A Norwegian seafood company or a Korean machinery maker considering an exhibition in Vietnam usually has the same worries: they don't know the market, have no contacts, and aren't sure how to build a booth. For the organizer's sales person, this is the moment the answer called a pavilion steps in.
What is an international pavilion
An international pavilion is a booth area that groups exhibitors from the same country or the same group of countries into one cluster in an exhibition. Booth sales training material for exhibition management mentions creating international pavilions as a strategy for attracting international exhibitors.
These pavilions usually give foreign exhibitors a hard-wall booth package, a style more familiar at exhibitions outside the US. Larger pavilions add a lounge, interpreters and other services to invite visitors in.
A good pavilion is more than a place that puts booths next to each other. It is a complete product for foreign companies that want to enter the market without handling everything themselves.
Why foreign exhibitors like pavilions
There are three common reasons. The first is less effort. The exhibitor only needs to send goods and people, while the booth build, utilities and interpreting are handled by whoever leads the pavilion. The second is a shared identity. Local visitors like walking into an area with familiar flags and themes. The third is that cost is split, since shared services are cheaper than each party going separately.
In many countries, pavilions are sponsored by government agencies or trade associations, gathering domestic companies for trade promotion. The floor plan material also notes that many exhibitions in the US have international pavilions funded by governments.
Designing the pavilion on the floor plan
According to the floor plan design material, these pavilions are usually island booths (four sides facing the aisle), or rows of booths back to back, or two rows facing each other across an aisle, called a booth block. Depending on the type of space bought, a pavilion is usually allowed the full maximum height permitted for islands.
The organizer relaxes the rules for two reasons: exhibitors feel they get more value for their money, and consistent rules save exhibitors from many countries from relearning the rules at each venue.
A design question worth asking on the plan is how the pavilion will be marked to stand out. Floor color, flags hung from the ceiling, its own signage and a location near the entrance are all ways to do it. The article on the exhibition floor plan process and the article on feature areas discuss this group of special areas further.
How to sell a pavilion
The organizer has two ways to sell. The first is to work with the contact in that country, such as a trade promotion agency or an industry association, so they rent the whole cluster and then divide it among members. The second is to invite companies one by one and then gather them into the cluster.
The booth sales material also suggests a way to organize the sales team for international markets: use agents for each market, each responsible for one region. For example, one agent handles the Shanghai market and another handles Beijing. This uses local relationships and language that a domestic team would struggle to match.
Whichever you choose, the booth invitation package for a pavilion should have a separate section written for international exhibitors. The article on the Exhibitor Prospectus explains the general structure of this document.
Services needed so the pavilion doesn't lose money
A pavilion is attractive but easily becomes a burden if services are unclear. The organizer needs to settle these points in advance.
- Who is responsible for building and dismantling the booth walls
- Whether interpreting is paid or free
- Who the lounge and drinks serve and until what hour
- The international shipping process, customs procedures and the rules on drayage
- A separate build schedule if the pavilion has a large structure
Each unclear point is an extra cost that gets pushed back and forth between the organizer, the pavilion leader and the main contractor.
Results to measure after each edition
After the exhibition, ask the exhibitors in the pavilion separately about the number of meetings, the number of potential customers and their intention to return, then compare with exhibitors outside the pavilion. If the pavilion group is more satisfied, that is evidence to add a new country next edition.
A pavilion can be the fastest route to more foreign exhibitors for an exhibition. If you are planning to expand your exhibition's international visitor base, you can send a request on the quote page to discuss further.
Foreign exhibitors remember the place that welcomed them carefully more than the place that gave them the bigger discount.