The first hour of a show is the worst moment to find out that a screen stays black or nobody knows who greets visitors. A short, structured rehearsal moves these problems to a time without visitors. Here is how to run it.
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Many exhibiting teams arrive the day before opening, tired from travel, and take over a stand the stand builder has only just handed over. Nobody has used it yet. The screens have never played the final files, the demo has not run on hall power, and half the team sees the stand for the first time.
A rehearsal is not a theatre production. It is a walk-through of everything that happens on the first morning: who stands where, what runs on the screens, how a conversation starts and where a lead ends up. What you find on the evening before can still be fixed with the stand builder or the hall technicians. What you notice ten minutes after opening costs conversations.
Two short slots work better than one long one:
| When | What | Time needed |
|---|---|---|
| Build-up day, evening | Technology, demo, storage, walk-through with the stand manager | about 60 to 90 minutes |
| Opening day, before doors open | Team run-through, roles, positions, last checks | about 20 to 30 minutes |
When exhibitors may enter the hall on build-up days and on the opening morning, and when stand power is switched on, differs from show to show. Check the organiser's exhibitor manual. If the stand is not finished on the build-up evening, rehearse whatever is ready and move the technology check to the morning, with a buffer. Plan the rehearsal into the travel schedule as well: if the flight lands late on the build-up day, the evening slot shrinks and the morning becomes more important. For the build-up day as a whole, see using the build-up day.
Teams flying in from abroad often work with local staff, hosts or interpreters they meet for the first time on the stand. For them, the rehearsal is the only briefing. Give them the key product facts on one page, show them the lead process and agree which questions they pass on to the specialists.
Anyone who missed the rehearsal catches up with a short written summary. Dress, posture and conversations on camera are covered in our guide on briefing stand staff.
If a photographer or film crew covers your show, the rehearsal is the best moment to agree the plan with them. Three points save the most time later:
Also tell the crew who does not want to be photographed and which exhibits must stay out of the picture. When we cover a show, we like to walk the stand with the stand manager for a few minutes before opening: where the demo happens, who gives interviews, which products matter most. Those minutes save a lot of back and forth during the day. See also preparing your stand for photos.
Something will still go wrong during the show. A plan for the bigger problems is in our guide to the trade fair contingency plan.
Technology on the build-up evening, a team run-through before the doors open.
Approach from every aisle and check what people see first.
Screens, demo and lead app tested under show conditions.
Greeter, specialist, lead capture, press: everyone knows their place.
Clean stand shots, demo positions and the interview corner settled early.
Protective film off, clutter out of sight, stand ready for the first visitor.
The stand manager, who knows the goals and the team. For the technology part, someone from the stand builder or your own technician should be there.
Rehearse the parts that are ready, list the open points with the stand builder and move the technology check to the opening morning with extra time.
For a small stand with little technology, often yes. With demos, several screens or a stage programme, the evening before gives you time to fix what you find.
It helps if they shoot the empty stand at that time anyway. At the very least, agree positions, priorities and no-go areas with the crew before the doors open.
That depends on the show and the venue. The organiser's exhibitor manual lists access times for exhibitors and service providers.
Run it once on the stage or on your stand with the real slides, microphone and clicker, and time it. Agree where the photographer or camera can stand.
Book photo and video early enough to include the crew in your rehearsal. Tell us the show, your build-up day and the opening time, and we plan the shoot around them.
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