The Promotional Essentials Your Business Needs For A Trade Show

Let's talk trade shows! Offering your business the perfect opportunity to meet new customers, suss out the competition and all in all, show off your latest services or products, the typical trade show provides companies across the UK with ample opportunity to grow their brands and amplify their potential customer bases.

With 13 million visitors descending across the various trade shows and industry exhibitions that take place across the UK each year, these events can offer your business lucrative opportunities to max awareness and capture the attention of whole new audiences. 

Which Promotional Products Should Your Stand Have At A Trade Show?

We have a range of promotional items available that are ideal for helping you represent your brand in the best possible light at a trade show, consumer fair or industry exhibition. Whoever the event is targeted at, don't forget - for some people, this will be their first-ever encounter with your business, meaning it can pay dividends to make sure it's a memorable experience for all the right reasons!

Designing a trade show stand presence that catches attention is an essential component of trade show success. After all, with the typical trade show visitor spending around eight hours traipsing around exhibition halls (we've all been there, no?), you're really going to need to create a presence that catches the interest of passers-by to ensure they take the time to learn more about your business.

There are a few important factors you should consider when planning how to decorate your stand at a trade show or consumer event, namely:

• Who are you anticipating will be visiting your stand? Are you keen to attract the attention of consumers, potential retailers or members of the press? Answering this question, for example, can dictate whether your stand should demonstrate the aesthetic or functionality of your products and services, or if you should consider doing something headline-worthy that's never been seen before by industry titles. 
• What impression do you want to give of your business? What visual image do you wish to project of your brand and how can your stand space best represent this within your budget? 
• How will you decide if the event is a success? Do you want to make there-and-then sales, garner lead generation or simply ramp up awareness for your business to a new audience? 

With that in mind, read on for our round-up of the five items that will help to take your exhibition stand to the next-level of event presence, as well as the five promotional products visitors will look to take away with them. Because it's easy when you know how!

#1 Keep Décor Simple Yet Striking With A Branded Tablecloth

You never know what kind of state the table or stand you are presented with at a trade show will be in - it could be brand new, or it could be a battered veteran. Either way, keep things smart by using a promotional tablecloth to add an on-brand finishing touch. 

Available in 27 different colours, our best-selling branded tablecloth is made from hard-wearing polyester and is ideal for generating some attention-grabbing brand awareness. Already have a plain tablecloth but want to do something a little bit more with it? Consider one of our promotional table runners instead, which are ideal for brightening up existing table runners with ease. 

#2 Help Your Branding Stand Out With A Printed Roll Up Banner

For brand awareness that will catch the eye of every passerby, look no further than our classic Printed Roll Up Banner. (Yep, it's a best-seller, too!) Hard-wearing and high-quality, you will be able to use it time after time if it's looked after correctly, meaning it's a promotional investment that will truly last.

The beauty of this decorative detail means you have plenty of space to display everything from your business' logo and Instagram handle to your website and phone number. It's entirely up to you! Best of all, it's printed in vibrant full colour.

#3 Keep Staff Smart With 20mm Polyester Lanyards

If a variety of colleagues will be on-hand to help man the stand, it can make sense to give them lanyards. Why? Because it will allow passers-by to easily identify them as members of the team who will be able to help and advise them. 

#4 Have Some Fun With Promotional 10 Inch Balloons

Want to add a touch of 'fun' to your trade show presence? Look no further than our highly cost-effective promotional balloons, which are available in a wide range of colours (and can also be ordered in a larger 12" size, too) and offer a generous amount of space for your logo to be perfectly printed on to.

It doesn't end there, of course; we also have a variety of promotional bunting options for you to consider, as well as flags in every size you could imagine. Browse our Balloons, Bunting & Flags section in full to find the perfect match for your brand!

#5 Create A Uniform Impression With Logo-Printed T-Shirts

Want to ensure your staff project a coherent brand message? A logo-printed T-shirt could be the way to do it - and we've got the perfect option for you!

Our best-selling printed Fruit of the Loom Valueweight T-shirts are ideal for branding with your artwork and make a highly cost-effective way to ensure your staff look smart. 

Which Promotional Products Could You Consider Giving To Customers At A Trade Show?

So: you've decorated the trade show stand perfectly and have customers flooding over to discover more about your products, services or offers. What takeaway products could you give them to ensure they remember your brand long after the event?

Of course, the answer to this question will vary according to your type of business and the kind-of item you think your target audience would most benefit from receiving. 

There are all sorts of reasons to hand out promotional products to visitors, clients and customers who visit your stand at a trade show. For example:

• Promotional products printed with your branding ensure that your business will be memorable to customers who receive your merchandise; research shared by the BPMA shows 80% of your customers will remember a brand if they receive a promotional product from them.
• Logo-printed items will ensure your business stands out amidst the competition.
• Promotional products are twice as likely to motivate customer action than standard advertising methods, meaning your customers are more likely to react off the back of receiving a branded item. 

So which promotional items make the best giveaways to hand out to stand visitors? We've rounded up a few ideas below to inspire you - but of course, it doesn't end there! Browse our Event Giveaways section for even more ideas for your business.

#1 Keep Things Interesting With Printed Rubik's Cubes

For a bit of fidget-themed fun, look no further than our artwork-printed Rubik's Cubes, which are ideal for helping to keep your brand present in customers' minds. 

Total Merchandise is also delighted to offer a wide range of stress balls, with designs to suit every industry and desire.

#2 For A Product With Universal Appeal, Pick Our A5 Soft Touch Notebooks

...Because everyone loves stationery, don't they? Our best-selling promotional Budget A5 Soft Touch Notebooks are ideal for keeping your branding in the hands of your customers, whilst also giving them a reliable, easy-use notebook to fill with their jottings.

Take your pick from 11 different colours and choose from a range of finishes (including printing, debossing and foil-blocking) to ensure your branding makes the 'write' impression.

#3 Keep Things Refreshing With Promotional Food & Drink Items

Remember we mentioned earlier that the typical trade show attendant will spend over eight hours walking around an exhibition? Well - it might just pay to offer them a spot of light refreshment.

From label-printed bottles of water to tins of mints and promotional bars of chocolate, we have a wide range of edible items that are winners for helping to revitalise weary visitors. If you're planning to serve drinks at your stand, we also have a range of appropriate accessories available, too, including our printed reusable tumblers, eco-friendly paper straws and logo-branded plastic ice buckets.

#4 For Branding On-The-Go, Choose Our Americano Coffee Mugs

As a nation, we're increasingly veering towards reusable coffee cups (get an insight into some of the stats via our recent blog post) so a reusable travel mug with your branding clearly printed on to it is a no-brainer for brilliant promotional potential.

Total Merchandise has a wide range of reusable coffee cups available for you to consider, whether you choose to hand them out to customers who make a purchase or sign-up to a service at your stand, or who simply pop by to find out who you are!

#5 Get Your Branding Out & About With Recycled Plastic Keyrings

Keyrings are the unsung heroes of promotional merchandise. Once added onto a bunch of keys, they have the power to ensure your logo goes with your customers wherever they go, offering a constant daily reminder of your business.

It doesn't end there, by the way - browse our full range of Event Giveaways for more stand ideas and promotional giveaway items.

Top image via Pexels.