Exhibitions have long been a choice for brands and companies to promote their services and products to generate leads. As a result, competition is often tough, with many brands experiencing potential customers simply walking past their exhibition stand without so much as a glance. That’s why Showplace exists – to provide excellent eye-catching designs to provide you with a massive advantage, and one of those advantages is a good shell scheme upgrade.
To find out how to maximise your engagement to rally new or returning customers via an appealing exhibition shell scheme, read on.
What is a Shell Scheme and How To Make Them Stand Out?
Shell scheme exhibition stands usually consist of the following elements:
- Walls – Your shell scheme walls will include a flat back wall and side walls made of lightweight but rigid shell clad panels or fabric to allow easy movement.
- Flooring – The flooring of your shell scheme stand is usually fairly basic, such as a carpet. This is because having a proper floor would weigh the shell scheme down even further.
- Fascia – The top of the shell scheme stand is a fascia, which displays your brand name.
Shell scheme stands are typically inexpensive compared to many props and structures used for trade shows and exhibitions, and they offer great value for those on a tight budget despite their simplicity. With Showplace’s range of featured upgrades, which include graphic, flooring, furniture and AV options, this type of exhibition stand provides a blank canvas for you to create designs that can pull in an audience, create a memorable experience and differentiate your brand from your neighbours’.
Creating an Attractive Shell Scheme Stand
There will be a sea of shell schemes out there, but with the following guidelines, you will be well on your way to having an exhibition stand that stands out and makes a good impression with potential customers.
Shell Scheme Graphics
Using bold, striking, tension fabric graphics and visuals are the first step in ensuring that your shell scheme catches the eye of your customers. You usually only have a few seconds to grab a potential client’s attention before they move on, and with shell scheme graphics being reusable, you want them to be impactful every time they are used.
As a result, you need to ensure the following with the graphics in your shell scheme space:
- Instant Idea Communication – What is your service about? Your printed shell scheme panels should ensure that anyone will instantly know what it is that you’re offering. The best way to do this is by telling a story through seamless shell scheme graphics and impactful images – such as providing a combination of both a problem and a solution. For example, printed graphic panels involving a chemical cleaning product with wilting plants alongside an entirely eco-friendly cleaning product. You will find that this technique alone will make all the difference.
- Memorable – People remember things when their emotions are provoked. When your shell scheme stand inspires positive emotions that hold attention, you generate interest and increase the likelihood of their approach.
- Colour Psychology – To use colours on your individual panels effectively, ensure you keep them in line with two things: association, and brand scheme. Blue is considered the colour of justice, for example, whereas bold reds add a sense of excitement.
Lighting
Lighting can set a mood and breathe life into your printed panels, as well as guide your eye. It is an important element to master alongside your shell scheme panels design, as not only does it enhance it, but it staves off any possible issues out of your control. For example, the show floor.
- Attracting Attention – Lighting can set a contrast between the background and the foreground, allowing your custom-printed visuals to pop out. Our backlit graphics allow you to guide people’s eyes towards the key features and/or images. Networking should be less stark, as it’s only relevant after a person has already bonded. Additionally, our fully branded suspended light boxes ensure that your location can be identified with ease and from across an exhibition hall!
- Colouring – With the correct colouring, your shell scheme exhibition can promote certain moods, such as warm colours creating inviting and calm atmospheres, whereas cool bright lights can promote energy and focus. On top of that, humans associate colours with concepts, such as blue for justice and the good.
- Dimensional Manipulation – Lighting can do wonders to enhance the appearance of shell scheme stands. For example, shadows accentuate the outlines of products and objects, giving them a sense of form and value. This is useful when it comes to shell schemes, as a lot of them can be quite thin, but with lighting being projected in the right way, you can heighten the three-dimensionality of objects.
Interactive Elements
Humans like to interact with things, and this is proven through the modern age of smartphone usage. When it comes to selling a product, being able to interact with it beforehand is huge in securing a sale.
- Product Demonstrations – Demonstrations allow potential customers to experience the pros of your product whilst also being guided. This allows you to also build meaningful rapport, and ensure them that your brand will take care of them.
