Image Credit : Marly Brown
Project Overview
CGU Insurance participate in two major insurance based trade shows each year – Steadfast in March and NIBA in October. Being one of the major players in the insurance field, CGU Insurance take a 6m W x 6m D floor space at both shows and have a reusable stand installed at each show. CGU Insurance had used The Display Builders to build the previous reusable stand in 2009 and with a new brand refresh on the horizon, it was time to design and manufacture a new corporate stand in line with the new branding and to create more networking space within a compact 6m x 6m space.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Designer: Andy Buckland
Head of Production: Shona McRae
Construction: Powertech
Graphic Design: Cummins Ross
Project Brief
The upcoming brand refresh was hinted at by the client when The Display Builders started designing the new stand in early 2012 but as the exact look and theme was not even close to being previewed, CGU Insurance and The Display Builders decided instead to focus on developing a modern design using sophisticated styling and luxe finishes. The current CGU Insurance branding at the time used blue and green and it was decided by The Display Builders that to stand out on the trade show floor amongst the sea of blue-branded competitors like Allianz, Zurich and QBE, the current blue of the logo needed to be dialled right back so the focus was instead on the green of the branding palette. CGU Insurance also wanted to capitalise on the strength of their broker network, so the brief to The Display Builders also detailed the need for various discussion spaces so that brokers could feel comfortable and relaxed having conversations with CGU Insurance staffers on the stand.
Project Innovation/Need
A small trade show space of only 36 square metres can be overwhelmed very quickly when you need to include things such as storage, information counters, workstations, graphic areas, discussion spaces and overhead signage. CGU Insurance was adamant that they did not want to use expensive overhead trussing above their stand for branding due to high cost from show to show. Another factor in the “no truss” policy was that the Steadfast and NIBA shows are sometimes held in hotel venues which preclude any overstand trussing due to restrictive ceiling heights. The design by The Display Builders had to achieve height over the stand without the use of truss but still have the CGU Insurance brand in a prominent position over the stand. Height above the stand was achieved in 2 positions with the use of vertical floor standing posts supporting curved headers with the logo applied on all sides. The tallest header was 5 metres and the smaller one was 3.8 metres off the ground ensuring that the CGU Insurance logo was visible throughout the show hall and all through no expensive truss work.
Design Challenge
Having to design a stand knowing that a brand refresh was on the horizon but not privy to the final details made the formulation of the new CGU Insurance trade show very challenging. However the decision was made to push ahead and use our current understanding of the insurance trade events to guide the new design and to build on the successes of the previous design that The Display Builders had produced. As it turned out, the timing of the brand refresh happened after the first install of the new trade show stand. The new main branding colour for CGU was revealed as green with the blue being substituted for a cool grey. But by a stroke of luck – this dovetailed perfectly with the new design created by The Display Builders and only minor colour adjustments were necessary. What could have been a costly re-colour of a trade show stand only after one outing meant that budget could instead be pumped into the launch of the new branding across a variety of marketing channels.
Sustainability
CGU Insurance used their previous stand, in conjunction with The Display Builders, a total of eight times over 4 years and they will be expecting a similar lifespan with their newly built stand. Costs are reduced by investing in a reusable trade show stand with repeated use of materials as opposed to creating a new trade show stand bi-annually. The stand is designed and built in such a way that it is modular with built-in sections so it can be packed down for transportation and stored in a series of crates. Pieces of the stand fit together like a jigsaw within the crates so no space is wasted when transporting, minimising cubic meterage costs. The stand utilises hardy materials like timber sheet and laminate and large expanses like the pelmet ceiling are in a paint finish so any touch-ups can easily be done on site eliminating the need to construct new sections of ceiling every time the spans are re-joined. CGU Insurance want to get the maximum return on their investment so The Display Builders design used sustainable products to ensure their stand has a lengthy lifespan and costs are minimised.
Installation, Display, Exhibit & Set Design
This award celebrates innovative and creative design for a temporary building, interior, exhibition, fixture or interactive element. Consideration given to materials, finishes, signage and experience.
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