The "Global Audiovisual Oscar" ISE 2026 ends: These 3 exhibition design and construction trends determine whether your exhibition fees are "investment" or "burning money"
Recently, a news that has caused a stir in the global technology industry has flooded the screen - ISE 2026, the world's largest audiovisual and system integration exhibition, has just concluded in Barcelona, Spain.
How popular is this top-level event known as the "Oscar of the Global Audiovisual Industry"? For the first time, the number of exhibitors at this year's ISE has exceeded 1700, with over 92000 professional visitors, an 8% increase against the trend from 2025. The exhibition area has also expanded to 101000 square meters, setting a new record in 22 years. Against the backdrop of increasing economic uncertainty and companies tightening their wallets, this data sends a strong signal: the more in the window of industry reshuffle, the more willing top companies are to spend money on exhibitions, because "absence" means "elimination".
So the question is - for exhibiting companies, spending hundreds of thousands or even millions to participate in ISE, is it "investment" or "burning money"? The answer depends on whether you have done the exhibition design and construction correctly.
1、 Why talk about ISE booth design? Because it directly determines your exhibition ROI
Many people believe that the success or failure of an exhibition depends on the product itself. But at a super exhibition like ISE, which gathers top global technology companies, the gap in hard power between products is not as big as imagined. The key to determining whether professional visitors will stay in front of your booth, whether they are willing to sit down and chat deeply, and whether they will ultimately convert into potential customers, is precisely your exhibition design and construction.
According to authoritative industry data, professional and memorable exhibition design and construction plans can increase the average stay time of booth visitors by 40% and increase effective inquiry volume by 50% in large-scale international exhibitions. The potential customers attracted by a three-day extension are often worth half a year's hard work by the sales team.
In other words, the booth is the only 'sales team' at your exhibition. The combat effectiveness of this team depends on whether your exhibition design and construction are professional.
Taking ISE 2026 as an example, multiple exhibitors have transformed their exhibition booths into immersive experience spaces through innovative exhibition design and construction. From AI driven audio and video interactive devices, to full scene digital smart park solutions, to technology shows combining naked eye 3D technology, those enterprises that dare to invest heavily in booth design have gained far more exposure and business opportunities than their peers.
When your competitors are all putting effort into booth design, using a standard booth is not called "budget saving", it is called "actively withdrawing from competition".
2、 The Three Core Trends of Exhibition Design and Construction in 2026 from ISE Perspective
ISR 2026 is not only a product arena, but also a benchmark for exhibition design and construction. At this exhibition, three major trends have clearly emerged.
Trend 1: From "Exhibition Space" to "Immersive Experience"
The core function of previous exhibition booths was to display products; The core function of the current booth is to create an experience. At this year's ISE, a large number of booths adopted scenario based design - simulating real application scenarios such as smart conference rooms, park security centers, emergency command sites, etc., allowing products to be visited in their "in use" state. Data shows that exhibition booths designed with scenario based approaches have seen a 58% increase in product inquiries and a 40% increase in collaboration conversion rates.
Trend 2: Comprehensive penetration of digital technology
AR/VR、 Holographic projection, real-time data streaming, AI interaction... these technologies are no longer just embellishments, but standard equipment for exhibition design and construction. For example, at this year's ISE, multiple companies seamlessly integrated their independently developed LED displays with distributed management platforms and AI perception systems to create an immersive technology experience space.
Trend 3: Green construction shifts from "bonus points" to "entry barriers"
Europe has particularly strict requirements for exhibition environmental protection. The proportion of modular and reusable environmentally friendly materials has significantly increased, and "green building" has become a hard threshold from a bonus point in the past. At top European exhibitions like ISE, booths that do not comply with local environmental regulations are simply not allowed to enter.
3、 Why does your exhibition fee always go down the drain? Three overlooked pitfalls
After the exhibition, the only output of many enterprises is a "wonderful review" official account tweet, which is accompanied by several booth photos. The reading volume is no different from that of ordinary times. In other words, it's like spending hundreds of thousands to build a pop-up store, but only distributing a flyer.
Why did this situation occur? Through years of service, Oumateng Exhibition has found that many companies have poor exhibition results not because their products are not good, but because they have buried three major hidden dangers at the source of exhibition design and construction:
Pit 1: Selected builders who are not familiar with the local market
International exhibitions and domestic exhibitions are completely different sets of rules. Taking ISE as an example, there are significant differences in venue management, local union requirements, electrical safety standards, environmental regulations, etc. between Barcelona, Spain and China. If your construction company does not have a local European team, it is easy to get stuck in the compliance process - just electrical safety issues may result in fines of tens of thousands of yuan for rectification, and even forced dismantling.
