Tips on How to Make A Small Exhibition Space Work For You

When planning an exhibition stand, there are many things you need to consider, but by far the most essential is space. Knowing the dimensions and layout of your exhibition stand space is key in your planning process.

While many people still believe that ‘bigger is better’ when it comes to an exhibition space, size really isn’t everything. In fact, having a more compact layout within which to work can be advantageous in terms of cost, time and impact. Unless you have extremely deep pockets, filling a large exhibition space with well thought-out, detailed and interesting stands is difficult; often, these larger spaces end up feeling underprepared and underwhelming as a result. A smaller stand layout, when executed properly, often produces better results for a more positive effect on your business KPIs.

At the end of the day, what you want to achieve from exhibiting at a trade show or event is a return on your investment; producing quality business leads, contacts and even on-site sales to boost the future of your company.

With that in mind, here are our 5 top tips to help a smaller exhibition space work for you.

1. Visualise & Plan in Advance

For smaller spaces, it’s no good showing up with all your equipment and trying to shoehorn everything in. When you’re working in a confined area, a well-designed layout is more important than ever - particularly in a post-Covid world. Remember, an effective stand isn’t just about wowing people with your targetted advertising, it’s also about the experience that they have when visiting your display.

Planning queues and walking routes through or past your stand is essential for directing the flow of traffic and giving people time and space to appreciate your displays. Leaving adequate room for social distancing not only prepares your stand in case of the introduction of last-minute regulations at an event but also lets your customers know that you are conscientious and care about their safety and wellbeing.

Creating a digital mock-up of your stand lets you play with what kind of displays you want to use, and where you want to use them. Using this method you can try a variety of different setups that lets you choose the most effective one for each particular event - without the time and effort of physically manipulating stands and banners on-site essentially saving on transport and set-up costs.

2. Keep it Neat & Tidy

When you have a small exhibition space, there is no room for mess. It’s unprofessional to have personal items or rubbish belonging to your workers on display regardless of how big your stand is, but with a smaller area, it’s important you make the most of your stand for marketing purposes. An untidy and cluttered stand will have a negative effect on exhibition attendees, so it’s important that everything has a place and your space is used to its fullest potential.

In addition, keeping the area around your stand free of rubbish also makes a better impression on visitors. If you’re using a queueing system around or through your stand, why not include a rubbish bin or recycling accessories so people can dispose of their unwanted items as they pass by? This might make more work for you at the end of the day emptying the bags, but it’s surprising how favorably people will look on a business that provides them with such a simple amenity when they’ve been carrying around an empty coffee cup for hours. Plus, your stand will look pristine all day.

3. Illumination

Exhibition stand lighting is one of the most effective ways to make sure your brand is noticed. Small spaces in a large exhibition hall can often look dull and gloomy, but clever use of lighting can make the space look and feel bigger than it is.

The simplest way to illuminate your stand is through the use of spotlights. Easily installed on both the pop-up stand and the banner stand, spotlights perfectly highlight the vibrancy of the printed designs, ensuring that the colours really catch the eye. Our spotlights are adjustable so you can choose where you want people to focus on the banner stand, for example your contact information, company logo or the graphic itself.

Alternatively, using backlit displays that are themselves illuminated from within using LED lights, such as pop-up banners, signs and backwalls gives a professional touch to your stand. Cost-efficient to run and good for the environment thanks to the longevity of their LED bulbs, these backlit displays add a real pop to your display by individually illuminating and highlighting key pieces of branding.

3x3 Curved Pop Up Stands

Fabric Exhibition Stand And Fabric Banner

4. Focus on Your Equipment

Even with the best layout plan in the world, you need the right products and equipment to realise your vision. It’s important to choose high-quality, durable and flexible products from a reputable supplier so you know that your money is being invested wisely in products that can be reused and reworked into other stand layouts in the future. For smaller stand areas, choosing easy-to-install, flexible and interchangeable products is a great idea for your business and your bottom line. Our best selling exhibition stand solutions are:

Pop Up Display Stands

A pop up stand is a highly portable and very effective promotional display that won’t break the bank. Pop Up Display Stands are an industry standard for exhibition stand displays. They are also an ever-popular option with businesses and marketing companies because they are an easy to set up and portable display that offers maximum exhibition backdrop coverage.

As they can fold down and be transported in the back of any car, for a large-format, portable display stand, pop-up stands are unbeatable in their affordability and practicality. Available in both curved and straight designs in a wide range of sizes, there are pop-up stands to suit any promotional application.

Banner Stands

Pull up banner stands are an easy-to-use, cost-effective and highly portable display solution. Ideal for exhibitions, events and trade shows, they can be used on their own or combined with other display products to create an eye-catching and effective display. Banner stands don’t require a lot of space but, when positioned correctly, they can create high-impact displays.

Fabric Displays

Fabric display stands are tension fabric stand that stretches a vibrant, printed fabric textile over a lightweight aluminium tubular frame to form a seamless backwall. You can use a Formulate fabric display on their own, or as part of a larger shell scheme display. They are incredibly easy to assemble and can pack away for easy transport and storage.

Branded Tablecloths

Branded tablecloths are ideal for trade shows, exhibition stands, craft fairs, school events, conferences and marketing events thanks to their simplicity and effectiveness. A tablecloth custom printed with your logo or branding adds style and brand recognition to your stand without breaking the budget; but these vivid, eye-catching fabric displays can make a big difference to your stand space.

5. Accessorise

Once you’ve set up the basic construction of your stand space, it’s time to add the finishing touches. Installing accessories to your space is one of the most important steps in the process, as it’s where you add enrichment for your customers.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to enrichment accessories for exhibition stands, classic literature and modern digital interactions.

Classic Literature

Leaflets, brochures or postcards are ideal for handing to passers-by or people who have visited your exhibition stand to help them remember you, your business and services. Literature stands have a small footprint so they don’t eat up much of your precious floor space. We recommend placing them at the edge of your exhibition stand – this allows people to view your information when passing which will encourage people to stop for longer at your display

Modern Interactivity

There is an ever growing demand for audio visual equipment on exhibition stands. If your space is small and doesn’t allow much room for additional items then a screen can be the next best thing. By having a well-presented, professional presentation slide or demonstration video you can promote everything you need to.

The use of iPads stands also increases the interactivity at your pop-up, making it easier for visitors to engage with your brand and lengthening the time they spend on your stand. For a small use of space, you gain access to all types of digital media for a truly connected experience for your customers.

In a post-Covid world, keeping technological displays such as iPads safe and sanitised is important - why not have an antibacterial wipe dispenser set up next to your iPads so people can disinfect them between uses if they so wish?

We hope these tips help your next exhibition to run smoothly. For help designing your exhibition stand or for more information please contact us or call us on 01733 511030.

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