It’s pretty unbelievable when you think about it. Let’s go back a few years… The rule is quite simple: what doesn’t last is what matters most; a guarantee of excellence, rarity and exception. In our industry too, with its “one shot” stands. A golden era!
Things have changed.
These are times of climate change, resource depletion and the need to take account of companies’ ecological footprint (and reputational risk as well!). The rules are changing… for the better!
After the covid-19 bubble – which put our entire industry on stand-by – it’s a whole sector striving to transform its practices positively, from venues in search of efficiency to agencies looking for a new creative paradigm.
At Live & co, we have already begun this transition to a more circular model. Storage, reinstallation, reuse, etc. On these new challenges, we are demonstrating our full potential to our customers and prospects looking for uncompromising visibility of the environmental commitments of their brands and organisations.
85% of the stands over 80m2 produced by our agency in 2022 are stored as part of relocations over 12 months or more.
A MORE RESPONSIBLE APPROACH FOR OUR CUSTOMERS
We’re challenging our whole approach to come up with solutions that reflect our desire to reinvent our business and bring our CSR approach, and those of our customers, to life. Among them? Contractualisation. We believe in it 100%; contracting means working together over several years thanks to storage and relocation.
Contractualisation is a viable economic solution and a responsible approach for our customers. And reinstallation doesn’t mean we can’t adapt! Objectives may change over time, but we can perfectly adapt what already exists.
Aurélie Vitre – co-Director, Live & co
The secret of this approach lies in anticipation. At the very early design stage, we develop devices with extended life cycles that can be modulated and reused over time.
REINSTALLATION, THE + THAT MAKE IT TOMORROW’S STANDARD
+ Time savings – a practical solution when anticipated early in the project.
+ Consistency of image – an image that grows stronger with each edition, fuelling public recognition.
+ Adaptability – a design that leaves room for creativity and continuous improvement.
+ Optimisation – financial savings for the customer (lower design, manufacturing and agency costs).
+ Sustainable – less waste, less consumption of materials, less manufacturing, etc.
A FLUID, STREAMLINED METHODOLOGY
Keeping a stand means ensuring that it can be carefully dismantled at the end of the show. We take particular care in packaging the elements on pallets so that they can be returned to the workshop undamaged. We then store all the pieces until the next event.
Several weeks before the new date, we depalletise and check the condition of the stored items. This is when we refurbish the existing equipment (and restore/modulate it where necessary) before the items are repackaged for installation at the show.
Reinstalling is a fundamental responsibility
Choosing to reinstall is a real commitment because it represents a cost. It’s simple; it implies people and time (because dismantling is more precautionary). Transport is slightly more expensive because it takes up more space. In other words, reinstalling is part of a virtuous circle because we decide to produce less.
More generally, only some items on a custom-built stand can be reinstalled. In this case, we do our utmost to limit waste. This sometimes means transforming certain parts. For example, a floor or partitions can be reused to make shelves for stand reserves or can be donated to charities.
That’s why we keep furnishing elements and complex structures with high added value (suspended signage, curved shapes, etc.) that can be reused, adapted and re-branded for different customers. This saves materials and costs for our customers.
STORAGE, A CONTROLLED COST
Here, everything depends on the volume and length of downtime. On average, this solution is estimated to save 20 to 30% on the entire project in YEAR+1.
By 2023, our agency aims to have over 60% of its floor space fitted out from exhibition stands stored in our workshop.
Yes, you’ve guessed it. This new chapter in our professional history inspires and challenges us. And our entire team is energetically committed to demonstrating the full potential of circularity. We’re still in the early stages!
OUR CIRCULAR SUCCESS STORIES
A snapshot of Live & co projects that are as creative as they are sustainable.
A stand stored and reinstalled for three editions of Fruit Logistica in Berlin (identical surface area each year). All the furniture was reused (bar, product displays, reception desk, tables), as were the hanging signs and a large part of the wave-shaped partitions with lightboxes.
Since 2017, this concept has been adapted to different surfaces and has travelled across Europe.
Thanks to its design, this space has responded year after year to the various editions of the In Cosmetics trade show. Between 2017 and 2023, our design was adapted to different surfaces and travelled across Europe with the tall sign and furniture reused and modified without compromising attractiveness.
CHECK OUT OUR MANY OTHER RELOCATION PROJECTS:
