Page 25 - EXHIBITION BOOK - BOOK 1 Before!_Neat

➢ Exhibition Services & Contractors Associations – www.esca.org
➢ International Association of Exhibitions & Events – www.iaee.com
➢ Event Suppliers & Services Associations – www.essa.uk.com
➢ The Global Association of The Exhibition Industry – www.ufi.org
➢ European Exhibition Industry Alliance – www.emeca.au
➢ Exhibition & Stand Designers Association – www.sstd.org.tr
➢ Trade Show Exhibitor Association – www.tsea.org

There are also many resources available on the Association of Exhibition Organizers website at
www.aeo.org.uk I would highly recommend checking up on a few of these resources to give you real
peace of mind. Exhibiting can be stressful but a little re-assurance can go a long way to taking away some
of the stress and let you concentrate on getting the results from the show itself.

What shows have they worked on in the past

It’s important that the contractor you choose gives you examples of other shows and other stands they
have worked on in the past as this will give you a real flavor for the type of work they have done and the
creative approach they take. This is also useful as examples and pictures of stands they have done also
gives you ideas for what will work with your own stand design.

Have they worked on this show before?

Contractors work on many shows over the years and may have worked on the one you are exhibiting at, if
so they may know the ins and outs of the show a little better and even have simple pictures of stands from
that show which will help give you a real flavor for what to create. Whilst it’s not necessarily that
important if they have worked on this exact show, it is important for you to get an idea of what shows they
have worked on before as it will give you some idea of their capabilities and what they can create for you.
Obviously, the stand is the first thing your potential customers see and how they perceive your brand, so
you want to and need to make the right first impression.

Can they give us testimonials from other happy exhibitors?

One of the first things you need to find out from your potential contractor is if they can provide you with
testimonials from other companies who have used them for exhibition stands as this will give you re-
assurance that they know what they are doing and can deliver on time and on budget. To me this is a deal
breaker as it raises a red flag if they can’t as most companies are only happy to tell you how good other
people think they are. If they can’t then personally I would find someone else. Exhibiting is stressful and
costly if not done correctly and the stand plays such a big part of the overall experience and you need to
work with a company who can deliver this with the minimum amount of stress as you have other things to
focus on!

Can they guarantee to work to a specific budget?

This is always an issue, as from experience I can tell you that exhibition stands, and costs can really run
away with themselves if not properly managed. In Exhibition terms a pretty good stat to consider is that
what you spend with the organizer, will be ballpark a 1/3 of what you spend overall. This is a figure
Organizers and exhibitors need to be aware of as there are many other costs besides just booking the
stand. As an exhibitor, you need to know your budget and so too does the contractor. Little bits of extra
graphics here and there or more stand furniture all add up and will demolish your budget if not properly