Are you ready to write the perfect exhibition stand brief?
When you decide to exhibit, you will need to make some key decisions before you start the process of designing your exhibition stand. We’ve worked with growing SMEs, specialist brands and household names who were all in the position you are now.
In this article we share the details that make the difference between a good exhibition and a truly spectacular one.
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The basics
Give the exhibition designers key information:
- The name of the exhibition
- Exhibition dates.
- The space you have booked.
- Stand dimensions and orientation.
- A copy of the floor plan.
- Some background i.e. is this exhibition a one-off or do you plan to show regularly?
- You are interested in hiring your stand.
It is wise to share the deadline for the proposal to be submitted to you. We would suggest that 7-10 days, depending on the exhibition stand complexity, is reasonable.
Responsibilities
How much project management assistance will you need? You may be an exhibition veteran and need minimal assistance. On the other hand, you may be new to exhibiting or want a company to manage everything, so that you can focus on lining up meeting prospects on the exhibition days. Whatever the scenario, your designer will be able to support you.
Tell them about you
Your exhibition designers will be genuinely interested to learn more about you. Share the brand story, the types of customers you work with, your competitors and also your experience of exhibiting too. Share your brand guidelines too.
Why are you exhibiting?
A key part of creating the perfect exhibition brief is being clear about your objectives from the outset. What do you want to achieve and what’s your primary reason for exhibiting? The more information you share about your experience, expectations, and the reason for exhibiting, the better.
What do you need on your exhibition stand?
You may have an idea on what you’d like the stand to look like or features you want on it. For example, a fridge for chilled food, a meeting area, furniture or wifi. It’s important you share details like these in your exhibition stand brief, so they can be incorporated into the ideas and design.
The exhibition designers may suggest you hire all or some these items and will be able to organise this for you as part of the project management
How do you want it to look?
Exhibition stand curb appeal is key. Your team will assess the success of the stand on what it looks like – as will your prospects and competitors! To ensure it looks the part you need to keep the marketing and stand design consistent so they work seamlessly to achieve your objectives.
This is your opportunity to share how you want your brand to be portrayed. Can you share a moodboard or Pinterest board of stands and ideas you like with your exhibition stand brief?
You may find these links useful:
And finally, your budget
It may seem counterintuitive to give a budget in your exhibition stand brief. You may be reluctant because you feel the designer will use all the budget whether they need to or not.
Allocating a budget from the outset can save a lot of heartache and frustration down the line. There’s nothing worse than receiving the perfect stand design, only to discover it exceeds the budget tenfold.
Add a contingency. No matter how organised and well planned, there are always last minute additions to the stand, for example, the CEO requests a coffee machine like the competition.
If you have contingency – you’ve got it covered. You don’t need to share that information with your designer, but we would recommend you make provision for it.
questions about your Exhibitions stand brief?
Don’t be afraid to ask your exhibition designer questions. There are no silly questions, especially when you are spending a considerable amount of money.
A good designer will be used to asking all kinds of questions and will be able to give the answer in a way you’ll understand.
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Motive Exhibitions are a leading team of exhibition designers who have designed, installed and managed exhibition stands for small, medium and large brands, at exhibitions throughout the UK and internationally.
With a reputation for service and design excellence, Motive pride themselves on delivering exceptional exhibition stands from concept to installation in house. Speak to our designers for impartial advice.
download How to write the perfect exhibition stand brief
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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.
Motive Exhibitions, 3 Orion Court, Ambuscade Road, Colmworth Business Park, Eaton Socon, St. Neots, PE19 8YX
