Floor space at any exhibition is a valuable asset, but knowing how to make the most of this space is crucial to your brand exhibition success.
Even with a small floor plan, the right layout and design can help to achieve maximum results. Small doesn’t have to mean boring or uninteresting. Even with a 3×3 exhibition stand, using the space well can create an enticing visitor journey.
But what if you have an extra large floor plan? The PACCAR stand at the Brisbane Truck Show was a huge 1600sqm. With the use of clever stand design and layout, PACCAR was able to achieve amazing stand success, outlined in the case study below.
1600sqm PACCAR Exhibition Stand:
The PACCAR stand was one of the largest stands Expo Centric have designed and built. At 1600sqm the exhibition stand took up half of Hall 4 at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre (BCEC). The stand ran from edge to edge of Hall 4.
Being 1600sqm in size it meant there were a lot of elements, details and layout choices that need to be thoughtfully considered.
Entry Points
Location is one of the most important factors to consider when booking your exhibition booth space. The floor plan needs to be carefully considered and the traffic pattern at the exhibition hall will be a deciding factor of your stand location.
The flow of traffic at the BCEC Hall 4 was a major consideration in the decision for the choice of not only for the booking of the exhibition floor space, but also for the overall design of the PACCAR stand.
Hall 4 at the BCEC has two main entries, one of which was located directly to the side of the PACCAR stand and the other directly facing the PACCAR stand from the other end of the Hall. When designing the PACCAR stand the layout strategy was centred around these entry points.
Direct Side Entry: Being located at the hall entry, meant the flow of traffic from the entry needed to be considered. As people entered through the side of the PACCAR stand, this was one of the start points for the visitor journey.
The main Kenworth feature truck was intentionally placed at this entry on raised flooring with mirrors and LED lighting for displaying the chassis in order to capture the visitors attention and entice them into the rest of the PACCAR journey.
Front of Stand Entry: The second entry point into Hall 4 leads visitors down two main isles, leading directly to the PACCAR stand. To grab the attention of visitors coming through this entry point, an oversized rigged banner with 2 large LED screens was used.
The large LED screens were purposely aligned with each isle, therefore these instantly attracted the attention of the visitors from the isles and draw them towards the stand with bright branded digital graphics.
Trucks on Display
One of the best ways too attract visitors to an exhibition stand is to let visitors see the actual product. Immersing visitors in your brand is a great way to keep them engaged in your brand and give them something to remember when they go home. Let them look, touch and feel the product.
Technology, money, skills and knowledge goes into creating the perfect products. Therefore designing an exhibition stand in which visitors can actually feel those products, as they might in a real-life environment, is much more effective than reading a brochure or viewing a technical video.
PACCAR allowed visitors to immerse themselves in the brand by having 12 trucks on display. To highlight the featured trucks they were placed on raised brushed aluminium platforms that stood out against the grey carpet tiles flooring.
There were 5 single sided viewing stair platforms and 3 double sided viewing stair platforms were situated next the feature trucks, to allow for attendees to view inside the cabins. This allowed the visitors to really gain a new perspective on the cabins. This was a vital element of the stand design to allow greater engagement from stand visitors, the viewing platforms gave them a chance to immerse themselves with the internal of the trucks, not just the external perspective.
PACCAR also allowed visitors to see their new MX engine. It was a show highlight displayed on a custom plinth so people could get an up close view and gain a new perspective on the size and scope of the PACCAR motors.
Digital Technology
We now live in a digital age, so it is only logical to incorporate digital technology into your exhibition stand. Digital technology assists in creating a unique exhibition experience, that can be used to grab visitors attention, attract foot traffic, and start relevant conversations with a captive and targeted audience.
The PACCAR stand it had two main digital technologies incorporated into their stand design.
Free Standing Touch Screen Kiosks
Having digital touch points such as freestanding touch screens kiosks allows your brand to interrupt the customer journey and connect with visitors in an immersive way at any time. They also provided visitors with an interactive element that is more than just hearing your sales pitch; they act like a secondary sales team.
The PACCAR touch screen kiosks were placed in front of each of the display trucks. Each kiosk contained specifications about the truck on display. This allowed visitors to gain the desired information without requiring the time of a brand representative.
