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Six Months of Extraordinary: The First Half of 2026 

  • Writer: Molly Phillips
    Molly Phillips
  • Jul 3
  • 4 min read

Another half-year in the experiential marketing. It’s got us thinking...


HOW IS 2026 HALFWAY DONE ALREADY?


Gosh. Time flies when you’re making stands. 


We’ve seen a lot, and done a lot, and travelled a lot. It's been a pleasure to work with you to get to know your brands.


Here’s a little re-cap of the year so far, and the lessons we learned from each.


  1. BTME 2026

Barenbrug went to BTME 2026 at the start of the year, so we got to work creating a memorable, eye-catching brand space.


Their cosy club house was a bespoke design, leaning into a neat bit of brand storytelling. 


Barenbrug's brand space at BTME, which is fashioned to look like a golf clubhouse. It has wood panelled walls, a chequered carpet and leather lounge chairs, with a TV on the window, and golf grass in the corner.

  1. PIE & Empack

Also at the start of the year, we helped long-term clients, Castle Colour, to attend the Packaging Innovations and Empack show.


Their exhibition stand was an exercise in re-using and updating an existing design, maintaining consistency across the events they attend.


A two-sided exhibition stand for Castle Colour Packaging. It is striped with their grey colouring, with the red logo top left. Then there is a stripe explaining 'FiberGuard', and the smaller wall is dedicated to green trees and 'ecovadis' branding. There is a counter top in the foreground, and two tables with chairs.

  1. Norwich Science Festival

A bit of a different one for us, this exhibition stand for the University of East Anglia was an opportunity to really put on our creative hats, and create a big, bold design.


The audience of the Science Festival involves people of all ages, from children on half-term, to their parents, and we had to think about how to suit all of them, interactively-speaking.


The University of East Anglia's exhibition stand at Norwich Science Festival. It is a big, lime green space, with black, squiggly graphics on it. One side reads 'STEMM studio'. There are dividers put up which match the stand and define the space around it.

  1. KBB

Taking Qettle to Kitchens, Bedrooms and Bathrooms, we reused a lot of assets from their previous events but updated it to suit this year’s objectives.


It was a great exercise in letting the product speak for itself, as we built in a bar unit to display their boiling water taps.


Qettle's exhibition stand which is white, two-sided. There is a counter which displays boiling water taps, in the left corner. People are talking on the stand.

  1. Bravo Networks Conference

Aviva attended the Bravo Networks Conference, focusing on building trust within the Insurance Broker industry.


This was a smaller stand than many we build for Aviva (more on this in a bit...). It was a lesson in brevity: a succinct use of distinctive brand codes, and a small space, to craft a professional, flexible, and productive space.


Aviva's yellow two-sided exhibition stand, with their logo along the header, exposed timber at the sides, and a bar table and seating in the centre.

  1. London Book Fair

We’ve worked with TSO for many years. Their London Book Fair exhibition stand was a chance for us to pool this knowledge into a sleek design.


The stand revitalised their previous LBF stands, using tried-and-tested methods to maintain a touchpoint with their audience.


TSO's royal blue and white exhibition stand at London Book Fair. Its back wall has slanted white shelving built in. The other wall is dedicated to brand storytelling. There are two bar tables with bar seating on the royal blue carpet. The header reads 'Williams LEA TSO'.

  1. Crufts

We have a whole blog post about Crufts 2026, so you can check that out for more inspo!


From brand storytelling with Skinner’s to reflect their brand’s distinctive heritage, to crafting an inviting and open space for Albion’s second Crufts, it was a time of much creative juggling.


Add to that Years’ highly interactive, brightly coloured brand space, and Natures Menus’ expansive shop-style stand, and we had our hands full.


And, you know what? We wouldn’t have it any other way. Crufts is such an exciting time for both clients, and us, as a team.


Skinner's impressive exhibition stand at Crufts. It is shaped like a cottage, with a shed outhouse, and an area for displaying dog food in the centre of the space. It has warm lighting and is laid out below a banner reading 'Skinner's'.

  1. Psychology Events

We have attended two events with Medice. RPsych, and RCPCH saw Medice arrive with sleek and fashionable stands, serving the need for discreet conversation around medicine and health.


Also important in these exhibition stands was sharing a lot of valuable information about partnerships, without trying to pack too many words into the design.



  1. BIBA

Another massive event for us, which has its own blog post just waiting for you to read it!


Here’s what we learned:


  1. Aviva’s recognisable name and enormous, busy space taught us about utilising distinctive brand assets, from design, through to build, and hospitality.

  2. Peach’s peachy paradise was a lesson in relative distinctiveness. We brought all their vibrant assets together to grab attention, and considered how the space could maintain that attention.

  3. MSIG Europe’s stand packed a lot in! From a coffee stand to promote connection, to a fun instinct-testing game front-and-centre. We learned a lot about ensuring that the game works FOR the business, advancing their brand storytelling.

  4. Iprism's sleek, effortless design reflected that less is sometimes more. The space was conducive to conversation and trust-building. It demonstrated, in 3D, that effortlessness with which they deliver their underwriting services.



  1. Allergy and Free-From Show

After last year’s success, BFree Foods were keen to attend the Allergy and Free-Frrom Show again this year.


Their exhibition stand had two sides, separated by an archway, making it a space which actively invited people in, to interact with it.


One side of the stand offered merch and tasty products, and the other was used to host a quiz.


BFree’s stand taught us a lot about how the space can be designed to offer visitors an element of choice about their participation.


BFree Food's exhibition stand at the Allergy and Free-From Show. It is green, with a lime and dark green awning hanging over a counter which is a merch stand. There are products displayed on shelving, and tote bags on a hook. The left half of the exhibition stand features an archway tunnel, which is lime green and has brand storytelling on it.

  1. Interzoo

Skinner’s and Naturediet teamed up to show off their wonderful products with a flexible, open space.


Because the stand was split between the two brands, it was a lesson in distinctiveness. We were able to use the brand codes and storytelling of both, to create a real distance between the two, but also bring them together in a single, multi-purpose space.


Naturediet and Skinner's multi-brand exhibition stand space. The Naturediet side is dark green, with crate shelving built into the wall. Skinner's is white and brick-patterned, with box shelving on the floor and a stack of pet food at the side.

  1. Airmic

At Airmic 2026, we built a hub of activity for Aviva and a cosy ‘lounge’ for HDI Global.


Both stands made excellent use of refreshments, from ice cream to mocktails, giving us a real insight into what you can say about your brand with the food and drink you offer. With HDI, there was also a lot of technological know-how required, which required that we managed LED lighting and FX in-house.


Both spaces were also very immersive, community hubs, serving the risk management sector of insurance brokering.


HDI's exhibition stand at Airmic 2026. it is lime green with white walls, and a roofed-off section in the corner. A bespoke curved bar serves mocktails.

Whew! What a Time!

The main lesson learned is that events are such an underutilised area of marketing. Experiential helps you to: 


  1. Connect with your market

  2. Understand your audience

  3. Show off your products/services

  4. Create a long-lasting positive impression within your industry.


So, if you’ve been inspired by any of these exhibition stand, let us know!

 
 
 

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