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PLASA and Harman Pro Exhibition Presence Perfected by DWP
Directors of DWP, Gary White and Brian Dobson, responding to visitor and exhibitor feedback, worked closely with the organisers to build on the new show ‘feel’ which had been launched in 2003.
“Last year was the first year organisers decided to have feature areas, and we developed these for 2004,” Gary White explains. “The brief was to create a number of areas where visitors and exhibitors could relax, gather information, do business, and manoeuvre around a well laid out show with welcoming visuals.”
As a result of having the 2003 designs critiqued from the exhibitor forum a number of factors were raised, from visitor routes through the exhibition, to the requirement for more information and meeting points. DWP therefore developed ways to address these issues.
“One decision taken was to separate the PLASA area, incorporating the book shop and press office and placing it upstairs. This gave it more prominence, much more of a brand and established it as a feature in its own right,” says Gary. “Other feedback told us that last year not many people went through the central aisle upon entering the show, they either dispersed along the left or right. By installing a stylised welcome reception desk to give people a point of contact we encouraged access to the central aisle.”
DWP also created a striking entrance feature in the form of an innovation gallery. This showcased new products and provided a visual and interactive element on arrival. The innovation gallery also assisted in encouraging visitor flow around the central areas. To provide information and assist delegates in manoeuvring throughout the show, DWP put in four further screen information points on each corner in addition to last year’s large LED screen.
The exhibition bar area is always going to be popular, but organisers were aware of not wanting to ‘clog up’ this location with people taking up residence. “Last year there was no seating, but this proved a little awkward for those who wanted to hold short meetings in this area,” Gary continues. “This year, we installed bench seating around the peripheral, enabling delegates to hold meetings near the bar, whilst not encouraging lengthy stays.”
In addition to the PLASA feature areas, DWP’s expertise was enlisted by the Harman Pro Group to design and install a strategic, high-end stand - to house all eight of the Group’s brands for the first time. The remit changed from two separate single storey stands to one very large double decker to accommodate eight brands, hospitality, meeting areas and product areas, to be turned around in just five weeks.
“This is the first time that all our brands have been brought together under one stand on this scale,” explains Su Planta, marketing and communications manager for Harman Pro. “Our aim for PLASA was to bring together all of the Harman Professional brands and raise the profile for the group. We wanted to have a presence and prominence that reflected Harman's position within the audio industry. I had been impressed by DWP’s work and received good recommendations from Sony about their PlayStation installations and builds, so we knew they’d be the people to speak to in order to pull something like this off.”
“Harman wanted to create something which showed brand integration,” continues DWP’s Gary White. “The challenge was that they were looking at several different markets; engineered sound, touring, conference, recording and broadcast. The company wanted something that would welcome people in, yet allow them to see everything very clearly laid out. The Group also wanted something structurally and visually appealing and attractive that really stood out.”
photo@ Chris Toulmin
6th October 2004
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