Danfoss hybrid trade show stand case study at InstallerSHOW 2026, a working podcast studio hosting expert discussions on the challenges facing the installer industry

Danfoss came to InstallerSHOW 2026 at Birmingham NEC with a 12m x 6m hybrid trade show stand built around a working podcast studio – expert discussion panels on the real challenges facing installers, recorded live and available on Spotify long after the show closed. Motive Exhibitions designed and built the stand, with working product displays, custom timber benches with headphone stations and a drinks bar.

Danfoss at InstallerSHOW: consistently creative

In 2025, the Danfoss stand featured a DeLorean, an American milkshake bar and an interactive time tunnel. It was their most successful UK show ever. How do you follow that?

Gareth Ash, Danfoss’s Marketing Manager, sat down with our Creative Director Edward Marshall ready to do something completely different. Showcasing products and having sales conversations is great – but how do you engage with your audience beyond the show? Gareth wanted to use InstallerSHOW to start building a community, talking about the challenges and issues facing plumbers, heating engineers, electricians and renewable energy installers in a rapidly changing industry. This sowed the seed for an ambitious stand build – a podcast studio that would host expert discussion panels on topics relevant to visitors, that everyone could see and listen to live.

A zoned stand built for interaction

The hybrid exhibition stand split into two areas. On one side, working product displays for Danfoss and DEVI, with products wired directly into the walling and fully live, TV and touchscreens giving more detail on specific ranges. Built into the floor was a glass panel so visitors could look down and see DEVI underfloor heating products running beneath their feet.

On the other side, the Even Flow branded podcast studio. Fully enclosed, glazed on all sides, with comfy furniture, warm timber wall panelling and air conditioning – a heatwave ran across all three days of the show. A large 3D illuminated Danfoss sign on the red fascia above made it easy to spot. Inside, the Even Flow LED sign, made by our sister company, Motive Graphics set the tone, with an ON AIR sign lighting up when sessions were live.

A schedule board on the window listed the day’s sessions so visitors could see what was coming up. Custom-built timber benches with headphone hooks and red cushions provided space to sit down, pick up a pair and listen in to the live session happening right in front of you through the glass. Discussion panels ran throughout the day, with Gareth hosting some and a rotating mix of industry voices in others, including senior figures from InstallerSHOW itself.

Later in the day, visitors could pick a playlist to chill out to or have a silent disco.

The reverse of the podcast studio featured further Danfoss products and a plinth with a large product on display – every inch of the stand used well, without feeling crowded. Danfoss also brought back their arcade machines from InstallerSHOW 2025, a bit of fun that’s become part of the experience, and the drinks bar returned from elementalLONDON 2025 with the milkshake theme back for another year.

“I love working with Gareth at Danfoss and InstallerSHOW is always a highlight. We have designed and built so many trade show stands for him over the years and it is a really collaborative process, where we sit down, share ideas and talk through what could be done. It is always a creative experience designed to make Danfoss stand out on the show floor.”
Ed Marshall, Creative Director, Motive Exhibitions

Building a community

The podcast sessions will be edited and featured on the Danfoss website and on Spotify, or wherever people get their podcasts from. The studio was also offered to other industry figures visiting the show, with a recording to take away and use however they wanted.

“The podcast booth has already been a huge success. We’ve had people come along and sit and listen to the whole session with a drink, which in a hall with 900+ exhibitors is great to have people here for that long. It gives us so much content to build an installer community with, created with other industry experts to share after the show, and a lot of topics that are not going away anytime soon. The big blue podcasting LED sign is coming back to us at the office. It’s also great to reuse elements from other shows and have new features to take forward for future stands.”

Marketing Manager, Danfoss

What we delivered:

• Trade show stand design
• Custom podcast studio build
• Custom 3D illuminated signs
• Custom timber benches with headphone stations
• AV including schedule display, product display TV and touchscreen
• DEVI and Danfoss products wired into walling
• Drinks bar
• Installation
• Dismantle
• Storage
• Logistics
• Project management

Ready to create your own showstopper?

Ready to make your next show your best one yet? Get in touch with the team at Motive Exhibitions: