In short: for a small, simple stand, at least three months. For a more complex project, six to nine months, depending on how quickly decisions are made. And as soon as you have applied for your space, call: the sooner we know whether it is a pitch or a direct commission, the floor area and the budget range, the better everything turns out.
Carmen Gómez is CEO of the noisy group. She lives every trade show from the client’s first call to the morning of the opening. We asked her the questions we hear most from people thinking about exhibiting.
If someone wants to exhibit at a trade show, when should they call you? And when is it too late?
If they intend to exhibit and have applied for a space, they should call as early as possible, as an advance party, to check availability and set out the conditions clearly: whether it is a pitch or a direct commission, the floor area, the budget range…
Depending on how complex the project is, the lead time ranges from a minimum of three months for simpler, smaller stands to six or nine months. It also depends on how quickly the client makes decisions on changes and on the final award.
What happens in those weeks, from the first call to the build?
A lot happens. Roughly in order, this would be the sequence:
- First meeting: briefing, budget range, and brand and trade show objectives.
- Stand concept.
- Budget drawings, to present a proposal within budget.
- Presentation, technical specification and quote.
- Project presentation meetings, and the ones that follow to apply changes.
- Final approval by the client.
From then on, many things happen that the client does not see, and they are the most delicate for everything to turn out right:
- Drawings for approval by the venue.
- Booking the venue’s services within the official deadlines.
- Drawings for each trade, and meetings to explain them to each one.
- Layout or review of the graphics before production.
- Supervision at the workshops.
- Build schedule by trade.
- Site management and coordination at the show.
- Handover of the stand the day before opening.
- And always, being there on opening day.
How do I experience it? With nerves and with passion. Seeing a 3D model, a render, some changes, beautiful graphics, flawless development by first-class technicians and a flawless build by first-class production teams makes reality outdo fiction: what we manage to build surpasses what we had shared in the renders. It’s incredible. Pure magic, I’d say.
What changes between a show at IFEMA and one outside Spain?
At IFEMA we play at home: everything is closer at hand and we can react faster to any setback.
Outside Spain we have international partners who give us very good coverage, and contacts at the different venues to put out any fire that might start. I always say preparation is 90 % of success, but the other 10 % is out of your hands, so you have to be ready for anything. These shows need to be planned further ahead, above all because of logistics.
Are there shows that need more lead time?
Of course. Especially if, on top of the temporary architecture, the stand includes other services: hosts, security, waiters, catering, activations, virtual reality experiences… You have to plan as far ahead as possible to make sure everything is covered and every front is coordinated efficiently. That is what the client expects: excellence in the final result.
One of the most complicated shows I’ve seen in recent years is Fruit Attraction, because it coincides with many other national and international shows and production peaks are brutal. In those weeks you see a lot of people struggling to make it, and it’s a shame, because we should all enjoy our work.
What usually delays a project? And what makes it easier?
Sometimes delays come from a bottleneck in the client’s decision-making, especially when a committee decides rather than one person. Other times, because the venue is slow to allocate spaces, or changes them as it assigns the floor, and you are working on a space that is no longer valid.
It also happens when there was no clear brief about where to aim with the concept, or when we have not understood what we were told and have to redo everything. And another possibility: that the project comes in when we are at our peak, travelling and managing builds.
What makes it easier is a very clear brief with precise instructions, because the person passing it on is the one who decides, or, if not, anticipates because they know well what is wanted, plus a defined budget range. That way it is easier to get it right early, start development sooner and assign the right team to each project.
A case of someone who came with little time. What could be done and what couldn’t?
Recently a client came to us on 4 September, just as we were back from holidays, with a direct commission to design and produce a stand that opened on 8 October. They also asked for two versions, a basic one and a more complete one. As they are a special client for us, we cleared our diaries and rushed to serve them. It helped that it was not a large stand and that our designers, managers and production partners are excellent; otherwise we could not have reached an optimal result.
The only thing we couldn’t do had to do with the availability of some material references, which were replaced with similar ones. Everything else, fully satisfactory. If we commit, we deliver, giving it our all and whatever it takes. And if we are not very, very sure, we don’t put a client at risk.
A piece of advice for anyone thinking about exhibiting next year
What I said before: preparation is 90 % of success. Plan. Think carefully about what you want before sending out messages that take the project down the wrong path. Define your costs, be transparent and, above all, trust the professional teams who will advise you and explain everything that feels like hostile territory to you. For that, you need to choose a company you can trust, with whom you can have close and secure communication. Call noisySTUDIO, please.
Something almost nobody asks and everyone should know
Do you know what it means to submit a proposal when you launch a pitch to several companies to compete at their own risk? Behind a project there is a lot of work, many hours, many people involved. It would be good to think about that and be selective, not invite as many as you like just because it’s free. And when the decision is made, please let everyone know and, if a company has not been chosen, explain why, so it can improve. We put our heart into every project and very often it is not valued. That hurts, and that’s the truth.
Carmen Gómez, CEO of the noisy group.
Do you have a trade show on the horizon? Tell us when and where at noisystudio.com and we’ll tell you what timelines we work with for your project.
Related: Booth or stand? Start by agreeing what you are building · How much does a trade show stand cost? Carmen Gómez answers.
