Your Trade Show Promotional Item

It is hard to find money in the budget for marketing. Furthermore, it hard to find money in the marketing budget for trade show exhibits. Even beyond that, it is hard to justify the additional funds for a promotional giveaway at the trade show. So, why do it? What is the point, and more importantly, is there a return on your investment?

It all really depends on the quality and originality of your giveaway. It is hard to measure what people will consider valuable, and it is hard to gauge the public’s reaction to a new item. That is why, often, the tried and true promotional giveaways are best. Think about your own experience. How many stress balls have your thrown away? How many pens have you left sitting on countertops, or at restaurants? How many business card magnets have you thrown away?

Then, take a look at the things you’ve kept, like the mini flashlight that is still attached to your keychain. The small vanity mirror you keep in your desk drawer to check for bits of lunch in your teeth. The yo yo you picked up thirteen years ago that still gets played with at least once per day – these are the items that stuck with you for one reason or another. You remember where you got it, you can still read the logo on it, and you will always, always remember that company.

Using an iPad at Your Trade Show Booth

Sure, everybody wants an iPad. They’re cool. They’re fun. They’re still (gasp) relevant. But did you know there are lots of different ways you can use an iPad at a trade show that make that iPad a bona-fide business expense?

First off, an iPad attracts everyone’s attention, so using it as a way to show a slideshow of photos about your company is a great application (pun not intended) for the iPad. You can also show videos of product demonstrations, interactive demonstrations, and videos with your company information.
Speaking of interactive, you can use the iPad to record visitor information, and to even set up a Q & A where people can walk up to the iPad, type in a question, and get an answer from a program that you’ve already pre-programmed.

What makes an iPad such a great trade show asset? The screens are big, so you could potentially show your printed materials on the iPad and save yourself the printing costs, so long as it is material that you don’t need for the visitor to take away.

The capabilities of the iPad make it possible for the Q & A mentioned above, as well as interactive demos, scheduling appointments, and one-to-one agendas that can make scheduling the post-trade show meetings a breeze.

Finally, if it is in the budget, an iPad makes a great prize or giveaway. Obviously you can’t give one to everyone who comes in, but you can certainly buy one for a special prize or raffle. If people know you’re giving away an iPad, you can guarantee booth traffic. Just make sure you wait until the very end of the show to give it away, and use that time with the people visiting your booth to let them know why your product or service is just as cool.

Who really has time to read a 500-page exhibitor’s manual? You really should make the time, if you want to make sure you know all the rules for the space where the trade show is going to be, but between getting your trade show booth ordered, your graphics printed, your staff clothed and primed, and your giveaways ordered, you might find yourself pressed for time. Here are some key points that are applicable to almost every trade show exhibiting situation.

Your booth is not protected by the security guards. The security guards are hired to protect the hall itself, not the individual booths. That does not mean that they won’t stop someone if they catch them trying to steal something out of your booth, but it’s not technically their job to do so. They are told to stay around the edges, watching for people who aren’t supposed to be there. Protect your booth and its contents by keeping an eye on it all the time. If you can’t do that, try to position your booth next to an industry colleague so that the two of you can help each other out with security. If the show is more than a day long, make sure you pack up any valuables and secure them.

The hall cleans the exhibition space every night, so that means they will vacuum your booth area. Make sure all random things are picked up and, best of all, don’t bother crawling around trying to pick up random specks and pieces of paper before you leave for the night.

Your company name and booth location usually won’t automatically be printed in the directory. You usually have to fill out a form to be listed. Make sure you do this. Additionally, most shows will provide a certain amount of invitations with your logo on them for you to send to some of your customers, and they will usually provide five badges for every one hundred square feet of space that you rent.

Most show manuals will tell you how large your booth is allowed to be. Make sure you know these dimensions before you order your booth. Also, make sure adhesive items like bumper stickers are not part of your promotional giveaway. Most exhibit halls and show companies prohibit them, because they end up stuck places they aren’t supposed to be.

Make sure you call the company if you have any questions. It’s always better to be overeducated as to the rules, rather than to show up and not know what is going on.