Managing exhibitors at a conference or trade show

Exhibitor management is the process by which exhibitors at a conference or trade show submit their company details, stand information, and attending staff members, enabling the organizers to use this information for the program, badges, and access control.

At a conference with an information market or a trade show with exhibitors, there is a second registration process running alongside attendee registration. Exhibitors provide logos, let you know who will be working at the stand and want to know when they can set up. If all of this is handled by email, you can still be collecting information two weeks before the event.

Exhibitors provide their own details

It makes a significant difference when exhibitors enter their own information instead of you having to collect it from email exchanges. Company name, description, logo, stand number and contact person are then submitted correctly in one go, in the format you need.

You can use this information in multiple places: in the programme, on the floor plan and in the Event App where attendees can find the exhibitors. Provided once, used multiple times.

Stand staff need a badge too

Every exhibitor has staff, and they need access to the venue just like attendees. By registering stand staff as a separate group, they receive a badge that is clearly distinguishable from attendee badges.

• A dedicated badge colour or designation for stand staff
• Access on the setup day or outside regular opening hours
• A dedicated number of badges per exhibitor, depending on the stand size
• Staff changes between different parts of the day or between event days

How to manage access rights for different groups is explained in the article about access control for multiple attendee groups. The same approach applies to exhibitors, speakers and press.

What exhibitors get in return

An exhibitor pays for reach and contacts. What you provide in return determines whether they come back next year. The lead scanner app allows exhibitors to register visitor contacts immediately, so they have a concrete database after the event instead of a pile of business cards.

For you as an organiser, this is a strong argument when selling exhibition space. For the exhibitor, it is the difference between simply being present and achieving results.

Everything comes together on the event day

On the day itself, attendees, speakers and stand staff enter through the same entrance, each with their own e-ticket and badge. An Activo project manager is present on site to oversee the check-in process. Registration, exhibitors, Event App and lead scanning come together in the trade show registration solutions.

Activo has been working with corporate events and conferences since 1997 and manages the complete process from invitation to badge, including on-site support.

Veelgestelde vragen over exposantenbeheer