Scan Display’s Cape Town branch has a new home! Since April this year, our Cape Town team has been based at 22 Milner Street in Paarden Eiland.
Our new Cape Town office is ideally situated just 10 minutes from the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) and Century City Conference Centre. Our offices and factory are co-located in a single renovated space. This means that our Account Executives can check in on the manufacturing process. It also facilitates effective communication between our different departments and streamlines projects.
Our factory has been fitted out with new and improved facilities for stand pre-builds, carpentry, spray painting, welding, cutting, and it includes stores and an electrical workshop.
Apart from the efficiency of our new set-up, the space is airy and light and even offers beautiful views of Table Bay, Robben Island and the City Bowl. All in all, it’s an environment that’s conducive to well-being and productivity.
Jacob van Zyl, our Cape Town branch manager is excited about the new space: “Our new offices provide an environment for creativity and problem-solving, which is reflected in the pride staff take in the work they do.”
Earlier this month, we were part of an online exhibitor briefing for Professional Beauty South Africa’s Johannesburg Expo which takes place at Gallagher Convention Centre from 3 to 4 September 2023.
The Professional Beauty team, based at their offices in Randburg, kicked off the briefing with the details of this year’s show.
The Scan Display team had set up a temporary studio at our factory in Newtown, Johannesburg where we showed exhibitors the stand and furniture options. Our Managing Director, Justin Hawes, also covered some useful exhibiting tips.
It was a very successful process, with good attendance as exhibitors logged on for a time-efficient briefing. It also allowed out-of-town exhibitors to be part of the briefing. We will use this online approach for future exhibitor briefings.
In February, a group of Scan Display staff attended EuroShop 2023 in Düsseldorf, Germany. EuroShop is the largest retail trade fair in the world and showcases the latest exhibition and display trends.
Our MD, Justin Hawes, sums up the exhibition stand trends seen at EuroShop as bright colours, powerful lighting, LED walls, interaction (people wanted to connect and chat) and sustainability.
• Bold colours
There was greater use of colour on the stands. It felt like – post-pandemic – exhibitors wanted their products and services to be showcased with more vibrant, colourful displays.
Vibrant colours.
• Bright lighting
The lighting on the stands was bright and really made a statement. Exhibitors used backlighting to enhance the graphics and bold colours. The backlighting quality was better than ever before, and the graphics really ‘popped’. Exhibitors also used uplighting and mood lighting very effectively.
Clever mood lighting casting shadows.
The quality of lightboxes was also better than before, creating eye-catching displays.
There were quite a few stands that used a combination of semi-transparent or gridded structures paired with different lighting techniques, which created a whole new visual layer in the stand presentation.
Lighting combined with semi-transparent structures.
LED walls
Exhibitors used LED walls extensively, largely replacing plasma screens and monitors. The latest LED panels incorporate technology which protects them, reducing the risk of damage previously associated with LED screens. The cost of LED screens has also come down over the years.
Exhibitors used beautiful, abstract, colourful content on their LED panels. The videos were created specifically for the show and tied in with the look-and-feel of the stand. The videos changed over time to give the impression of the stand being alive.
Greater interaction
There were very few double decker stands and private meeting rooms on stands compared with previous shows. Exhibitors and visitors were interacting right there on the stand. There was a sense that people were looking for connection after years of relative isolation.
There was less Virtual Reality (VR) than at previous shows. Exhibitors were engaging directly with their visitors and demonstrating their products face-to-face without any VR tools.
Interactive elements including games and activities, and the more conventional coffee and snack bars, were used to draw visitors to the stand.
Interactive games on stands.
More sustainability
Sustainability has become mainstream, and it was incorporated into everything: product offering, marketing messaging, stand materials, lighting. The sustainability of products and services was the primary marketing message – way ahead of any cost saving messaging.
The Innovation Award winners showcased their sustainability projects. Award-winner, US-based Moss Inc, showcased how they upcycle waste plastic recovered from the ocean to create the fabric for the tension fabric products the company makes.
The Gold Award winner in the XL Category, Hans Boodt Mannequins, repurposed raw scaffolding and containers to create its stand.
We used our transportable stand-in-a box, the Modulbox, to create a hospitality area for Thule’s activation at the KAP sani2c cycling stage race in KwaZulu-Natal in May.
The annual three-day, 265km mountain biking stage race takes place in the south-east of KwaZulu-Natal.
Our Modulbox was set up by our Durban team in Underberg, and a variety of furniture was included in the hospitality area and lighting was installed in the Modulbox for the evening activation.
The Modulbox is manufactured by us under license to Mo Systeme in Germany.
It can be set up quickly in both indoor and outdoor settings. Its canopies flap upwards, creating space for branding. It is ideal for events, expos, golf days and retail activations, and is available for rental or purchase.
We used several custom-designed elements to create the ‘Journey of Blood’ interactive display at the South African National Blood Service’s (SANBS) headquarters at Mount Edgecombe in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.
The walk-through centre allows visitors to see first-hand what happens at a blood bank, without entering the laboratory. The public can see how the blood is tested and processed before it is ready to be used to save lives.
The aim of the facility is to increase awareness of the importance of blood donation and boost donor numbers in the KwaZulu-Natal province.
We made custom iPad stands where visitors could use the touchscreens to learn more about what they were watching in the laboratories, and we used our LED fabric lightboxes for branding and information-sharing. We also created a space with comfortable furniture where visitors could sit and watch personal stories from people whose lives had been saved by blood transfusions.
Vibrant colours.
Clever mood lighting casting shadows.
Lighting combined with semi-transparent structures.
Interactive games on stands.
Raw scaffolding and reused painted containers.