The information on the kiosks can also be updated in real time. Every time you exhibit, the message you want to communicate may be different; for PACCAR it allowed them to update specifications in real time and correct any mistakes instantly. This digital technology allowed PACCAR to make those changes without investing in new printed materials.
LED Screens
The inclusion of digital screens with carefully created content can help to attract, engage and retain a visitor to your exhibition stand. Digital content gives visitors a reason to spend longer on the stand, increasing dwell time, and making sure everyone remembers your brand offering.
PACCAR incorporated LED screens into three areas in their exhibition stand for different purposes.
2 large rigged LED screens were uses as a way to attract visitors to the stand as soon as they entered Hall 4.
A large LED screen was place behind in the centre hub of the PACCAR stand. This was used for detailed presentations and branding messages.
Another large LED screen was constructed on the flat bed of one of the DAF trucks, showing product branding messages.
Branding
Good exhibition branding elevates a business, builds brand recognition and customer loyalty. It allows your brand to excite and attract the curious passerby, as well as the loyal customer.
A custom built exhibition stand design that incorporates brand colours, logos and personality will help to ensure you build brand identity, help customers recognise your company and also influence your current and prospective clients’ response to your products and services.
The PACCAR stand was designed to incorporate 3 brands into the one exhibition space; PACCAR, Kenworth Trucks and DAF Trucks. To achieve this the stand was divided into three sections, all with separate branding components.
PACCAR
Being the overarching brand, the PACCAR branding was the central brand on the exhibition stand, tying all three brands together.
A large 3D logo was displayed at the back of the central hub to highlight the brand, while smaller logos were incorporated in to the reception stand and watermarks on featured images.
Kenworth Trucks
Kenworth Trucks is a recognised brand to most Australians. In an aim to illuminate this brand recognition the Kenworth Truck branding on the PACCAR exhibition stand was bright and bold. An extra large light box was used to show the Kenworth logo and giant 3D letters were used to highlight the brand tagline “Australian Made. Worlds’s Best’.
DAF Trucks
DAF Trucks branding was also bold, incorporating an illuminated logo light box as well as a word cloud to highlight the brands identity “Comfort + Safety + Effciency”.
Central hub
While rigged banners, LED screens and 3D signs play an important role in communicating your brand messages, it is vital to include more tangible elements in an exhibition stand. By featuring furniture and decor you can create more of an experience; a physical place to visit and spend time relaxing. Somewhere visitors can immerse themselves into the stand and exhibition space.
Making your exhibition space into a place your visitors want to visit can be achieved by including seating, tables, hospitality and attractive displays.
The PACCAR exhibition incorporated a central hub that included a welcoming reception desk, a hospitality/coffee space, a merchandise area, a parts and dealer section, a section to host event as well as a seating area for visitors to relax.
Meeting Spaces
People attend exhibitions and trade shows to do business, so it is important to include private and/ or semi private spaces for meetings into your exhibition stand design.
The PACCAR stand had two important places built into their exhibition design for people to conduct meetings.
A private meeting room was incorporated into the central hub of the exhibition stand. This allowed a space for sales staff to take qualified visitors to complete their exhibition journey.
The PACCAR stand also included a meeting space that was used for press conferences and a journalists room throughout the BTS exhibition.
Show
Brisbane Truck Show | Brisbane | 16-19 MAY 2019
Internationally recognised amongst the world leading industry business events, the Brisbane Truck Show is where the industry meets. The show is owned and run by a national industry association; Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia (HVIA).
The Brisbane Truck Show is a biennial event that celebrates and promotes the industry’s design, engineering, manufacturing and technology innovation, and the vital economic and highly-skilled employment footprint of the industry across Australia.
Company
PACCAR | https://www.paccar.com.au
PACCAR Australia is a manufacturer and seller of trucks and related services and parts in Australia since 1966. PACCAR heads a number of brands including Kenworth Trucks and DAF Trucks.
PACCAR has brought innovation to the Australian automotive industry by taking the best practices in product and service development from PACCAR Inc. and adapting them for the Australian market.