Exhibition Stands: the story of Brian

Article written by Rose Green, 13th Jan 2009

Whenever I hear people talking about trade shows or marketing events, I am always fondly reminded of an incident that occurred several years ago just after I had finished university. At the time, I was doing a temporary job with a big garden nursery in a town just south of London. The job itself was nothing much, but I remember all too clearly the character of the owner. He was a middle-aged name by the name of Brian, and he was one of those people who always knew better than everyone else. If a customer wanted roses, he would try to sell them tulips; anyone enquiring about greenhouses would be offered a full-sized conservatory; and if you asked for something as simple as a hosepipe you would automatically be directed towards the watering cans.

Anyway, after about two months or so Brian told me that he had paid out a chunk of money to exhibit his prized bonsai specimens at a big horticultural show in London. "It's going to be great", he enthused. "I want you to come with me to help set up the Exhibition Stands , and after that we'll just sit back and watch the customers come flooding in. We'll make a killing". And so it was that we began making preparations. I was given the responsibility of handling correspondence with the trade show organisers, and sooner rather than later I was prompted to ask Brain what thought he had given to display materials and display units. "Exhibition stands?" he laughed. "You must be joking. I'll just make my own". And he did. Every day the following week I heard him banging away almost constantly in his shed. A bit of plywood here, a few nails there, a screw or two on the top to attach this piece to that, and lo and behold it was done. Problem was, it was awful.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked. "I mean, the brochure says we should get proper exhibition stands. It says they're important. And there's a load of stuff about literature racks and display cabinets, too". "Listen son", he said, "we don't need any of that rubbish. This'll do perfectly. Just you wait and see. We'll make a killing". But we didn't. Sure enough the customers came, but they just didn't come to us. One look at our display, and they were gone. It was depressing. And on the third and final day the weather took a turn for the worse and we sat there under a veil of incessant drizzle. Oddly enough, none of this seemed to have much effect on Brain. Eternal optimist that he was, he never stopped looking on the bright side. But what I remember most of all was the comment he made just as we were about to pack up and leave. "I'll tell you what, son", he asked, "where's that leaflet you had about exhibition stands?" "Oh", I replied. "You mean you want to do things properly next time?" "No, of course not. Just something to read, that's all".