Understandably it’s going to be a while before all our events, exhibitions, and conferences are fully back to ‘normal’, but what adjustments can we make NOW to ensure that our stands are safe for our staff and customers in the new ‘socially distanced’ world of exhibitions? With everyone more aware than ever before about personal space and reducing the risks we expose ourselves to on a daily basis.
There are several small tweaks that could make a big difference, or, depending on your stand design something altogether more radical may be required. It is likely that even when the lockdowns have lifted some restrictions and concerns may remain in place for an extended time period, so what can we all do to ensure our stands meet these new requirements in order to keep our staff and customers as safe and as reassured as possible?
Here are a few points to consider:
Is your stand footprint large enough?
If you normally book a small stand space, will this still allow you sufficient space to allow social distancing for your staff and visitors? Consider whether booking a larger space might encourage visitors onto your stand as they may feel more comfortable knowing they can maintain their distance. A small and potentially crowded stand could put off potential customers from entering.
Visibility – Are your displays and screens a suitable size for viewing from a distance?
Increasingly clients may be kept further away from your stands than before. Where your stand may have been designed for use in one way, this may no longer be viable. Ask yourself, “if I had to stand in the aisle to view this stand, could I still read the information on the TV screen?”
Safety first – hand sanitizer stations
For the safety of your visitors and staff, why not install a quick and easy hand sanitizer dispenser as part of your stand design? These can be free-standing or desk mounted, they won’t take up much space and will reassure visitors that you take your duty of care to their health and safety seriously.
Safe Meeting Spaces
If you normally have a table arrangement for informal meetings, consider adding a Perspex ‘sneeze guard’ across the middle of the table, this will double your potential usable space as customers may not be willing to space an open table space with numerous other people.
Keeping your staff protected
Either when demonstrating your products or simply standing at the front desk to welcome visitors – your staff deserve protection too. Floor or desk mounted Perspex screens can be carefully positioned to maintain their accessibility to visitors without exposing them unnecessarily to risks of exposure
Giveaways – what & how?
We anticipate that mini bottles of hand sanitizer will become the world’s #1 branded event giveaway (if you are thinking of this, we highly recommend you order yours quickly as demand is going to go through the roof once things kick off again!. Will visitors be quite so keen to pick up sweets, pens, or other branded giveaways that are presented in a large bowl or pick-up area? How can you change the way your giveaways are displayed and distributed to minimize the potential for the passage of viruses or germs between visitors (and staff)?
Spacing – how will you help to maintain an appropriate distance between visitors to your stand?
Could you help clients maintain safe distances by demarking the floor space with different colored flooring, or vinyl floor decals? Nobody wants a stand full of signs telling them what to do, so be inventive in how you can encourage visitors to think about the issues for themselves.
Touchscreen Tech – a touchy subject…
In the past few years the growth of interactive and touch screen devices on stands has increased – if you continue to use these, how will you ensure the risk is reduced as much as possible? Frequent cleaning of the screen will be a given, but you may also need to reassure guests that you are doing this or provide suitable wipes for them to wipe before using.
The above are just a few areas where your existing stand might need a little review and rearranging, with minimal expenditure we can help you upgrade your existing exhibition assets – or if a total rebuild is required, we can help with that too! We have solutions available for all of the issues listed above – if you encounter any additional changes or challenges – give us a call and we can help with that too.
Contact us :
UK Office:
info@ebissco.uk | Tel 0203 788 0666
USA Office:
info@ebiss-usa.com | Tel:
+1 815-733-1090