Andrew Cushing of Ultima Displays joined us in the Podcast Booth that his team built to talk about new products, standing out and why The Print Show keeps bringing them back
If you’ve visited the Eye on Display Podcast Booth at The Print Show this week, you’ve been sitting inside an Ultima Displays build. So it made sense to get Andrew Cushing in for the first official broadcast at the show.
The weeks before a show are always busy for Ultima. The company’s own stand is just one of many it has designed and built for the hall. “Obviously we’ve got our own stand to do, but that comes to the back of the queue because we’ve also got a lot of customer stands to do, and of course this one we’ve done for you,” Andrew says. “It’s been a busy few weeks for the production, design and build teams.”
From Formula One to Monopoly
Last year’s Ultima stand was hard to miss, with a Formula One simulator and a racing theme throughout. Andrew explains that the idea was to show off the company’s custom work as part of the visitor experience rather than as a row of products. As we found out later in the week, it also won highly commended at the Print Industry Awards
“We wanted to celebrate the partnerships that we build with our customers, and we wanted to make the custom capability we have very integrated into the stand and the experience for visitors,” he says. “We got great feedback on that, but we set ourselves a challenge of doing something completely different this year.”
This year it’s a game. The stand has a look loosely based on Monopoly, and the theme is helping customers grow their business. “It’s about creating interaction so that we can understand what customers are interested in, how they see growing their business and how our products and services relate to that,” Andrew explains.
Everyone who played left with a box containing samples, information from the stand and some next steps for working with Ultima.
New products for brands that want to be seen
There wass plenty of new kit on the stand too. A lot of it was illuminated, and Ultima has launched a new lightbox media and a new rental system. “We have to evolve, innovate and be creative, as a business and as an industry,” Andrew says. “When business is challenging and tough, you want to make sure your brand stands out from the crowd, and that’s what we’re enabling our customers to do.”
He adds that the rental system is an economical option for a lot of customers.
Andrew is aware that a long track record can box a company in, and Ultima has been around a long time.
“We’re known as a brand and associated with a certain set of products, so we have a phrase, ‘I didn’t know you could do that’,” he says. “It’s a very visual product, so being able to physically see it and touch it is the best way to inspire you and your customers to think differently.”
Why The Print Show
Ultima has exhibited at The Print Show for several years now. For Andrew, the reason comes down to who walks through the door. “From a UK point of view, it’s the show that has the best mix of the types of businesses we want to talk to,” he says. “There are a lot of printers, who are an important customer base for us, as well as agencies and exhibition companies.”
He has also noticed the hall looking better overall this year. “Looking around, a lot of businesses have focused on making their stand stand out,” Andrew concludes. “The exhibitors this year have stepped up a level, which is great for everybody.”