Exhibition Stand Trends for 2020

2019 saw the continued popularity of banners and fabric displays.

But which display will take the hot spot in 2020?

Below, we talk about which marketing displays became popular towards the end of last year, and which displays we think will continue that trend for 2020.

Which exhibition displays were popular in 2019?

We visited numerous events in 2019, with Jewson Live the most recent in December.

As ever, the roller banner was seen aplenty. These lightweight units can be assembled in seconds and they’re ideal for displaying branded messages for the event you are attending.

Pull up banners are so popular because of their ease of use and portability – saving precious time for your on-stand team to spend on more important things.

Shell scheme spaces are the most common areas of space exhibitors will work in. In Jewson Live (and other exhibitions all year round), exhibitors used shell scheme graphics to brand their walling within their shell scheme space.

Shell scheme graphics are handy as they take up no floor space. They attach to walls using simple hook and loop Velcro fittings.

The panels are made from a rollable PVC which can fit into storage tubes for easy transportation.

Use your brand strengths

Our top tip is to use your brand and industry you operate in to showcase eye-catching displays and graphics. If you can do this, you’ll be attracting a far greater number of people to your stand.

For example, we saw many construction companies using the materials they work with to create unique workstations or demonstration counters.

If you’re on a budget, you don’t have to copy this exact technique. You can create the imagery of these materials (i.e. wood planks) and have this design printed on a tablecloth to create the effect of a wooden table or counter. You could also use the same design printed on shell scheme graphics if you wanted to re-create a walling system.

In reality, the end result is you’ve spent a fraction of the price of using those materials to get the same effect.

Below, you can see what looks like a brick wall, but is actually foamex panels with brick patterns printed on to create the effect... clever stuff!

Use promotional giveaways in the right way

Far too often we saw promotional items placed at the front of various stands – on show and easily taken by passers-by.

Promotional items should be used to lure visitors to your stand. It’s a free ticket to talk to a prospective customer for a few seconds. Have them on show, but not easily reachable for people who just want free things!

Brand your promotional giveaway with your logo and contact details to generate plenty of brand recall after the exhibition has passed.

Try to be creative and personalise a promotional giveaway to tie into your theme. For example, a life insurance company may want to use stress balls with the slogan: "take the stress away" followed by a company logo and website name.

Where do we see exhibition stand trends in 2020?

Exhibitors want easy to assemble displays that look great.

This is why backlit fabric displays and digital signage are becoming increasingly popular for 2020.

Adding digital signage to your stand can boost engagement levels and offer a variety of ways to help engage, inform and sell your product or service to visitors.

All of this can be achieved without your on-stand team having to do anything apart from set up the display itself! This frees up valuable time for the event team to concentrate their efforts on engaging and trying to develop those 1-to-1 conversations into leads.

Sometimes you may have the unfortunate chance of exhibiting in a poorly lit area. Or, maybe you're sandwiched between two other businesses with twice the exhibiting floor space as you? If this is the case, a backlit display can help boost your presence.

Backlit displays will illuminate your graphics and custom messages to help you stand out from the crowd. They're also incredibly easy to assemble, taking no longer than 10 minutes to set up even the larger structures.

What are your plans for 2020? Let us know in the comments below!