A successful trade show is won months before the doors open. Booking the space, designing the stand, the technical paperwork and your communication all follow one another. Here is the timeline we recommend to our clients for a custom stand, with the extra steps for companies exhibiting in France from abroad.
Six months out: decide and book
- Set your goals: number of meetings, leads, launches, brand image.
- Book your space: the best locations go early, especially corners and main aisles.
- Set an overall budget (space, stand, technical services, travel). Our guide to exhibition stand costs in France gives the ranges.
- Coming from abroad? Book hotels now: during the largest Paris shows, rooms near the venues sell out and prices climb fast.
Four months out: brief your stand builder
- Share the floor plan, the show’s technical regulations and your goals.
- Specify how the stand will be used: demos, meetings, hospitality, storage.
- Share your brand guidelines and the content you already have.
Three months out: approve the design
Presentation of the concept and 3D renderings, adjustments, then approval of the final budget. This is the time to decide: every later change has a cost and an impact on the schedule.
Ten weeks out: the technical file
- Construction drawings and safety file sent to the organiser.
- Approval by an accredited inspection body for the structures that require it, such as double deck stands.
- Technical orders: electricity, rigging, water, internet.
Eight weeks out: production
Production starts in the workshop: joinery, painting, metalwork, printing. Content (visuals, videos, copy) must be final no later than three weeks before the show.
If you ship products or demo equipment from outside the European Union, now is the time to arrange your freight forwarder and your customs documents, such as an ATA carnet for temporary admission.
Six weeks out: communication
- Invite clients and prospects and book meetings in advance.
- Social media and press relations.
- Prepare your team: attendance schedule, key messages, outfits. Plan French versions of your key documents: visitors appreciate it.
Two weeks out: pre-build
We pre-build the stand in our workshop to check every detail: finishes, lighting, screen integration. It is the best insurance against surprises on site.
Five days to one day out: build-up
Transport, installation by our crews, lighting and content settings, technical handover. The stand is delivered clean the day before opening.
Show days and after
- Technical support throughout the show.
- Dismantling as soon as the show closes, then storage and reconditioning of the stand.
- Review one month later: leads, meetings, team feedback, improvements for the next edition.
The most underestimated lead time? Internal approval of the design. Build your decision making into the schedule.
What if the show is in six weeks?
It can be done, with a premium modular stand or an existing stand that is reused and redressed. Contact us right away: we will tell you honestly what is feasible. Planning your first show in France? Read our guide for international exhibitors and check the trade show calendar.
