Exhibition : An exhibition enables all aspects of the selling process – attention, persuasion, desire and purchasing – to be compressed into a single activity

An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within museums, galleries and exhibition halls.
Exhibitions include art exhibitions, as in major art museums and small art galleries; interpretive exhibitions, as at natural history museums and history museums, for example; and commercial exhibitions, or trade fairs. The word "exhibition," is usually, but not always, the word used for a collection of items. Sometimes "exhibit" is used synonymously with "exhibition," but "exhibit" generally refers to a single item being exhibited within an exhibition.

An exhibition is amongst the most powerful marketing tools available to companies today.
Exhibition design refers to the creative process involved in planning how to display, that is to say market, a company or organisation at a trade show or exhibition.

Designs vary significantly, but the basics are generally the same, all companies in attendance have their own exhibition stands, which are intended to be eye-catching and draw customers to the stand and ultimately to the company/organisation and their products/services.

Exhibition design can also refer to the creative process involved in planning how to display, that is to say exhibit, works of art or historical artifacts or objects in a gallery, museum or public (or otherwise) space. Designs vary significantly, but the aim is not to market or sell - the setting of a work of art for example has to take into account the creative wishes of the artist themselves or of art curators, either of which are qualified to decide upon the juxtaposition of the object on display and the space in which it is exhibited.

Benefits of exhibitions:

Exhibitions Give You The Edge

There are two basic reasons for participating in either a trade or a consumer exhibition:

• To inform the marketplace of your product or service
• To increase sales and consumption of your product or service

There are also other major benefits -

• An exhibition brings the mountain to Mohammed. It is a cost-effective way of drawing your target market to you in one place at the one time
• It appeals to all five senses – sight, sound, smell, taste and touch and what we call the sixth sense, thought
• It combines all the elements of the promotional mix – advertising, public relations, sales promotion and selling
• By being there each visitor is a qualified prospect
• At an exhibition, the passing trade of potential and qualified customers that walk past your stand can be measured in the thousands. Whereas in an average retail environment the passing trade is significantly lower, and more than likely not qualified or directly interested in your product or service

• It enables you to continue creating awareness of your product or service, and of your company and its position within the marketplace
• It broadens your customer base. The drawing power of an exhibition is such that visitors will often travel from interstate and even overseas to attend
• You can introduce new products and services to an instant audience
• An exhibition provides contact with your existing clients in a relaxed atmosphere and is a far more cost-effective way of reaching a new audience than cold-calls
• It allows you to position your product or service in line with a total competitive offering, and highlight its strengths
• It allows you to research potential acceptance of new products or services, or even test market new directions that your company might be about to launch
• It provides access to the media, who also use an exhibition to gather information on new directions within an industry
• Your participation in an exhibition signals your support for the industry you are part of within your business
• An exhibition provides an opportunity for you to bring together staff from around the country or overseas and to conduct your own company conference, product launches and/or re-training and sales meetings.