Advantages and disadvantages of digital exhibition stands

Update: 06.09.2021

Digitalization is progressing steadily. New technologies are introduced every year. There are more and more areas in which digital tools are being used or where processes are being automated with the help of such media.

This advancing digitalization is also an issue in trade fair construction. Every year, there are innovations in the trade fair world that quickly make us lose track of our options. Since the coronavirus pandemic at the latest, these innovations have included digital LED video walls, which have become indispensable.

In this article, I would like to explain the advantages and disadvantages of digital exhibition stands compared to conventional exhibition walls in more detail, as well as their function and the associated costs.

The best solution?

Do you want to present a logo or show pictures on your stand? Then you, like many others, will probably fall back on the familiar textile graphics. But why? They wear out, get dirty and have to be cleaned. In addition, you have to have a new textile graphic printed for every change to the printed motif. This results in ongoing costs if you want to decorate your stand with different images.

You can change that!

Digital exhibition stand with LED panels

LED panels are modular LED wall element systems that display your content digitally. Thanks to a frame system that is tailored to the use of LED panels, you have an almost infinite number of possible combinations. Whether on a single exhibition wall, the booth attachment or even on the entire exhibition stand. Everything is possible. You can also install two separate buttons in your trade fair stand and thus display different content in a borderless animation across all modules.

Our LED panels are rented individually and measure 49.6 x 49.6 cm. You can choose between straight and curved shapes (concave & convex = curved inwards & outwards). Corners can also be built. Transport is safe in a flight case, together with all the necessary cables and elements.

With LED modules on your stand, you can attract more attention from your customers. Moving images are often more memorable for trade fair visitors than a simple textile graphic that every exhibitor has on their stand. You can also flexibly change content on the digital trade fair stand. You can play entire videos and, if you wish, display different images on each day.

Don't fancy a complicated set-up?

The perfectly coordinated system of LED modules and controller will be set up, connected, tested and handed over to you for operation by our trained fitters. We will create a PowerPoint template for you that is tailored to your individual LED video wall. We are also happy to create the complete presentation for you. We will then check it and guarantee that your message will be played reliably and in the best quality.

However, you should bear one thing in mind when using this technology: In order to achieve the necessary stability, the outer sides of the LED video wall must always be connected to a frame section. The advantage of the frame system is that you can just as easily cover the walls with conventional textile graphics or other materials without having to change the system. You should also ensure that a distance of approx. 50 cm is maintained behind the video surface to the edge of the exhibition stand so that the LED panels can be mounted with a ladder without any problems.

Video content on the digital exhibition stand

You can customize the content to be shown. Whether individual images or an entire PowerPoint presentation - anything is possible. Our experience to date shows that most customers play product and image videos. This is also possible with sound, provided the material on display contains a soundtrack and an external loudspeaker is available. 

Digital exhibition stand vs. normal exhibition stand

Here you can see a digital exhibition stand in action. Compared to a normal exhibition stand, this video wall attracts more attention with striking moving motifs. The brightness of the entire wall can be adjusted individually, allowing you to attract even more attention than with a simple backlit wall. 

Bei einer gewöhnlichen Textilgrafik sind Sie an ein Motiv gebunden und müssen bei einer Änderung eine neue Grafik drucken lassen, wodurch weitere Kosten entstehen. Außerdem können solche Grafiken verschmutzen und knicken, weswegen sie anschließend gereinigt werden muss.

Durch guten Umgang, regelmäßige Pflege und Wartung, kann die LED-Videowand über mehrere Jahre hinweg auf Messen eingesetzt werden, da zudem nahezu kein Verschleiß besteht.

Im Vergleich gewinnt die LED-Videowand aufgrund ihrer Modernität, Flexibilität und Nachhaltigkeit.

The 5 biggest advantages of digital exhibition stands

1. Advantage of the digital exhibition stand : Animations

The fact that animations are eye-catchers is nothing new in itself, as the use of large monitors has now become standard. But imagine that the entire trade fair stand is a screen. Instead of just playing information - as on a monitor - the whole stand could really “come alive”. The interplay of static and moving images is particularly exciting here. However, constantly changing exhibition walls can be overwhelming for the viewer, so the viewer's attention must be guided with the right content.

2. Advantage of the digital exhibition stand: lower investment costs

The advantage of digital exhibition stands over fabric graphics, for example, is obvious. 
The digital content can be continuously updated and adapted for each event. You only rent the LED panels from your stand builder and have no investment costs for printing the fabrics and do not have to have them stored at high cost, which is a clear financial advantage! You can make changes to the content flexibly; even up to shortly before the start of the trade fair and even during the trade fair! This leads us seamlessly to the third opportunity.

3. Advantage of the digital exhibition stand: topicality and flexibility

Think of the possibilities that arise from the flexible adaptation of the LED panel content during the trade fair.

Involve visitors interactively:

• Collect visitor feedback and display it on your trade fair walls like a live ticker.
• Customize the content on your LED panels if you exhibit at events that offer opening days for interested parties as well as exclusively for trade visitors. You could design your stand individually for the different target groups.
• Shared stands could also benefit from this: At the times when exhibitor A receives customers for meetings in the joint meeting area, it also has its “digital prime time” and its content design, colors and corporate identity are most dominant at this time. The customer will not only find his business partner's stand more quickly, but will also perceive Exhibitor A's trade fair presence as being of higher quality.

4. Advantage of the digital trade fair stand: live analysis

You may have heard of tools for recording visitor numbers at events.

But these tools can do much, much more than simply counting visitors (as was often the case in the past with a handheld clicker)! They record which visitor stayed on the stand for how long and also whether they returned. With individual measuring sensors on the stand, it is even possible to record in which stand area or at which exhibit they stayed the longest. After the trade fair, this data helps to make the next stand even more interesting for visitors.

5. Advantage of the digital exhibition stand: standardization

LED video walls for rent consist of a modular system that makes them easy to plan and set up. The LED panels and the rest of the stand construction fit together perfectly, as all connections have been designed for use at events. We have partners all over the world who also work with the modular principle we use. So if you have an event on the other side of the globe, it's no problem: there's no need for expensive transportation of stand construction materials and you can use the materials on site to set up a stand with the usual quality and appearance. If your stand is also a digital exhibition stand, you only need to send the content online and there is no need to produce or send new fabric graphics.

What are the disadvantages of a digital exhibition stand?

The use of this technology should nevertheless be carefully considered. Depending on how many panels you use and where they are positioned, you need additional frames behind the actual system to stabilize it. This means that, depending on the arrangement, you lose half a meter of usable stand space. In addition, the technology is currently still quite expensive due to its novelty and the number of suppliers. Alternatives such as a projector screen or a television cannot really be compared with the LED solution. Either they cannot be integrated into the stand very well or they do not attract the desired attention due to their size, brightness and resolution.

Furthermore, the resolution of LED panels is not yet as high as we are used to from TV screens. You should therefore ensure a minimum distance of approx. 2 m to the next viewer, as otherwise the wall can very quickly appear “overwhelming”.

Find out more about our LED exhibition wall for hire here.

Conclusion

With a digital exhibition wall, you can turn your trade fair presentation into an eye-catcher and stay in the memory of your customers. However, you should always bear this in mind:

• Pay attention to the aspect ratio for optimum reproduction of your content.
• Make sure there is sufficient distance to the viewer and the end of the stand area.
• Think about how often you would really use this technique and for what purpose.