Editor’s note: this post was updated in November 2018 to reflect emerging trends in the industry.
Trade shows and conventions are extremely valuable resources and are a great place to advertise your brand and to earn yourself new business. At every trade show and convention there are essential products and accessories that you must have in order to make your involvement a success. A great advertising opportunity, if planned right, these events will not only gain you new customers, but they will also help you to maximize your brand exposure.
With trade show season upon us, now is the time to focus your marketing efforts and increase the success of your exhibit by ordering custom promotional products from PrintGlobe. Custom trade show merchandise and booth giveaways not only make lasting impressions, but they will also give you an added promotional boost to help you beat the competition. With a wide selection of table covers, runners, banners, name badges, and giveaway items, we’ve got you covered!
Below you will find some of our favorite items and a few tips to help make your trade show advertising efforts a success!
Attract People to Your Booth
While handouts and giveaways are a great way to advertise your brand, you first must get people to stop by your booth to hear what you have to say. By putting effort into the appearance of your space, you communicate to potential customers that you offer a product or service that you truly care about. If you make your booth a comfortable and aesthetically pleasing place to be, chances are, more people will visit, and therefore, more people will learn about the product or service you offer!
First, attract people to your booth with personalized banners, or go the whole nine yards with custom event tents. Functioning much like a magazine advertisement, your banners should communicate what kind of service you offer, and encourage people to visit for more information. We offer a wide variety of banners at all different price levels and in a number of different sizes. Most of our banners offer a one banner minimum requirement, and many offer quick production and turnaround times. Banner printing is a tried-and-true way to promote your name or message at trade shows, and is an excellent way to attract people to your booth.
If you decide to totally customize your space with a personalized event tent, we’ve got you covered (no pun intended) there too! Our custom event tents are available in multiple sizes, from eight to eighteen feet options. We have everything from traditional event tents that are paired with ground stakes, to inflatable tents. All of our tents are easy to assemble and are highly portable, so you can use them at any location with ease, and break them down for easy storage in preparation for future events.
We even have custom printed pop-up walls as well as a “Booth in a Bag Total Trade Show Package” to make your booth setup a breeze!
Make People Want to Stay at Your Booth
Once people are there, make them want to stay by making your booth a comfortable place to be. Creating a beautiful exhibit is easy with our wide selection of custom table covers and runners. Table covers are an effective billboard to enhance your message and can transform any ordinary table into your very own advertising space, helping you to stand out from the rest of the crowd.
Before people leave, be sure to provide them with something to make them remember their visit. While it’s always smart to have personalized pens and notepads on hand, send visitors off with something more to ensure that they remember your brand or product. Remember, it’s important to offer an item that is clever and valuable to your target audience. Research from ASI shows that 81 percent of people will keep useful, well thought out promotional items, so don’t hand out an item just because it’s inexpensive and has your logo printed on it. Without deep thought and consideration, chances are, your giveaway item will get tossed in the trash or left in the hotel room. Instead, put some thought into it and give visitors something they can really use!
Hand Out Desirable and Useful Swag
With thousands of items available on our website perfect for giveaways, it can be hard to decide what exactly you should choose to hand out to your booth visitors. To help make things easier for you, we’ve included a few of our favorite giveaway items below to help you decide. We’ve listed a few standard, classic trade show giveaways that are always useful to have, as well as items that we think will really make your brand stand out. For more inspiration, please visit the trade show section of our website, or call a PrintGlobe dedicated account representative today!
Reusable Shopping Bags and Water Bottles
Reusable shopping bags are an item one can never have enough of. Much of the country now enforces a B.Y.O.B(ag) policy, and those areas that don’t are well on their way. Reusable shopping bags get used at grocery and retail stores, libraries, schools, work, and more. They’re a great item to have at trade shows to lug around pamphlets and goodies, and are an item that will get repeat use long after the trade show ends. We love the Classic Cotton Meeting Tote for a classic tote pick and the 16” x 13” Metallic Gloss Designer Tote for a more stylish tote giveaway!
Similarly, reusable water bottles are super practical items to have, and when imprinted with your logo, people are sure to see your message time and time again. We’ve got several great bottles on our site perfect for giveaways, but in order to really stand out from the crowd and from other water bottle giveaways, we think that the 32 oz. Transparent Sport Bottle, 16 oz. Tube Double Wall Acrylic Tumbler, and the 16 oz. Matte Black Swig Stainless Bottles are all great picks!
Lip Balm and Hand Sanitizer
Keep your visitors in good health with personalized lip balm tubes and custom hand sanitizer bottles. Many people use lip balm every day, making this a practical giveaway item, and just think about how many germs are floating around at trade shows… Help your visitors to stay healthy by providing them with a hand sanitizer bottle sporting your logo or message! When they don’t get sick, your visitors will sure be glad that they stopped by your booth!
Badge Holders and Lanyards
Hanging around visitor’s necks, your logo is sure to be seen time and time again during the trade show with personalized badge holders and lanyards. Help to add personality to badges and to keep credentials in view with our huge selection of full color, polyester, cotton, nylon, elastic, and cord lanyards, as well as retractable and window badge holders.
Sunglasses and Tasty Treats
Sunglasses are an item that everyone can use, and they’re a proven trade show giveaway favorite! Imprint them with your logo to advertise your message all year long.
If you want to send customers off with something more, consider giving booth visitors a personalized tin filled with tasty treats. Trade shows can be hard work, and snacks are appreciated items when the going gets rough! Plus, the reusable tins are a great way to advertise your brand in offices, homes, and more.
Power Banks and Chargers
Moving on to more specialized items, personalized mobile power banks and chargers are excellent items to hand out to booth visitors. Perfect for homes, offices, and travel, mobile power banks and chargers are sought after items and are a reliable way to get the message out about your brand. These high quality items aren’t something that will get tossed in the trash! These handy and practical products will get used time and time again, ensuring that your business receives the exposure that it deserves!
Smart Phone Card Holders and RFID Protection Sleeves
Smart phone card holders are a popular item that allow for easy advertising for you, and extra convenience for your visitors! Our Silicone Smart Phone Wallet and Hang on Smart Phone Card Holders are great options, as is our 3-in-1 Cell Phone Card Holder.
Likewise, offer your customers convenience and security with our RFID protection sleeves. As RFID technology is an unfamiliar topic for many, these sleeves and phone wallets are a great way to grab customers’ attention! They might stop by to learn about the technology, but they’ll leave with so much more!
Cell Phone Cases and Microfiber Cleaning Cloths
Not only are cell phone covers highly useful and sought after items, but as cell phones aren’t indestructible, cell phone covers are an item that everyone wants and needs! Help to protect your customers’ cell phones by providing them with a personalized cell phone cover. As cell phones are items that get used on a daily basis, you can rest assured that your brand will receive exposure each time your visitors use their phone.
Additionally, microfiber cleaning cloths are highly practical items for technology users. They are great for cleaning phone, tablet, and computer screens, and when imprinted with your logo, you can trust that your message will be seen time and time again!
PrintGlobe’s A+ Service
Our happy customers count on our commitment to outstanding customer service, affordable pricing, and the best selection of printed and promotional products the industry has to offer. These perks and the added bonus of express service and reliable, timely delivery keep our customers coming back for more. We want to help you promote your brand successfully at trade shows and conventions, so if you have questions, need help finding a different item, or want to know more about something featured here, chat with us online or give us a call today! Our team of friendly printing experts are looking forward to helping you with all of your trade show needs!
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