How to write an exhibition stand brief for a European trade show

Start with the show facts

Begin with the information that cannot be interpreted: the exhibition name, venue, opening dates, stand number, floor-space dimensions and number of open sides. Attach the organiser floor plan and exhibitor manual if they are available.

These details shape access, height limits, technical submissions, service orders and the time available for installation. If any detail is still provisional, label it clearly instead of asking the design team to assume.

• Exhibition, venue, city and opening dates
• Stand number, dimensions and open sides
• Floor plan, exhibitor manual and organiser contacts
• Known height, rigging or access restrictions

Define what the stand needs to achieve

A stand is a business environment, not only a branded structure. Explain why you are exhibiting, who you want to meet and what a successful visitor interaction should look like.

Prioritise the outcomes instead of asking for every possible feature. A brief focused on product demonstrations and qualified conversations will lead to a different layout from one designed for hospitality, brand launch or high-volume lead capture.

• Primary audience and priority visitor groups
• Products, messages or demonstrations to feature
• Desired visitor action, such as a meeting, demo or enquiry
• Commercial and brand priorities for the show

List the functional requirements

Translate the visitor journey into spaces and quantities. State how many people the stand should support, what must be secured or stored, and which areas need privacy, power, data or specialist integration.

Separate requirements from preferences. This helps the design team protect the essentials when space, venue rules or budget require trade-offs.

• Welcome, product display and demonstration areas
• Open or enclosed meeting spaces and expected capacity
• Hospitality, pantry, cloakroom and storage needs
• Screens, sound, lighting, interactive media and connectivity
• Accessibility and circulation requirements

Share the brand and content inputs

Provide the current brand guidelines, logo files, product assets and any campaign direction that the stand must follow. Include examples of previous stands and explain what should be retained or changed.

Content often arrives later than the physical design, so name the owner of graphics, video, product specifications and translations. Agreeing these responsibilities early reduces last-minute changes during technical development and production.

Give budget guidance and define the scope

A realistic budget range helps the team propose the right construction approach, material level and visitor features. If procurement rules prevent you from sharing a number, explain the expected scope, comparison method and any fixed commercial limits.

Be explicit about what the partner should include. Design-only, production-only and complete design-and-build proposals are not directly comparable. State whether the scope covers technical submissions, venue coordination, graphics, furniture, AV, logistics, installation, handover, dismantling, storage or reuse.

Name the decisions, owners and deadlines

Include the proposal deadline, internal review stages, final decision-maker and required approval date. Share any supplier onboarding, insurance or purchase-order requirements that must be completed before work can begin.

The final programme should be built around the actual venue and organiser deadlines. Flag content, product and service-order dates alongside design approval so every dependency has an owner.

• Proposal and presentation deadline
• Feedback rounds and final design approval
• Technical submission and organiser deadlines
• Artwork, video and product-content deadlines
• Named client decision-maker and day-to-day contact

Use the downloadable brief template

The plain-text template below is editable in a document editor or email. It brings contact details, show facts, objectives, functional requirements, brand content, budget, scope and approvals into one place.

Complete confirmed information and mark open items as provisional. A link to the current floor plan and exhibitor manual is more useful than a guessed technical requirement. Review document permissions before sharing the brief with your stand builder.

Run a final brief check

Before sending the brief, ask whether a new partner could understand the business objective, plan the visitor experience, define its responsibilities and identify every major unknown. If not, add the missing context or list the questions that still need to be resolved.

A strong brief does not need to prescribe the design. It gives the team enough clarity to make better creative and delivery decisions—and enough room to propose an approach you may not have considered.

Turn a vague requirement into a usable brief

Instead of ‘we need a welcoming stand with a screen’, describe the activity: ‘We want to host two simultaneous buyer meetings and show a short product workflow to walk-in visitors. One colleague will run the demo; the content should also work as a guided presentation if connectivity is unavailable.’ This is an illustrative requirement, not a specification for every stand.

Then add the actual footprint, open sides, equipment dimensions and people involved. Ask the design team to test whether the functions fit. Mark the meeting count as a priority or a preference so a space constraint can be resolved deliberately.

• Objective: the conversation or action the stand should support
• Capacity: hosts, guests and onlookers at the busiest point
• Equipment: dimensions, power, connectivity and content ownership
• Decision: one person consolidates feedback and approves the next stage