Dee Gee: beacon lights and hazard warning products for industry
How Orchestra’s design skills, exhibition management, and sheer hard work helped Dee Gee make an impact at the Hannover Messe trade fair 2009 

Background: Dee Gee, a manufacturer and supplier of beacon lamps and hazard warning products, was allocated a stand space twice its normal size at the Hannover Messe with just six weeks to go until the exhibition. Wanting to take advantage of this windfall with a larger, high-impact stand that could also be repurposed for future use, Dee Gee contacted Orchestra inviting ideas with a wow factor.

Design: Competitor analysis proved that marketing for the beacon and warning lamp industry was dominated by, you guessed it, images of flashing lights. But the applications of these lights are very varied. Different colours can be used to communicate different levels of urgency and they can be used in transportation, traffic management or as prior warning to explosions or other hazardous activities, to name a few.

Orchestra decided that the best way to achieve standout in Hannover was to do the exact opposite of the competitors. Rather than showing pictures of lights, the graphics showed large images of a good cross section of their potential applications in different industries. The objective was to create an eye-catching display whilst demonstrating relevance to passers-by and showing that Dee Gee is customer-focused and understands the environments in which its products can make a difference. In addition, the whole stand was given a black backdrop, which provided a high-impact setting for the sample lights on display. The stand featured an office, a rear projection screen and display towers, in addition to the light display units underneath each of the graphic panels.

Event management: Orchestra immediately got to grips with the timing challenge – the design had to be completed and approved within a fortnight to leave a minimum period of three weeks to specify and manufacture the stand and graphics before carrying out a pre-build, then packing everything up for safe transportation. Not to mention the logistics of booking flights and hotels, generating packing lists then booking stand power, furniture and cleaning.

Because of the timeframe, it was a case of ‘all hands on deck’ and the whole team pitched in to ensure the stand was ready. Timing was crucial on this project because there was no leeway if something slipped such as a delivery from a supplier or if there were changes to the final graphics.

Results: It goes without saying that Dee Gee’s stand was delivered on time and in good condition. And the impact of the design resulted in a high level of traffic to the stand which led to positive enquiries from potential new agents in Europe. After the exhibition, the stand was safely re-packed and delivered to Dee Gee’s UK office for display in the reception area. Perhaps the biggest indicator of success was the fact that Dee Gee has now commissioned Orchestra to work on stand design for future exhibitions as well.