How we helped clients shine at InstallerSHOW 2026

Exhibitions remain an important part of reaching an engaged trade audience. Among the visitors there will be loyal customers keen to see a brand’s latest products as well as people who discover something new when wandering by a stand. That’s why standing out at an event like this is so important, and why so many of our clients turned to us for support.

How we helped with pre-show promotional activity

With the doors open on the first day of the show, trade professionals from across the country poured into the InstallerSHOW halls at the NEC in Birmingham. However, our work to support clients at the show began weeks before.

Among the most basic requirements for any brand attending the show is to promote the fact that its team will be there and provide an overview of what they will be exhibiting. A key part of this was securing coverage in the previews of all relevant publications.

We also supported this traditional press activity with commercial opportunities. The Sherwin-Williams brands we work with – Geocel, Purdy, Valspar Trade and Thompsons – made significant investments in promoting their presence. For example, for Valspar Trade, we booked and created online ads to promote its presence. For Geocel, it was solus emailers to the more than 50,000 registered visitors, sponsored WhatsApp messages, newsletter sponsorship, and display advertising in the run-up. On-site advertising at the venue – both traditional 48-sheet posters and digital banner ads – were also created to drive visitors to seek out the Geocel stand, where it was launching a re-vamped range.

Alongside all this we created invitations for all the Sherwin-Williams brands, which could be sent to key customers promoting their presence, as well as graphics and animations that could be used across socials channels.

Achieving focused social media advertising

One of the most effective ways to reach a large section of a trade audience around an event like InstallerSHOW is through social media advertising. We used it in the promotion of a number of clients’ presence at the show in the weeks before. For Geocel, Thompsons and Valspar Trade, we also ran a geo-targeted campaign during InstallerSHOW to reach those who were at the NEC.

Building press relationships

As well as exhibiting products and services to trade professionals, InstallerSHOW provides an invaluable opportunity for clients to engage with the editorial teams from many of the leading industry publications. In recent weeks, our team has worked hard to arrange as many visits to clients’ stands as possible. During these visits, editors were able to see the client’s new products and innovations and hear about what the coming months hold for the business. A big part of this is also building a relationship between the client and the publications, ensuring the brand remains top of mind. Across the three days of the show our team facilitated press visits to the Daikin, EGGER, Purdy, Valspar Trade, Geocel, and Thompson’s stands.

Supporting high-impact launches

With so many existing and potential customers in one place, InstallerSHOW is always a great place to launch a new product or announce a new offering. At this year’s show Geocel unveiled its re-vamped range. We worked with the Geocel team throughout this process, including managing the new photography showing the products in use.

Daikin also had a big announcement to make at the show. Its Altherma heat pump training courses now carry City & Guilds Assured accreditation – the first and only HVAC manufacturer training to achieve this status. We not only handled the communication around the new announcement but also produced video content for release on a very short timeframe.

We filmed and edited an interview featuring Daniel Jackson, UK Training Manager at Daikin and Sam Egerton, Head of Global Recognitions, City & Guilds, on Tuesday morning. By that afternoon, the video was distributed alongside a trade press announcement.

To maximise reach during the event, we also created short social media clips of the interview. These pieces were used to target exhibition visitors, driving traffic to the stand to learn about Daikin's training opportunities.

Quality content creation

To further drive visitors to the stands, we created videos for social. For EGGER this included a video showing what people could see on the stand as well as a ‘welcome to day two’ video featuring EGGER’s Building & Flooring Sales Director Scott Wolters and National Housebuilder Account Manager, Mike Tozer.

With the client’s experts and products on the stand, InstallerSHOW was an ideal opportunity to capture video content for future use. For example, we filmed product demonstrations showing the benefits of Thompson’s Water Seal and the flexibility of Geocel’s Painters Mate Flexible Filler.