- Digital Displays – Having a digital exhibition display(s) allows customers to be able to guide their journey through your products. With the correct prompts and keeping it simple, you can use videos, touchscreens and slideshows to communicate information.
- Contests and Giveaways – Humans are competitive and, at times, opportunistic. Hosting a giveaway with free promotional merchandise is a proven method to generate a buzz around you. It’s also a crafty way to get leads, which is basic contact information for people who may be a potential sale, by ensuring they sign up with contact information.
Technology Integration
Technology makes life easier, and having tech that people are interested in using, or which makes their experience easier, is a massive advantage to have over other shell schemes.
- QR Codes – These codes are a fast method of getting from A to Z. Through a quick scan through a smartphone camera, something nearly everyone has these days, you can immediately link your customers to websites, sign-ups, app downloads etc. This is also a fantastic way to track engagement, as you’ll have information on who is clicking on what. QR codes can also generate leads quickly.
- Charging Stations – Phones often run out of battery. Having a free charging station (fast charging preferred) can be a reason for someone who is semi-interested to approach your stand. They can use the opportunity to charge devices while also gaining some perspective on what your company has to offer. Even if they are not initially interested in your brand, products and services, you can take this time to strike up some friendly banter, possibly finding an angle to encourage their interest in your product. The most important skill of a salesperson is being able to make friends.
- Rare Technology – Technology that you can experience for the first time. A good example of this is VR. A half-decent VR headset for a high-quality video game costs over £200. But, of course, VR is not limited to the realm of video games. If there is something you want to demonstrate that you can’t in real life, such as architectural concepts, a VR is more than capable of generating photo-realism to create a true representation of what it is you’re trying to display.
Comfort and Functionality
Exhibitions and trade shows are events where people are usually on their feet the majority of the day. Upgrading your shell scheme exhibition space to offer greater comfort, with suitable furniture and facilities, can be just the thing you need to attract an indecisive potential customer.
- Seating – Chairs or even branded bean bags, decks chairs or cube seating, are a sign that any visitor is welcome to enter, and your choice of seating can set the tone and the pace wonderfully. Once a person has seated themselves, they are now in the world you’re trying to create.
- Small table or lockable counter – A table or lockable counter allows you to create a workspace-like environment where people can set down materials they pick up, as well as provide a platform to do things. Aside from that, it represents a dedicated space to showcase your products or host your business cards. Our lockable counters, also provide discreet and secure storage space for personal belongings or excess stock of marketing literature and show freebie giveaways.
- Flooring – Flooring is a canvas for you to define your space. Your flooring choice can be anything from upgrading a standard carpet to one with your brand logo printed in-house or slogan, or perhaps patterns to direct your potential customers here or there. Either way, you can link your floor to elements in your shell scheme to create a cohesive look.
Staff Engagement
Regardless of the appeal of your shell scheme, graphic panels, technology, or anything you use to attract an audience, it is your staff that ultimately are key. Your staff have to have excellent communication skills and an ability to engage well with people they probably haven’t met before.
- Product services – Being able to demonstrate a product like a professional, knowing the ins and outs, and answering any niche questions the customer may have, goes a long way to building trust and credibility for both the brand and service/product. Pair this with a staff member who can identify the specific needs of the customer and tailor their presentation around it, and you’re on your way to maximising your sales opportunities.
- Brand ambassadors – A good salesperson can get a sale for the product, but a superior salesperson will get them to come back because of the brand. Whilst part of this relies on the quality of your product, finding people to represent your company who embody the spirit and message of the brand will add an air of legitimacy that leaves no room for doubt.
Conclusion
Overall, a shell scheme is a cost-effective investment that allows for a great deal of customisability if you choose to make those distinctive, ‘stand-out’ upgrades, which Showplace can offer. Having limited space at shell scheme stands means it is important to be well organised and keep your exhibition area tidy so that it is still appealing.
By following the tips above, you can tailor your shell scheme exhibition stand to not only embody your brand and its ideals, but also maximise the volume of approaches and interest in your company and it’s products and services.
