Looking back over the many events and exhibitions I have organised over the years I can honestly say that I have made my fair share of mistakes. But for every mistake that I made, there was something to be learned from it so I wanted to share this little guide explaining what NOT to do when you’re organising an exhibition.
1. Don’t be in a hurry to put the kettle on
Make sure you check and double check the amount of power you need for your stand and all its electricals. Lights, laptops, phones, AV equipment, coffee machines, kettles etc whatever you need has to have enough power to it or you could end up blowing a fuse and sending your stand into complete darkness.
2. Don’t forget the storage
Make sure you put in adequate storage for all your brochures, corporate gifts, business cards, coats, jackets, briefcases, rucksacks, umbrellas.
And so that you don’t end up compromised for space even further, some exhibitions provide storage facilities for your empty boxes and crates so don’t forget to book it or you’re going to end up trying to find a home for it all on your stand space!
Especially important if you want to observe the next point.
3. Don’t clutter your stand
Everyone gets a bit giddy when it comes to planning exhibition displays. If you have multiple stakeholders all vying for space to show their wares on the stand it is your job to manage the balance of ‘stuff’ versus space. Making sure your stand looks neat and tidy isn’t easy if there is too much on display.
4. Speaking of neat and tidy, don’t forget the dust buster
If your budget doesn’t stretch to contractor cleaning services, don’t forget to take some cleaning stuff. Dirt gets around these exhibition halls, so being able to give your stand a quick once over at the beginning or end of the day is a definite bonus.
5. Don’t do it alone if you don’t have to
If your budget will stretch, consider lining up an exhibition contractor to help you. There are loads of them out there so follow my guidance on what to look for in an exhibition contractor. The right one is worth every penny!
6. Don’t forget your pantone references
Even the best exhibition contractors can’t fly completely blind when it comes to recreating your beloved brand! Contractors work with all sorts of materials like paint and vinyls which can come in all sorts of colours and are not typically CMYK referenced, so don’t forget your pantone colours. Otherwise what you think is your blue, is not actually your blue.
7. Don’t get too drunk
If you’ve ever been to an exhibition before you’ll know this is probably the toughest of all the don’t’s. Buoyed along by camaraderie and (hopefully) the success of the exhibition, everyone is buzzing or letting their hair down after a long, long day on the stand. It’s important to remember though, that you still have customers to see in the morning!
8. Do NOT, I repeat do NOT wear new shoes
I really cannot stress this one enough! Just don’t do it to yourself. Seriously!
So hopefully I have stopped you from making the same clangers that I did back in the day, or maybe some of these resonate with you because you’ve done it yourself? Let me know your worst expo clangers.
