdoing one another by simply booking bigger spaces than their competitors. A good marketer will be more impressed with a 3 x 3 stand that has had some truly disruptive, experiential thought put into it. Innovative, functional and creative use of space, rather than one where the budget has simply been side-lines on a huge space that simply can’t be filled with quality.

Quite a few of the team at Human Built were rooted in events during the recession of 2007/8, and worked through what was a business-critical time. Exhibitors had to really start generating ROI from their event attendance to survive and justify their place. Moving from custom to modular for example; Reusability really was King, and sustainable thinking began its journey.

So now with us heading into choppy waters again, we are taking what we learned last time around, and are helping empower businesses to continue attending live events, which in turn supports the entire industry, and keeps the wheel turning. It’s critical that that we keep exhibiting, and in-turn supporting all our industry events. However, just make sure that you get the stand that’s perfect for you.

We can help you with this. Like we said at the start… Size doesn’t (always) matter.