Exhibitions are an important part of communication policy for companies. An impressive presentation communicates information that can be experienced in a closer relationship, directly with the customer. There are many good reasons for a company to present itself at a trade fair. 

The term trade fair: An event with a market character that offers a comprehensive range of products and services for several branches of industry or for one branch of industry; generally held once or several times at the same location on a regular basis. Sale on the basis of exhibited samples for resale or for commercial use.

With regard to trade fair participation, the question arises as to the most favourable trade fair environment for the presentation of the company’s services against the background of marketing and sales promotion objectives, as well as the accessibility of potential target groups through a type of trade fair or a specific trade fair.

Companies visit exhibition stand primarily because of brand awareness. Brand awareness is probably one of the oldest marketing goals. Presenting one’s own brand and thus the company in an internationally networked world has long since ceased to be the task of large corporations alone.  With a trade fair, potential customers get to know your company from a personal side that no classic advertising format can offer. The barrier that TV or monitors create in any case is broken so that you can interact with customers on the spot and in an undistorted way. Furthermore, with a strong trade fair presence, you increase your profile in the industry. Well-known companies become aware of your business and can form an impression of you. A professional trade fair stand carries a certain prestige and creates trust.

Another reason for participating in exhibitions is the comparison between companies. Every industry reinvents itself on a regular basis. Innovative ideas from different companies often find their first step into the public eye via trade fair stands. At trade fairs, you discover the latest trends in innovation, marketing and acquisition of your competitors. With a professional trade fair presence, you strengthen both the industry as a whole and your position in the industry through intellectual exchange. In this exchange, operators of trade fair stands regularly experience that new business contacts are made. Industry-specific trade fairs bring together different entrepreneurs, resulting in new cooperations. But customer acquisition also succeeds efficiently at trade fairs through proximity. In addition, all exhibition stand visitors are actually interested in your products. So you don’t have to find a target group, your target group will find you.

Image cultivation is one of the most important reasons for participating in trade fairs. Real contact with the trade fair audience is an ideal way to improve your image. While other marketing areas can barely hold the customer’s attention for a few seconds, the conversation at a trade fair creates a deeper bond with the company and product. The most important thing for your trade fair presentation is the right approach. Incorrect design and inexperienced planning lead to an inefficient trade fair experience. 

Types of exhibition stands

Row stand – The row stand is the most common variant for an exhibition stand. And often also the cheapest stand space at a trade fair event. Your neighbours’ exhibition stands adjoin on the right and left, and there may also be other exhibition stands at the back. A row stand is only open to your visitors at the front. This makes it all the more important to present yourself with an eye-catching stand designed by Clip to attract the attention of trade fair visitors.

Corner stand – The corner stand is located at the end of a row and has two open sides – at the front and on one side wall. This means that it is located on two walkways for trade fair visitors and attracts more attention due to its location alone. Depending on the size of your stand, it may therefore make sense to divide your clip corner stand into different functional areas.

Head stand – With a head stand, the stand area is open on three sides. Here you can present your company and your offers to the trade fair audience in a particularly eye-catching way. The wall area of the stand offers sufficient space for the graphic presentation. The open and inviting exhibition stand thus attracts more attention and more visitors. 

Block stand / island stand – With an island stand, the stand area is open to the outside on all four sides. This means that you are surrounded on all sides by aisles of visitors and achieve a high attention value due to the unique position. The floor space for this type of stand (also known as a block stand) is usually the most expensive option when renting it at a trade fair. On the other hand, the island stand is the most eye-catching of all exhibition stands. And you have a lot of leeway in the design of your stand thanks to the open construction.

Functional areas on a trade fair stand

Every stand, whether large or small, is divided into four functional areas that determine the overall size of the stand:

1. In the first step, a trade fair visitor wants to orientate himself first. Make sure your stand is inviting. Avoid visual barriers that prevent your visitor from entering the stand.

2. The aim is to lead the visitor from the orientation area into the presentation area and later into the meeting area for a discussion

3. in the presentation area, it is advisable to have an eye-catcher that attracts the attention of a trade fair visitor. This is an opportunity to address the visitor. It should be clarified in advance who from the trade fair team will take on this task. Afterwards, the visitor can be led to the meeting area to those members of the fair team who are responsible for the counselling sessions.

4. The back office area, often with a counter in front of it, should not be forgotten. Drinks and snacks can be prepared and served here. Also think about sufficient storage space for jackets, bags, advertising material, brochures etc.

7 tips for the creative design of your exhibition stand

The exhibition stand is the first thing a visitor notices in the exhibition hall. Therefore, the design is important for a successful participation in the fair. These seven tips will help you make the right choice when designing your stand.

1. find the right stand space – basically, the stand space differs in the four types presented above: Row stand, Corner stand, Head stand and Island stand. Depending on which type of stand space you choose, you will have to adapt the design of your stand.

2. clear statements in the advertising message – In order to realise a successful trade fair presentation, it is important to formulate a clear and concrete advertising message. Of course, the possibility of filling an area of several square metres with numerous contents is appealing – but less is often more. In addition, the message on the stand must be perceived and understood by visitors in just a few seconds. Therefore, it must be clearly formulated what advantage your products or services offer or what unique selling proposition they have.

3. attract attention – no matter which stand space you choose, you need to attract attention with and for your stand. Regardless of the size of your stand, you need to create interest for visitors every time you exhibit. Elevated components such as an exhibition tower that exceeds the usual height of up to 2.50 m can help, but light can also create an absolute highlight at a trade fair presentation.

4. Use of open stand space – In order to present the advertising message in the best possible way, a free and open stand space is important. At the same time, an open stand area can be much better equipped with trade fair equipment such as tables, roll-ups or chairs.

5. Storage space – Storage space is usually in short supply on the stand. Catalogues, giveaways or simply the jackets of your own employees often have to be stored. To solve this problem, some counter systems already offer the possibility of using the interior as storage space. Often, however, a curtain or door can also provide access to a small storage space behind a trade fair wall. 

6. design of your stand space – In addition to the design of the actual exhibition system, the actual stand space must also be designed with mobile display systems. In addition, mobile advertising spaces such as roll-ups or folding displays can be used flexibly on the stand area. Likewise, brochure stands help you to present print documents in an appealing way, just as a monitor or tablet stand is helpful to show digital elements. 

7. promotions on the stand – to ensure that visitors actually enter the stand, an attractive and comprehensible design is of course the most important basis. However, actions such as competitions, presentations or interactive elements can attract even more visitors. The implementation of promotions at the stand is therefore an important part of your stand design and should be part of your planning from the very beginning.