I’ve been asked by our clients quite a lot recently about what constitutes a ‘standard’ brief process, and are they doing it right?
Having a successful show can be as much about the exhibition stand you use as it can be the quality of your product/service or the friendliness of your staff. Once a decision is made and you are ready to invest in a new exhibition stand for your show, developing the initial brief becomes the most important part of the whole process and it is not something you should necessarily do alone, that’s where the experts come in.
I usually tell our prospective clients that the first step is to work out roughly what you are looking for from and exhibition stand and what you are looking to achieve at the exhibition. You don’t need to go into too much detail at this stage and if you have picked a good contractor then they will ask all the right questions. Initial things to consider are…. How do I want to approach the show? Would I want a stand that I can reuse at another show? Do I want seating, storage etc?
Next, if you have the time ideally pick out 2 or 3 exhibition contractors who they think would be useful to work with. You can base this initial decision on the contractor’s previous work, references, length of experience or simply how comfortable you feel talking with them on the phone.
Once you have worked out roughly what you want, it’s time to invite the contractors in for a meeting. This initial meeting is vital as not only does it give you a great insight into what it would be like to work with each particular company, but you can tap into the knowledge of their representative and put together some really good ideas. Meeting a contractor in the early stages has far greater advantages than simply e-mailing out a brief to dozens of different contractors, it means that once the designs start coming in, rather than having 10-12 ‘average’ looking stands with each missing a few vital components, you will have 2 or 3 really good looking stands which tick every box and have been designed specifically with you in mind.
Once your contractors have their designs ready, invite them in to present and talk through their proposals. This gives you a fantastic opportunity to ask questions and look at material samples etc. You can also go through costs with them and if budgets are strict you can discuss ways to streamline expense.
Finally it’s up to you to make the decision based on strength of design, price, and relationship with the company plus any other factors you wish to consider.
In short there is no ‘blueprint’ to going out to tender for your stand design but it’s important that you give it the time it deserves in the early stages and make good use of the design knowledge and exhibition experience that a good contractor will be all to happy to share with you.
Remember a successful exhibition is your main goal; an exhibition stand is simply a means to achieve that goal.
To make a start on your new brief, contact us 01274 672 988 or e.mail chris@tgacexhibitions.co.uk
