CEF Live, in association
with A&I Group
The Show
CEF Live is the UK’s biggest supplier conference and expo in the electrical industry. The biennial event attracts thousands of professionals and high-profile brands from across the UK and beyond, who come together to share ideas, discover the latest products and innovations, and gain insights into the emerging technologies driving the industry forward.
Established by City Electrical Factors Ltd, the UK’s largest multi-channel electrical distributor, in 2015, the event has built its reputation and become a firm fixture in the industry calendar. This year’s event took place at the NEC, in Birmingham, and we had several clients’ stands at the show.
The Project
CEF, and its event production partner, A&I Group, wanted a different approach to this year’s event, to make the expo area more engaging, visually pleasing and exhibitor friendly.
We’ve worked with both businesses previously, and A&I Group asked us to develop a shell scheme alternative for the event. They also invited us to present our ideas to exhibitors at the event’s suppliers’ launch, in January.
At the launch meeting, we presented the conceptual idea for our simple stands scheme and met with exhibitors attending the show.
Several brands took up the option, and we worked directly with them to meet their requirements, build their stands and manage their logistics.
We also developed relationships with brands that didn’t take up a simple stand package, but instead wanted us to create a bespoke exhibition stand for them.
The Solution
We offered the exhibitors we worked with a choice of a simple 4x4m or 6x6m T3 system stand in various formats, plus bespoke elements such as custom branding, display units, AV, furniture and flooring if required. Many of the stands also incorporated interactive solutions such as LED walls and touchscreen technology.
We worked closely with them from an early stage, carefully designing and planning each stand to ensure the best fit within the overall floorspace and exhibition hall design.
We handled the design, build and installation of all the stands, using reusable materials wherever possible to help reduce waste and make the event more sustainable. We also took care of all the on-site logistics on the day to ensure the stands were all built on time.
The Impact
Attendees, exhibitors, and A&I Group & CEF themselves hailed the event as ‘the best yet’.
Every stand we created introduced a distinctive aesthetic, ambience and energy to the occasion, enhancing the overall visitor experience.
From A&I’s perspective, it meant they had several stands and exhibitors they didn’t need to worry about, as we took care of everything from the design and construction to transport, setup, take down and removal.
This allowed A&I’s team to dedicate more time to cater to their remaining clients and ensure a remarkable event. And most of the materials we used were recyclable or reusable, meaning our stands created very little waste.
