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2023 Exhibition stand trends
With the exhibition industry well and truly unlocked, we thought it was a good time to round up the exhibition stand trends we’ve seen emerging and what our predictions are for next year.
1. Tactile natural materials
High gloss looks great but it’s tactile materials that we are predicting we’ll see more of in 2023. By this we mean, wood, natural effects, softer materials, plants etc. Timber roofs with exposed bulbs and bronze and glass fittings create cosy zoned areas.
“We’ve created a lot of stands with natural untreated FSC timber planed back. Not rustic but a style that actively reduces the manufacturing and processes it goes through to keep it raw and original – even down to keeping the moss patterns” Edward Marshall,
Exhibitions designed with the feel-good factor…
exhibition stand help and inspiration
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2. Sustainable stands
We see brands requesting eco-friendly materials. As a business, we actively encourage clients to recycle and repurpose stands and to not include single-use materials. Savvy brands are asking for stands with a lower carbon footprint. We’re all for this trend!
3. Themed stands
Our clients have unleashed their creative streak this year and they are not stopping in 2023! From jungle themes to underground bars, we’re seeing clients wanting to stand out visually and create memorable stands that people can’t help but comment on.
4. Rent, buy or do both? The rise of the custom exhibition stand
Rent or buy? Do both! The flexibility exists to rent the majority of your stand and customise it and exhibitors are embracing the hybrid approach to create a custom stand.
Hired modular walls can be customised with timber sections integrated into the structure to create timber roofs and zoned areas.
Budgets might be tightening, but the desire to have a stand that makes a statement isn’t. One way to not compromise on your ideas is to hire your stand partially or totally and we see stand hire being an increasing trend next year.
“A few years ago, 90% of stands were timber framed constructions. They are solid but can be expensive, and take experience and common sense to repurpose for different stand spaces. You also have to consider shipping and storage costs.
You can create an even better stand with a modular framework, LED light walls and AR. You get flexibility for future events, you can customise much smaller elements to make it unique, and customise all the content on the video walls and reuse it elsewhere in your business.
This is why a lot of the trends we’ve highlighted are being combined to create super stands!” Dave Hennessy
5. Showcasing products
The way in which products are presented has been changing for a while. With transportation costs increasing for heavier and bigger equipment, businesses are looking for creative ways to show products without the overheads.
Expect to see bigger displays with creatively placed products, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). Gaming and gambling industries are leading the way with floating holograms.
6. Demo areas
Exhibition stands with more space are getting creative with how they showcase their products. Demo areas are becoming popular. Experiencing the performance of a product beats reading about it.
Our client BlueStem Group included a vacuum demo area to show to their last stand, along with a kitchen to immerse visitors in their product experience. Using augmented reality can create a 360 product demo in front of you at the click of a button.
7. Experiential
2023 is the year to turn your stand into an experience! For brands looking for their customers to truly understand what’s on offer, an experience that goes beyond graphics and fixed products can be created.
From a theme, to a theatrical demonstration or even recreating the essence of a city; being creative with your stand idea can pay off.
This year we’ve developed a stand design that incorporated a sit-down, fine dining experience with chefs cooking in front of guests and a street food pop-up scene complete with benches, plants and a food trailer.
For some serious theatre, combining tech and demos can take it to another level, with chefs at Synergy Grill providing cooking demos with live cameras positioned overhead projecting to a screen so that visitors could get a chef’s-eye view of the cooking action.
An unusual location can be transformed into a well-designed experiential space to draw visitors in. The Czech Your Pour for Budvar stand turned historic London arches into an underground pub, complete with seating booths, games and guests to join in a competition.
8. The rise of LED
One way to make your stand really pop, is to put it in lights. Take it one step further and join a growing trend for exhibitors choosing to use LED light walls as a part of their exhibition stand scheme.
Hired to keep costs in check, an LED light wall can be used to show off products on a huge scale, rolling video loops, animated clips or even a holographic
If that seems a bit wizzy, you could keep it simple with your logo in lights. The same exhibition stand structure can remain untouched – but with video content specifically for your visitors – the experience can be personalised quickly and professionally.
Our clients Agrimech and Danfoss have used LED screen walls with great effect this year.
Don’t fancy an entire light wall? We’ve brought our shop and signage expertise to the exhibition hall and this year, included illuminated signs to give stands an eye-catching glow over a flat logo.
We expect to see more requests for this next year and we know our competitors have taken a cheeky note of this tactic too!
What else is possible with LED lights and screens? Anything with a budget!
In summary
Exhibitors have used post-COVID exhibitions as a fresh start and are open to creative ways to create an exhibition stand that reflects their personality, audience and budget, embracing new ideas from quirky through to technically impressive. Trends have been combined to create unmissable effects; 2023 is the time to unleash your imagination!
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“The customer service was second to none…”
“The customer service was second to none (after a few bad experiences with other companies, this was a welcome relief).”
“From talking to David about what we needed, to discussing the design with Ed, the administration staff and then having it all set up and taken down by Ed and Max, it was faultless. Genuinely lovely people who put everything into it and were just easy to work with. Thanks so much, we will be using Motive again!”
Said Tillie from LuxFilms
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David Hennessy
David Hennessy is our Managing Director and co-founder of Motive Exhibitions. Based in St Neots we help businesses across Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire exhibit across the UK and beyond.
exhibition stand help and inspiration
> A-Z of exhibition terminology
> 25+ inspirational exhibition stand ideas
> shell scheme vs space only - what's the difference?
Motive Exhibitions, 3 Orion Court, Ambuscade Road, Colmworth Business Park, Eaton Socon, St. Neots, PE19 8YX
