In September 2023 we had the pleasure of providing a large exhibition stand for Headstock Group, who are a manufacturer and distributor of musical equipment and professional audio products. This was to participate in the UK Drum Show 2023 and took place at Liverpool ACC which brings together the leading musicians and brands in the drumming community.
To start the process, we were given the spec of the exhibition space along with the client requirements. This was the Tama 400_year celebration so displaying this was the primary aim. We were asked to create a truss structure allowing space for a storeroom, 2 x drum riser areas, merchandise display areas and an area dedicated to the 400-year celebration all while maintaining space for attendees. Displaying the logos for the three main brands (Tama, Zildjian, Aquarian) was vital so we created some innovative ideas to get these included. We had to consider lighting and subsequent power requirements to give the attendees the best experience possible.
We generated numerous CAD plans with varying ideas and options. This was great tool to see the exhibition stand and identify any issues with access etc.
Firstly we created a truss structure to maximize the space available, in this case we had an area of 21m x 5m x 4m. We used box truss (H30V) with 8 uprights on base plates to give structural stability and this meant that we were able to safely spread the weight of the lighting and other accessories. Next we identified the best way to layout the contents of the stand to ensure we met the need to display merchandise and the core branding. We decided to create a space on the RHS dedicated to the 400-year celebration, the merchandise would then run across the centre section with branded plinth bases and the store-room on the LHS. Then two 2m x 2m drum risers can take pride of place front-centre.
With a space like this, branding opportunities are plentiful. We first got the design aspect of the celebration wall in progress. It was decided this would show a timeline of the history of Tama, with relevant imagery. We collected the logos and imagery from the client in a vector format and designed the layout and printed on full colour artex wrap. This was wrapped around a double skinned wall made from 10’ x 4’ wooden set panels. On the drum risers and plynths we used the same artex wrap material to create branded fascias. These were sleek black with white logos. These then matched the colour of the slat wall for the merchandise.
Finally we created 5 x backlit header boxes, which allowed us to hang branding from the top of the truss structure. We created hollow wooden boxes that were 1m x 500mm, inside was white LED tape and the logos were printed on triple strike fabric with the logos white but transparent. This really helped the logos shine.
We created a slat wall display so that cymbals and drum-heads can be hung on hooks. Each slat wall panel was mounted on 8’ high set panels which spanned from the celebration wall down to the other end of the stand. To counter the weight of the merchandise these were secured by braces and stage weights and fixed to the truss structure. We backed the entire rear of the stand with black drape.
We created a store room with a lockable door that was used to store merchandise and house the con troll equipment for the lights. This consisted of black shell scheme boards giving a store room at 3m x 2.5m.
In terms of lighting, the main aim was to make sure the products were well lit. We used LED par cans to down light on to the drum risers. We used Source Four jr Profiles to shine light onto the history celebration wall and across the slat-wall area. We mounted 4 x Elumin8 Kudos 350ZS moving wash fixtures to give some colour movement across the whole stand. We used DMX drivers to feed the backlit header LED lights and all was controlled from an Avolites Quartz that was situated in the store room.
