Feature
“There’s an unpredictability in what a client
wants, but when you get a good idea you
obviously run with it”
– Tom Treverton
able to find the people they need and for the
exhibitors to see the people they need as
well. For Vitafoods we have segmented it into
sections because we need it to be targeted
to that people can find their way to the right
area.”
Rudkins-Stow adds that one way to
prevent smaller companies from being lost
in the crowd is by focusing on having them
within features. If they’re launching a new
product or running content, the feature can
refer visitors back to their stand.
Factors within our control
In the lead-up to an event a floorplan can be
a fairly flexible thing. The ratio of exhibition
stands to elements like features and
networking areas can be largely dependent
on the amount of stands that have been
sold, and there is always that battle between
commercial success and visitor experience.
“From our point of view, running the
consumer shows that we do, there are
standard theatres that we have in each
show,” says Tom Trevorton, UK portfolio
director at F2F Events. “There are certainly
standard themes that we know will attract a
visitor. Ultimately we’ll build what the client
wants, and sometimes you don’t know what
that’s going to be until three months out or
even two months out.
“There’s an unpredictability in what a
client wants, but when you get a good idea
you obviously run with it, and then it’s just
about how it will work in terms of achieving
the visitor flow that you want.
“That doesn’t necessarily just extend to
features, my priority with exhibitors at the
moment is engaging content. You know that
the audience are sheep and the crowd will
follow the crowd so the more exhibitors you
have doing something different and doing
something engaging the better.”
The basic grid format of the standard
floorplan is mentioned, with Kimberley
Barnes, event manager at Clarion, describing
the logistical challenges of operating across
several floors of a venue. The event team has
brought in a new colleague to redesign the
floorplan with the visitor experience in mind.
Christine Martin, marketing director at
GES, cites an example of a show plan that
used organic curves, prioritising the visitor
journey above all else.
“It was a totally different experience, they
didn’t come from a trade show background
so they weren’t thinking about yield per sqm,
they were saying ‘I want this journey to look
great,” she explains. “It’s a mindset flip.”
Aleiya Lonsdale, senior marketing
manager at Easyfairs, comments: “We’ve
done something similar at CCR, there’s
networking in a circle in the middle and
there are no ‘aisles’, you come to a stand and
have to choose to go in one direction or the
other.”
The topic of exhibitor training and
masterclasses crops up, with most of the
roundtable attendees providing some form of
support for their exhibitors, and with several
praising the masterclasses run by the AEO at
the NEC and ExCeL.
“We invite a lot of our exhibitors to go
on those, and we have a great response,”
says Simon Burns, MD of ICHF. “And those
exhibitors do better at shows because of it.”
Lonsdale adds: “We run our exhibitor open
day alongside the masterclass, so they get an
update about the show.”
Trevorton says: “If they’re new to the show
they’re more likely to go, if they’ve been with
you for a number of years they feel
June — 37