CEF
The Client
CEF – short for City Electrical Factors Ltd – is the UK’s largest multi-channel electrical distributor. The Warwickshire-based business operates a network of 390 stores and an ecommerce website, offering more than 35,000 electrical products for next-day delivery.
It offers products from more than 300 industry-leading brands and exclusive CEF-manufactured and branded products, including iCS electric vehicle charging systems and a complete renewables solution across EV, PV and battery storage. It’s also the only electrical distributor with an in-house recycling facility, with waste experts offering customers traceable solutions for total waste management.
CEF has built a reputation for going above and beyond, and providing expert knowledge to help its customers understand regulations, trends and product innovations.
The Project
Ei was recommended to CEF for this project by an event organiser for whom we’ve done previous work. CEF wanted to showcase its innovative range of renewables solutions to the trade at Solar & Storage Live 2022.
The annual event, which took place at the NEC, in Birmingham, in October, is the UK’s largest annual show for the solar, storage and EV sectors.
It provides a place for suppliers, customers and industry thought leaders to meet, share ideas and do business. Thousands of visitors attended over the two days, with the event boasting over 150 exhibitors, a high-level industry conference, a start-up and innovation zone, a poster zone, strategic partners to network with, and much more.
CEF’s goal for the show was to drive awareness of its brand and generate leads. It was looking for a modern, fresh and attractive stand that stood out from everyone else in the busy hall and made the most of its interactive digital and video content.
The Solution
Our solution was a sustainable modular exhibition stand with custom print and cladding, and integrated LED screens and product displays embedded into its walls. It also featured a rigged overhead banner branded with reusable graphics, bespoke bar furniture for informal networking, and custom flooring.
The stand space was unusual, as it comprised one of the exhibition hall’s supporting columns to one side. We incorporated this into our stand design by making a feature of the column and extending an LED wall around it to maximise the visual impact.
The LED screens were arranged geometrically to create an interesting texture and shape, and we guided the video content production accordingly to ensure that none of the messaging was obscured by the screens’ irregular borders. We also integrated a track driving simulator into the stand, using an Xbox console, to add an element of interactivity.
The whole space was powered by one of CEF’s batteries, and there was an indicator at the side of the stand showing how much electricity it used – and how energy efficient it was – over the two days.
The Impact
The stand made a massive impact thanks to how it looked. The distinctive geomatric pattern and interactive video content created a sense of fluidity within the stand that drew people in as soon as they entered the venue.
CEF’s on-stand team was kept busy throughout the two days with a constant stream of visitors and enquiries, while the driving simulator proved to be a big draw and a crowd favourite.
Like with all projects of this size, we took care of everything, from design and build to transport and logistics, to ensure a stress-free event for CEF’s renewables team.
And because the stand was system-based, this minimised the time our two-person installation team needed to be on-site, ensuring a speedy set-up and take-down to help keep costs down for the client.
Testimonial
“Standing out in a crowded exhibition hall and making an impact on visitors is a challenge at every event we attend, but the stand Ei created for us really helped to put us on everyone’s radar.
“Solar & Storage Live is always a busy, bustling event with plenty of people interacting, so we had to do something out of the ordinary to capture people’s attention.
“The concept of the stand was well thought out, and the design was executed perfectly. The unusually-shaped video walls looked so different from anything else, while the interactive game proved a real hit, drawing people in and keeping them on the stand.
“Chris and the Ei team took care of everything for us on the day, so we didn’t have to worry about a thing, which was just as well, as our renewables team was kept busy the whole time by the number of people visiting us. We adored the stand and can’t wait to see it again at our next show.”
Mike Gadd
Renewables Division Director, CEF