Planning a multi-event road show is a powerful way to build brand momentum and deepen your market presence. But many exhibitors don’t realize just how many moving parts go into adapting one exhibit across multiple events.
A thoughtful strategy can help you save time, reduce costs, and increase impact. Talking to exhibitors, I always start with one key question: What additional events are you considering for this booth? By understanding the full show calendar early in the design process, we can build smarter and create a booth that flexes across multiple events.
To get the most from your investment, consider four key areas:
- Creative flexibility
- Structural flexibility
- Budget flexibility
- Show services that simplify the process
Creative flexibility: tailor your message without reinventing the booth
Every show has a unique audience and specific business goals, and your booth should reflect that. Messaging and featured content can be adapted to suit regional preferences, market segments, or industry verticals without reinventing the wheel each time.
Key creative elements that are easy to swap include:
- Printed graphics and signage: Modular and interchangeable graphic panels allow you to swap in event-specific messaging or promotions.
- A/V and digital content: LED tiles can be rented in a range of resolutions, formats and layouts to amplify your story and keep your audience engaged.
- Lighting systems: Integrated, adjustable lighting can elevate your presence and adapt to different venue conditions. Accent lighting, spotlights, or programmable LEDs help create mood and draw attention in any environment.
Structural flexibility: one exhibit, multiple footprints
In addition to audience differences, each show can bring unique footprint, layout requirements or show regulations. That’s why we design booths with modular systems that scale and shift as needed, without sacrificing impact.
Structural elements to consider for your traveling exhibit include:
- Modular layouts: A booth system that can expand or contract depending on your space—from a 20×20 island to a 10×20 inline layout, for example—allows you to maximize value across and deliver a professional presence at any trade show.
- Add-ons and accessories: Whether you’re hosting more meetings, demoing products, or enhancing interactivity, strategic accessories such as modular seating, custom counters, or branded storage enhance both form and function.
- Crating and repackaging design: Smart crating makes teardown, shipping, and reassembly more efficient between shows, saving time, reducing damage, and lowering labor costs.
Budget flexibility: rent, buy or mix
Building a multi-show strategy doesn’t mean you have to buy everything upfront. We work with exhibitors to customize an approach based on their budget, renting or purchasing components of the exhibit based on what makes the best sense.
Flexible exhibit investment options include:
- Rent the full structure for a turnkey experience with maximum flexibility and lower upfront costs.
- Buy your core exhibit and rent supplemental pieces (like additional walls, accessories or furniture) to expand or adapt for specific shows.
- Mix and match: Invest in elements you use most and rent others to scale your presence when and where it matters.
- Upgrade over time: Start with a smart base structure and build on it show by show, year by year.
Services that make it all possible
Executing a multi-show exhibit strategy can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to. STAR offers a full suite of services to take the stress off your team and ensure every show runs smoothly.
- Logistics experts to route your booth efficiently between cities
- Installation and dismantle crews across the U.S. and internationally
- Regional storage hubs to reduce transit time and costs
- Dedicated project managers who coordinate every step so you don’t have to
Exhibits in action: Oatly’s scalable strategy
Oatly is a standout example of how thoughtful exhibit design and smart planning can drive impact across a range of events. Their bold, eye-catching booth made a splash at Expo West—one of the largest natural products shows in the U.S. But the concept was intentionally built to flex for shows like the Specialty Coffee Expo, the National Restaurant Association Show, and regional events across Canada.
Each event had a different audience, footprint, and goal, and STAR helped Oatly adapt seamlessly to all of them. From the start, the exhibit was designed to be modular and scalable, with clear plans for how each component would shift across venues. Signage placement was mapped to meet height and space restrictions, including dimmable lighting for venues with lower ceilings.
- At Expo West, the focus was brand engagement. Baristas served signature drinks at a central coffee bar, drawing consumers in for hands-on interaction.
- At the Specialty Coffee Expo, the goal shifted to relationship-building with coffee resellers. A larger footprint allowed for a dedicated lounge and meeting space, creative touches like icicle-themed décor and refinished furniture to mimic a walk-in cooler, and additional on-site storage to eliminate accessible storage fees.
- For a Canadian roadshow, the concept was scaled to a 10×20 footprint, delivering the same impact in a smaller space. The exhibit is now being reimagined for an outdoor music festival—complete with dry ice and misters to create a branded “cooling station.”
STAR’s proactive logistics strategy made it all possible. Signage, messaging, and menu items were designed to be easily interchangeable based on the audience and event. By designing all the spaces at once—including layout, orientation, and storage—Oatly reduced duplication, saved on shipping, and simplified activation across events.
On-site services were key to execution. For example, a dedicated STAR supervisor oversaw each install, helping maintain consistency while identifying efficiencies and on-site partnership opportunities. The result is a flexible, cost-effective exhibit strategy that keeps Oatly’s brand cool, consistent, and creative no matter where it shows up next.
Ready to take your show on the road?
If you’re planning a multi-show strategy and want your exhibit to work harder for you, let’s talk. Whether you’re showcasing at two events or ten, we’ll help you build a booth (and a plan) that flexes across every stop.
