Most people assume that an exhibition stand is an investment with limited uses. You travel to the show, set up your stand for the duration of the event, take it home and that’s that. But really, an exhibition stand is just a physical structure advertising your business. There is no magical quality binding the stand to the trade show — any location of high congestion can be used as an exhibition floor for your own personal exhibition. Those that invest in modular, re-usable stands are investing in a marketing tool that can and should be used creatively, outside trade shows. Here are 5 creative ways of using your stand to its fullest potential.
Photography: immortalise the stand
If you’re a business that’s exhibiting seriously, you will most likely have arranged for professional photos of the stand to be taken at the trade show. And while these are certainly useful for marketing material, some consumers are inherently put off by ‘corporate’-looking events. They seem to occupy a world apart from the consumer — just another boring business event in a highbrow, professional environment. But, take that same eye-catching exhibition stand and place it in a new setting, and now you have a structure perfectly suited for use as a film or photography backdrop. Particularly if your stand has original, creative flair, you can use it as an opportunity to develop video content, live stream or take high-quality images outside the corporate environment. These will last forever, and the more engaging the content, the more likely it is to be shared around social media.
Retail stand
For those B2C companies out there, consider hiring a space in a shopping center or department store. As COVID fears steadily dissipate and people re-engage with the outside world, locations such as shopping centers will become bustling hotspots over the next few months as consumers relish the opportunity to simply be out and freely browsing with no particular goal in mind. For business owners, this is a serious marketing opportunity. With so many people out with the intention of simply being out, eyes will be externally focused and engaged with their surroundings. We may see a spike in the popularity of pop-ups and small retail stands in the coming months as consumers are uniquely disposed to investigating what retail opportunities surround them.
Office display
If you have some extra space in your office or shop, preferably in a consumer-facing area, then you have an opportunity to display your stand as a means of sprucing up your company image. If the stand is well-designed and eye-catching it could draw the attention of many a passer-by, who will then be intrigued by the company behind the impressive visual. Even if your office doesn’t see much consumer visitation, there is no downside to raising your office decor up a notch. Employees may appreciate the eye candy and the professional quality it lends your business.
Roller banner alternative
Again, with more people out and about, roller banners are a handy supplement to your marketing strategy, doing good advertising work for you without having to lift a finger (except to set it up, that is). Part of your modular stand can be disassembled and used as a roller banner in locations such as community centers, railway stations and intersections.
You will most likely have to pay to rent the space, but you’ll end up saving by re-using the modular stand and generating new leads for your business.
Conferences
If your business is involved in conferences, meetings or talks that attract a public crowd (perhaps for sustainability work your company can attest to doing?), then these venues are an ideal setting to display all or part of your stand. This will work all the more efficiently if you or other members of your company have genuine insight to offer on issues, if you can capture the interest of the audience with speech. People that are intrigued by what you’re saying will walk past your exhibition stand on the way out and be reminded to take note of your website or social media account.
A good marketing strategy is a versatile one. Any material that you generate should be used in as many different ways as possible. The same goes for an exhibition stand. The stand is designed to be visually engaging, to seize the attention of individuals at a venue where so many others are vying for that attention. As such, any place frequented by people is a potential venue to deploy your modular stand. Alan Jenkins of exhibition contractor Quadrant2Design comments, ‘People think that because the exhibition is a rather particular event that exhibition stands can only be used for that purpose. This could not be further from the truth. Our office is adorned with many of our most successful stands, and they genuinely elevate the office, adding a bright, eye-catching feature to the space.’ Think originally — there are almost limitless ways you can use your stand as a giant, multi-purpose marketing device.
Author Bio
Theo Reilly is an independent writer and multilingual translator whose goal is to counteract stale writing in business blogs. Theo has particular interest in business and marketing-related matters surrounding the online world, web design, exhibitions and events.
