For markets across the board, January marks the start of trade show season. Distributors should seize this opportunity to carry an array of products for their clients—who are looking for the latest and the greatest to catch the attention of attendees—so that attendees visit their booths and walk away with a lasting impression.
According to Exhibitor magazine, trade show exhibitors are carrying campaign themes through to their trade show booths as well as their marketing programs. As a result, exhibit designs are becoming more creative as they embody an overall theme. Distributors should hone in on this market as an extremely lucrative opportunity to provide their customers with displays and items that will leave a memorable impact.
According to Josh Robbins at Vault Promotions, the single most important promotional item at any show is a name badge. “The whole purpose of a trade show is to network and there is no better item to help drive that function than a name badge,” he states. “Of course, we all think about the badges we wear around our neck that will allow vendors/clients to easily scan in their information on the show floor, but badges off the show floor are just as important. Having your name and/or company visible to everyone you may meet off the show floor is always a great idea, and is easily accomplished with a badge.”
Some name badge trends the company is seeing lately is the inclusion of a personal message or quirky item to a traditional badge to help break the ice or start conversations, Robbins continues. “For example, the title on my name badge that I wear will often read, ‘Name Badge Nerd’ or ‘Badge Ninja’ or something of the sort,” he elaborates. “Although I may not wear this in certain circumstances, doing so at a mixer or party after the show is ideal as it immediately starts conversations. It is not uncommon for us to produce two different sets of badges for the same people—one for the show and another for off-floor.”
As far as trends in the event booth displays, accessories, and trade show giveaways, Aprons Etc.’s Scott Thackston notes that promotional products suppliers are offering these products as a total advertising branded packages so distributors’ clients will take notice. “The distributor education that every single customer does a trade show or sales event where corporate logo displays are needed to brand their company set-up,” he adds.
Promotional products suppliers note that demand has been high—and will continue to remain that way through 2018. Name tags/badges are prevalent on any trade show floor, no matter the industry. Event display table covers and pop-up portable displays are items that are also becoming more popular.
There is a host of new and best-selling promotional items in the trade show products market to address this high demand. At Visual Textile Resources, the company’s Silicone Graphic System (SEG) it is taking the trade show market by storm. “It’s incredible how much of this is used in the retail point of sale and exhibit markets,” Jerry Mrozek enthuses. “The frames are available in four profiles based on the width of each frame, and all the frames can be manufactured to hang from a ceiling, mount on a wall, or as free-standing exhibit.” The frames can be manufactured with or without LED illumination and the images can be displayed front only or front and back. “You never need to be concerned with a wrinkle or crease because the fabric is under a little tension,” Mrozek explains. “When viewing the display many people don’t even realize the image is fabric until they touch it.” He adds that the SEG system delivers a more sophisticated display without the high transportation costs typically associated with back-lit displays. The company’s staple trade show products include the Portable Pop-Up Back Wall, Adjustable Back Wall, and the custom-branded table cover.
Nationwide Promotions also has an exciting, unique trade show product that Corrin Francisco notes has really been a hit at trade shows. Five Free Books and Five Free Audio Books are full-color imprint cards that can be handed out at trade shows that allow attendees to download any five books onto any electronic device. “This product is great for every reader in the home—and since its launch in 2017—the average person is carrying the card around with them for a minimum of 120 days. That means they aren’t just downloading all the books at one time, they download one book at a time and put the card back in their wallet.” Another advantage of this product is if a distributor’s client orders 1,000 or more cards, every time their client logs in to download a book a pop-up appears that says, “A free gift from (the client’s name pops up),” Francisco adds.
Aprons Etc.’s The Fast & Free Line, launched in 2015, is still extremely hot in the industry, Thackston maintains. “The Fast & Free line allows each order to be in-hands to their customer in five working days from order submission anywhere in the U.S. or Canada with free shipping,” he says. Company best sellers also include the following: event display table covers across the board—from dye-sublimation logos to screen print basic imprints. Aprons Etc.’s industry exclusive category of value limited use, recyclable table covers in plastic and non-woven material are also popular, which are available at over 70 percent discount off standard table cover styles, Thackston adds.
Robbins of Vault Promotions notes that trade show exhibitors are utilizing a thinner plastic badge or pouch for people to wear, which is the company’s best seller. “This credit card thickness plastic badge is printed digitally in full color and has a slot punched in the top to hang from a lanyard,” he notes, “which allows all sorts of design options—from spots to personalize on demand, to printed schedules, to multiple logos to brand the sponsors.”
Selling trade show products to your clients is a matter of assessing your client’s needs, Thackston at Aprons, Etc. notes. “Just ask your clients when their next trade show, sales event, or public function is and how they plan to brand their set-up to draw customers and foot traffic,” he elaborates. “Then the door is wide open for a creative discussion on a new or upgraded look for their client’s display need.”
As far as selling badges at shows goes, Robbins at Vault Promotions points out the biggest hurdle is the personalization of the badges at the show. “Some shows have a set attendance and you know in advance the names of the attendees and can imprint the names directly on the tags in advance,” he comments. “In cases like this, it is imperative to always have extra tags made that are blank or allow some sort of personalization on-demand option for late additions or add-ons.” He notes that business card pockets applied to these can be of use as well as it allows attendees to simply slide their card in to use as personalization (or a paper slip with their name on it). For shows that your clients do not receive a full attendance list in advance—or will be registering attendees on the show floor—Robbins says that the clear vinyl pouches that printed inserts are placed into is the way to go. “It requires a little more effort and printing ability on the show floor, but is really the only way to accomplish such a feat,” he states.
Mrozek at Visual Textile Resource encourages distributors to make sure their customers are aware that they can be a great source for exhibit products. “It’s common for the distributor’s customer to have a need for a custom table cover or back wall display and just jump online to find a source because they don’t associate their promotional products distributor with exhibit product sales,” he details. “We have a new marketing services department that has been put in place solely to help our distributors in any capacity to make their customers aware that they are a great source for trade show exhibit products.
“We encourage a monthly custom e-mail campaign, in which we provide virtual images, custom sell sheets, and help getting our products on company stores and our distributor’s website,” Mrozek continues. “I think once a distributor becomes more familiar with the product category a light turns on because they discover the sale was no more difficult than an apparel or pen sale, yet the profit margin is considerably higher.”
Case Study
Josh Robbins, Vault Promotions
We recently had a distributor work with us on a way to encourage additional traffic to specific vendors at a show. For a sponsorship fee, an exhibitor at the show could be included on a "Bingo" board that resided on the backside of every attendee’s show badge. Their name and booth location were imprinted on the back inside a Bingo grid and the show attendee had to stop by these booths to receive a sticker from that exhibitor, proving they had stopped by to talk. The results were amazing for those sponsors who participated—with many of them saying they didn't staff properly to accommodate the influx of booth traffic created. For the past three years, these sponsorships are easily sold out the day they are available, and the additional revenue stream this simple item has created is extremely beneficial to the organization hosting the show.