Make Your Exhibition Stand…Out

A lot of The Barista’s time is spent delivering quality mobile coffee and barista services to exhibitions. There are thousands of exhibitions every year, from oil, gas and energy to computer gaming and we think that in most cases, the stand with the best coffee wins the exhibition. And here’s why:

The Draw

The first thing any stand aims to do is attract people. Most try to achieve this with colourful graphics, big signs and flashy gimmicks designed to catch the eye. A mobile coffee bar does something different. It still looks good with its gorgeous espresso machine, and smart baristas, but while everybody fights over the busy visual space, coffee targets other, more persuasive senses: taste and smell. The aroma of fresh coffee and the promise of a good espresso, latte or cappuccino is enough to urge every man and woman in the exhibition hall to make a beeline for the stand.

Coffee is the fuel of business. Exhibitions are busy and tiring, demanding long days and usually long nights as well. This makes a good cup of coffee a highly sought after commodity in the exhibition hall and word of where to get the best coffee soon gets round. Let’s be honest, all good business should be done over a good coffee!

The Experience

Once people arrive at a stand, what does it say about the company? With a good mobile coffee bar, the class, taste and quality of the product and customer service becomes associated with the stand and its brand. It’s not just about entertaining the taste buds and providing visitors with a nice caffeine boost; coffee can also be a spectacle and an interesting talking point. There’s an element of theatre around a barista working an espresso machine, as beans are ground, steam billows and latte art is expertly poured.

There’s also an educational aspect as more and more people are becoming interested in the art and science behind a good coffee, and knowledgeable baristas love to explain the origins of the coffee beans they’re using, how latte art is poured or how to brew coffee at home.

The perfect cup of coffee takes a little time to prepare, and with the demand for good coffee, there’s usually a queue at the stand. This is the perfect opportunity to talk to the captive audience, gather information and pass out literature. It also makes the stand look incredibly popular as nothing attracts attention like a gathering.

Retention

Once people have been served, there’s even more opportunity to chat with them as they relax and enjoy their coffee and after they’ve finished, they’ll be coming back to the stand over and over again.

The Brand Opportunities

A mobile coffee bar is a blank canvas on which any brand can be imprinted. There are the usual surfaces to carry logos and the like, but the mobile coffee bar has another trick up its sleeve: the coffee and the cup it comes in can be branded, advertising the brand across the exhibition hall as people walk around with it.

The baristas themselves can also take on the company event objectives and talk to guests about the product/service before passing them on to a company rep for more details.

We know how difficult it is to be noticed at a busy exhibition and maximise high quality footfall. In our experience, there’s a trend towards bigger, weirder, novel and wonderful ideas, many of which are great. We believe, however, that coffee with its quiet spectacle, enticing aroma and satisfaction of an intrinsic exhibition-goer’s needs, is the most effective addition to a stand.

But we would say that wouldn’t we?