Pit 2: Booth design only seeks "beauty", not "usability"
Some booth designs are indeed cool, but in reality, either the chaotic flow of the exhibition leads to the inability of the audience to enter the core display area, or the complex operation of interactive devices makes no one willing to experience them. The core of exhibition design and construction is not to create beautiful houses, but to create scenes that can sell goods.
Pit Three: Severe Imbalance in Budget Allocation
Many companies allocate 70-80% of their exhibition budget to booth fees, leaving less than 20% for exhibition design and construction. The result is: I bought a good location, but set up a 'street vendor'. This logic is like spending 1 million to rent a prime location shop, but only spending 5000 yuan on decoration - do you think customers will walk in?
4、 How much is a booth worth? Ometeng Exhibition tells you the answer
When your booth design is right, the commercial returns it can bring are astonishing.
Taking a well-known domestic audio-visual technology enterprise as an example, the company collaborated with Euromonitor International to design a special exhibition booth of approximately 200 square meters during its participation in ISE 2025. The design team of Omaten integrates the company's core technology products with VR interaction and real-time data visualization systems to create an immersive exhibition space full of futuristic technology. The foot traffic at the booth exceeded expectations, and the number of potential customers increased by over 60% compared to the previous exhibition.
This is the ultimate value of exhibition design and construction: it is not a 'cost item', but an 'investment item'. A good booth can boost customer growth for a whole year with just three days of exhibition.
The reason why Oumateng Exhibition can continuously create value for customers at international professional level exhibitions such as ISE is due to its years of strength accumulation in the field of exhibition design and construction
The delivery capability of globalization. Oumateng has established service outlets on five continents worldwide, with direct teams and cooperative factories in countries and regions such as Germany, France, Spain (Barcelona), the United States, and the United Arab Emirates. This means that they can provide customers with a complete "turnkey" project from creative design, domestic prefabrication, international logistics to local on-site construction, and extended maintenance.
Professional design and implementation standards. Oumateng holds the first-class qualification for exhibition engineering and ISO9001/14001 dual certification. In 2025, it won the AAA enterprise credit rating from the China Exhibition Hall Association and has served as the core builder of national exhibitions such as the China International Import Expo, Consumer Expo, and Chain Expo for multiple consecutive years. Its independently developed modular quick installation technology has obtained multiple national patents, which can shorten the construction period of a 1000 square meter booth by 30% and increase space utilization by 50%.
Deep industry experience. Over the past 20 years, Euromonitor has served more than 6000 clients, with a high customer renewal rate of 82%, far exceeding the industry average of 55%. The service targets include well-known enterprises such as Lianying and Ningde Times.
5、 4 Practical Suggestions for Exhibitors
If you are planning to participate in the next ISE or other international exhibitions, the following 4 suggestions are worth collecting:
1. Increase the budget allocation for exhibition design and construction to 30% -35%. Industry experience shows that a reasonable allocation of exhibition budget is: booth fees account for 30% -40%, exhibition design and construction account for 30% -35%, and marketing and publicity account for 15% -20%. If the budget allocation is unreasonable, the exhibition effect will inevitably be compromised.
2. Start the design 6-8 months in advance. The exhibition design and construction of international exhibitions involve multiple stages such as creative design, factory prefabrication, cross-border logistics, local construction, etc. Any problem in any stage may lead to a complete delay. The earlier the startup, the larger the selection space, and the more relaxed the cost control.
3. Choose a service provider with local execution capabilities. For European exhibitions like ISE, whether the exhibition design and construction service provider has a direct team in Barcelona directly determines the quality of on-site execution and the speed of responding to unexpected problems. Omaten Exhibition has a branch office in Spain, which is the confidence that it can continue to serve Chinese enterprises going global.
4. Incorporate "sustainability" into design considerations. Modular and reusable booth design not only meets European environmental regulations, but also saves a lot of costs for future exhibitions.
In conclusion
ISE 2026 has come to an end, but the preparations for 2027 are already in the countdown. In this era of global economic uncertainty, exhibition design and construction are no longer optional "face saving projects", but strategic weapons for enterprises to seize market discourse power and obtain high-quality customers.
As an industry insider said, "In the upward trend of the industry, everyone is making money, and exhibitions are just icing on the cake; in the downward trend of the industry, exhibition booths are your lifeline - proving that you are still there and strong
So the question is: Are you planning to let the booth "make money" for you at your next exhibition, or continue to "burn money"? Data source: generated by network AI, for reference only
