The World Exhibition Stand Awards are a new set of awards designed to celebrate the very best in exhibition stand design and experience – whatever the show, wherever in the world, and whoever the client.
The awards will be taking place in The International Pavilion at International Confex, on 28 February. Read more about the WESAs here.
Ahead of the awards, EW spoke to Hans Bruder, managing director at OCTANORM Service Partner International.
What do you expect the next 5 years will hold for exhibition stand design?
Actually I don’t foresee too many changes in the exhibition stand design within the next 5 years. The use of fabric will stay very popular. LED solutions will be used in many different versions! Illumination of large wall elements will be visible everywhere. Double deck exhibits will become less popular as more exhibit space is available, and to work in a double deck exhibit is not very enjoyable.
Do exhibitions get the status they deserve versus other marketing channels?
I think exhibitions should be rated much higher in the marketing mix! They are a fantastic tool to present new products and to find new customers and to convince already existing customers, that they have the right supplier, if the exhibitor is taking its participation at an exhibition serious, which means, that he is preparing the exhibition very carefully, that he has trained employees welcoming the visitors at the booth, and that the leads are followed up properly after the show.
If you could change one thing about the world of exhibitions what would it be?
I think the visit at an exhibition should be made for the visitors much more exiting especially from the show organisers! There should be much more interaction with the visitors within the exhibition halls. It should be exciting for the visitor to attend a show!!
Does stand size matter?
Stand size doesn’t matter! It always depends on the requirements of the exhibitor. Much more important is the quality of the booth staff!
What are the biggest challenges for exhibition stand design and build currently?
The biggest challenges for the exhibition stand design and build I do consider the more and more strict rules from the hall owners, the government, and/or the show organisers.
