We live interesting times. Events and exhibitions are facing the biggest hit ever. We, event professionals, have basically two options, to slowly fade away or, start to think and prepare for the future.
I discussed with my dear colleagues at Wulff Entre, how the events will be in the post-corona era. When can we start traveling internationally again, will the venues be normally open and will the shows be run like they used to be? We agreed that most likely changes will happen.
The world will not be the same after we survive the crises. But this is not the first time events face challenges. The fear of terrorism forced us to get used to a security controls and checks at the show site. Now, in post-corona era, we will see more regulations and restrictions in safety and security. Hand disinfection stands, fever measurement, restrictions of visitor flows will be among the things we might experience for some time.
How about the stand design? Will the booths look the same in the future?
We might see new regulations also in stand construction. Maybe the future stand will be more isolated, island stands or peninsulas? Some said the line booths, or row stands as we say, will be forbidden for social distancing reasons? Who knows.
Let us share one though, what we believe the future exhibitions will look like!
Did you visit the Expo 2017 Astana in Kazakhstan? There the idea for the national pavilions was, that every country got a closed space for their pavilion and they had to design the entrance visually interesting for getting the visitors attention. We played with that idea. Maybe in the future, the stands in the exhibitions are like shops on the streets, everyone having a facade, and otherwise closed stand space. Visitors are allowed to enter the stands one by one, maybe max 10 people at once. You can book a visit beforehand or line up to your favorite company’s exhibition stand.
For a stand designer this is a very interesting idea. What possibilities there could be! For the branding but also for the experimental marketing point of view! You could design such an experience inside your booth, that the buzz around your company – regardless of the industry or products – would be worth a million.
A little mystery always interests people. You need to know what it is, to see, and witness, experience.
Our mood and spirit was instantly lifted by this idea! We are not afraid of the new face of exhibitions after corona, but actually very excited to see the opportunities!
What about you? How do you see the future of stand design and events?