Feature
The
evolving
show
floor
The latest EN Roundtable saw
event profs gather at K West Hotel
in West London to discuss how the
show floor is evolving, and what
that could mean for the visitor and
exhibitor experience
A
ny exhibition show floor, whether trade
or consumer, comprises a wide range
of elements that hopefully contribute to
its success. For our latest EN Roundtable
we discussed how organisers have been
constructing their events for the greatest
visitor, exhibitor and stakeholder ROI.
To kick off the discussion, EN editor
Nicola Macdonald asks Nathan Garnett of
Media 10 to speak about the organiser’s
frequently used entrance tunnel, first started
at Grand Designs Live and borrowed for
trade events such as 100% Optical.
“15 years ago that was how Grand Designs
Live was launched,” he explains. “The
concept was very simple: it was to bring
people to the centre of an event and from
there be able to guide them around the
experience.”
At 100% Optical, that experience involved
guiding visitors around specific sections of
the show such as fashion and clinical, which
in itself initially caused consternation among
exhibitors.
“It was not easy,” continues Garnett.
“We got a lot of pushback from the industry
saying, ‘no one will look at testing equipment
unless we’re next to a fashion brand’. It took
three years of us trying to force the industry
into accepting our idea and now they
understand that it works.
36 — June
“It was always about the visitor at the
heart; let’s make it easy for them to find what
they need at the show.”
The conflict of having exhibitors in easily
defined sections versus mixed together to
allow for that all important ‘serendipity’
moment, is one that Miria Sigler of event
management company Ways & Means Events
is all too familiar with, and she says that
there is no consensus among organisers.
“It massively varies depending on the type
of show,” she explains. “The other issue you
sometimes see is kickback from sales, who
are saying exhibitors don’t want to be next
to a competitor. It’s about balancing a lot of
different requirements but it‘s got to be what
the visitor wants at the end of the day.”
Some organisers, adds Sigler, deliberately
make their flatplans slightly difficult to
navigate (the IKEA concept), which pulls
people to areas of a show they might not have
gone to otherwise.
Imogen Rudkins-Stow, senior operations
manager at Informa Markets, points out that
for European events in particular visitors
may only attend for a short space of time.
“You want your visitors to arrive and be
Kimberley Barnes
Clarion Events
Simon Burns
ICHF
Nathan Garnett
Media 10
Dean Linehan
GES
Aleiya Lonsdale
Easyfairs
Nicola Macdonald
Exhibition News
Christine Martin
GES
Cathy Oates
Telegraph Events
Imogen Rudkins-Stow
Informa
Tom Treverton
F2F Events
James Samuel
GovNet Exhibitions
Miriam Sigler
Ways & Means Events
Photography:
Adrien Liss/Splento