Getting The Most Out Of Your Event Creative Planning

A great theme executed with well planned creative elements is the cornerstone to building a unique trade event space. Like many of us in the event industry, you’ve probably experienced creative planning sessions that feel like you just can’t move the needle forward. In this post, we are going to discuss how to get the most out of your creative development time for your next big trade event.

What to Prepare Before the Creative Team Meeting?

In our experience the best time to schedule a meeting with your creative team and exhibit house is once you have the following necessary information in hand:

1. 1. Event name, dates, location
   2. Booth hall, number
   3. Booth Size
   4. The position of the booth in the hall in relation to traffic flow and competitors
   5. Deadlines
   6. Your event goals
   7. Booth requirements
      • Storage
      • Showcasing
      • Equipment
      • AV
      • Meeting space/room bookings
   8. Event industry, audience
   9. B-B / B-C focus
   10. Measurable goals
   11. Focus
       • i.e. new product launch, etc.
       • Key communication points and messaging
       • Product sampling/demo needs
       • Events within the booth
   12. Lastly, don’t forget to include the budget so everyone has an understanding of what they are working with.

We call this information “the creative brief“. Once the creative brief is complete and approved, you are ready to start on the creative concept. At this point, you should send the creative brief to your exhibit house as an initial heads up while you work on the creative concept. This will give them the opportunity to put together some scenarios and estimates for you while you’re working on the concept.

Trade Event Planning and the Exhibit House Creative Process

Once you have these questions answered you’re ready to start your show planning. We recommend starting 6 months in advance and if you are buying, we say 6-8 months in advance is a good idea to allow the required time to interview new exhibit houses for the job.

Next, it’s time to schedule an in-person meeting with your exhibit house to go through the creative concept, content, and visuals, along with any external promotions happening surrounding the event. Having all the information gives your exhibit house that much more food for their end of the creative process.

You should expect two weeks for several exhibit designs and layout scenarios. We do feel it’s important to review the designs together with the exhibit house and the sign-off parties so there are no surprises down the road. During the review, we like to share not only drawings, but also a sample of the materials being used for the walls and floor, so there are no surprises. Unless there are changes to be made, you are good to move into production.

This process will save you and your exhibit house a lot of back and forth the time and eliminate the guesswork, ensuring you’ll get the most out of your creative planning efforts.

If you’re looking for help in the creative process, many exhibit houses these days do much more than display design and production. They can partner with you in the creative concept phase as well as design and production, lighting design, AV and even show logistics and paperwork. That’s why we feel it’s important to ensure your exhibit house is a great fit for your company’s needs and can provide the attention you require.

If you are looking for an exhibit house that will meet your next big show needs, we’d love to meet with you! Let’s schedule some time to discuss it!

About Art & Display

Founded in 1999, headquartered in Santa Cruz, CA, Art & Display is a trade show and display design company. Their custom designs have been sought out by organizations such as NASA, Samsung, Google, and Tibco just to name a few. Their team of highly creative, seasoned experts show off their talents by building dynamic, inspired displays that show off their client brands in extraordinary ways.