On a high
Highways UK 2025 has ended on a high with the news that more visitors than ever attended its tenth anniversary edition this week. Although final figures are yet to be confirmed, footfall to the event – which took place on Wednesday and Thursday this week – has been confirmed to have surpassed last year’s attendance figure of 15,000.
Having built at the show for the past five years, Smart Display was back out in force with a milestone of its own, installing for a total of eight exhibitors. The impressive number of stand builds was made up of eight new clients (two of whom joined forces to share a stand space) and a new recruit, firmly cementing Smart Display’s position as the partner of choice for exhibition stand design in the traffic management sector.
“Smart Display was a massive help in making our stand,” says Josh Lyne, senior commercial manager at MessageMaker Displays. “Everything was seamless from start to finish and the team was so helpful, we really wouldn’t be able to do it without them.”
MessageMaker is one of eight returning clients, and has entrusted its stand design and build to Smart Display since 2019. The brand took a new direction this year by joining forces with traffic sign software specialist and fellow Smart Display Nicander and, together, the brands exhibited from their “favourite ever stand build” to date.
A statement exhibition stand and strong footfall ensured a productive time at the show for MessageMaker, and the brand wasn’t alone in welcoming a strong level of business enquiries across the two days.
“The stand looks great, we’ve had lots of footfall and we’re in a great location,” says Neha Gupta, communications manager for road surfacing specialist Eurovia. “Everyone seems really pleased with the event.”
Some exhibitors even took the opportunity to increase their presence for Highways’ tenth anniversary edition and it was a move that paid dividends, according to Valmont’s sales & marketing director Maggie Pytlas.
“We have really noticed the benefits of having more space and a more open, accessible stand that feels more welcoming to visitors,” says Maggie, whose stand is double the size of its 2024 counterpart. “Visitors are still recognising our re-usable elements such as our backlit logo and the distinctive V design, but it feels like a new direction for the brand with the increased space.”
Other exhibitors meanwhile introduced striking new elements in conjunction with recognisable design features to reinforce brand identity while progressing into a new era for 2025. Known for its distinctive pink structure. MSF stopped visitors in their tracks with a new 2.5m high video wall, showcasing its video content on LED tiles.
“It’s definitely attracting attention at this year’s Highways,” says the brand’s head of safety Ryan McClean. “It’s a busy show and the aisles are full, so it’s good to have our content out there for people to watch as they pass by.”
Audiovisual is increasingly being used by brands to drive traffic to their business and, for Smart Display, having a team of experts on hand offers clients an extra layer of reassurance when it comes to build day.
“Everything ran so smoothly during build,” says Jayne Hobbs, general manager at MJ Church, who also opted for a video wall on her stand. “The technical team were on hand to make sure our content was displaying correctly and our refreshed video content is attracting all the right attention, while the yellow branding and living wall features that people have come to know have reinforced our brand consistency.”
A day on from the show, brands across the traffic management sector are already looking ahead to an even better edition of the show in 2026.
“We’ve actually booked a bigger space for next year, with a view to adding a meeting room and seating areas to encourage more dialogue with clients,” says Westcotec’s sales director Olly Samways. “We’re here for the sixth time, and we have been dealing with Smart Display for ten years in total, right from the vert start when Smart Display was starting out and we decided to take the plunge with investing into our stand build rather than doing it ourselves. What they have done for our business and our reputation has been incredible, and that’s why we’re investing into something even better next year.”
If you are looking at Highways 2026 – or any other exhibition in the UK or overseas – talk to us today about how we can transform your presence at your next event. #wemakeevents.
