A spot in a national or start-up pavilion is often an affordable way into a major trade fair. The catch: every module looks alike. Here is how to stand out on a small budget and fly home with material that keeps working after the show.
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Shared stands come in many forms: national pavilions organised by export or trade promotion agencies, regional pavilions, start-up areas run by the show organiser, and joint spaces of industry associations. The principle is the same. One organiser rents a large area, provides the build, graphics and basic furniture, and each company gets a module, a counter or a small cabin.
For a young company flying in from abroad, the advantages are obvious: lower costs, far less organisation and visitors who head for the pavilion on purpose. So are the limits. The modules look alike, space is tight, your own brand sits behind the pavilion design, and your neighbours are only a few steps away.
What is allowed on your module is decided by the pavilion organiser together with the show organiser: your own graphics, roll-ups, screens, sound, photographers. Clarify these points early and in writing, and check the organiser's exhibitor manual as well.
On a few square metres, the one who leaves things out wins. Three things are enough:
Then there are details that show up in photos: a tidy counter without bags and cables, a QR code to a landing page instead of a pile of brochures, matching clothing across the team. What looks untidy in a photo looks untidy to visitors too. Treat the module like a small stand (booth) of your own, not like a desk you happen to be sitting at.
Many pavilions offer more than floor space: pitch stages, press tours, receptions, visits by delegations or ministers. These moments give a start-up attention that a counter alone rarely gets, and they show your team in front of an audience rather than behind a counter.
A pitch of a few minutes on stage, photographed well and cut into a short clip, gives you material you can use for months.
Talk to your neighbours in the pavilion as well. Start-ups that approach visitors together, instead of drowning each other out, benefit from the crowd at the next module. A group photo of all the start-ups in the pavilion is useful for everyone involved, for example for funders and the press back home.
A start-up does not need a full shooting day. It needs the right two hours. Place them around your pitch or an important visit, so that they reach into the busy midday period. These shots come first:
Pixer's Trade Fair Basic package is built for exactly this: 2 hours on the stand, at least 30 photos, a 30-second highlight video and one vertical clip for €990 plus VAT, delivered within 24 hours after the show ends. Companies based outside the EU are invoiced without German VAT. If several start-ups from the same pavilion exhibit, each books its own package. Outside North Rhine-Westphalia, travel is quoted once per trip and shared between the exhibitors of the same show week.
For start-ups, show material works far beyond social media. Photos of the pitch and the module belong in your next investor update, your pitch deck and on your website. The vertical clip runs on LinkedIn and in applications to accelerator programmes. A short news item on your own website with two or three photos from the pavilion also shows customers, partners and future hires that your company is active in the market.
If your place in the pavilion was subsidised by a national or regional programme, check the funding conditions to see whether photos are required as proof, and in what form. If you know this beforehand, you simply plan the right shot.
Speed matters. A post on the show day or the evening after reaches the people you have just met at the counter, and your team back home sees the show while it is still running. More ideas in our guide 12 ways to use your trade fair photos.
In a pavilion, passes for external photographers often go through the organiser. What to watch out for is in our guide to photo permission at trade fairs.
One sentence, readable from the aisle, saying which problem you solve.
One person standing and approachable, not behind a laptop.
Ask early about pitch slots, press tours and delegation visits.
Agree graphics, screens and photographers with the organiser.
Place the shoot around your pitch and the busy midday period.
Photos and clip for investors, funders, website and sales.
Usually yes, but passes and access often go through the pavilion organiser. Ask them early and check the show's exhibitor manual.
Usually not. They show the whole pavilion, rarely your module in detail, and you have to clarify the usage rights first. For your own posts and for investors you need your own images.
Trade Fair Basic with 2 hours is usually enough if the slot is placed around your pitch or a delegation visit. If you also want an interview, choose a larger package or add an interview with a 90-second film for €190.
Yes, if there is something to show: a demo, a pitch, conversations. A short vertical clip is often enough for your first LinkedIn post from the show.
Each start-up books its own package, and the time slots are coordinated. Outside North Rhine-Westphalia, travel is quoted once per trip and shared between the exhibitors of the same show week.
Then place the two hours in the busy midday period and plan a short product demo at your module that can be photographed and filmed. A visit by an important customer or partner at the counter also works well, as long as you fix the time in advance.
Exhibiting in a pavilion or on a shared stand? Tell us the show, the pavilion and your pitch time, and we will place the two hours so the key moments are covered.
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