Trade show and conference planning is a $21.1 billion industry in the United States, with more than 13,000 trade shows held annually.
If trade shows are part of your business marketing plan, consider these suggestions for preparing to ensure an effective presence for your products and services at your next event.
Preparation is critical and can be considered in these three main areas:
- Printed marketing collateral
- Signage & display
- Promotional items
1. Printed Marketing Collateral
In most cases, marketing collateral materials, such as small brochures and flyers, require the least amount of time to produce. You may even be able to print some of these items at your office before the event.
Business cards are mandatory for trade shows. Depending on the style of business cards, some simple designs can be produced quickly, but more sophisticated, complex business cards may take more than a week to produce. See sample business card:
If you plan to feature product catalogs at your table or booth, you should allow for at least a week for a multipage, colored printed catalog, as seen here.
Presentation folders and other items that require special finishes or other unique elements will typically require at least 2 weeks to produce. As shown here, this folder takes more time, because of the pockets:
2. Signage & Displays
To help trade show attendees easily locate your table and recognize your brand, it is critical to plan for attractive, attention-getting displays.
Most trade show booths come with a simple white or black tablecloth so a table runner or tablecloth is essential to maximize your branding. See sample here:
A table runner is similar to a tablecloth but runs from back to front and generally displays your logo centered on the front, so that only the edges of the existing tablecloth, supplied by the trade show, are visible.
For your displays, the team at Naples Print Source recommends fabric displays for a variety of reasons including:
- Overall quality & value
- Ease of assembly
- Ability to clean, if needed
If you plan to position your display next to a trade show table, we recommend a vertically-oriented, thin fabric display, as shown in this example:
For signage that will sit behind a trade show table, our customers are pleased with the popular, larger fabric display backdrop. These are commonly designed with a repeating logo pattern, called a Step & Repeat, as shown here. Or for small signage that will sit on top of the actual display table supplied at the trade show, we recommend a retractable table-top display, as shown here.
Click here for more info about fabric displays.
Regardless of style and size, we recommend that you plan for at least 2 weeks design and production time for most display items.
3. Promotional Items
As you prepare for your next trade show, you should know that printed promotional items generally take the most time to produce. Plan for at least 2 to 3 weeks. If you request expedited production, it greatly reduces the scope of available items, and will certainly increase the cost.
Keep in mind that most items like pens are generally priced based on a single-color imprint. Additional colors, such as for logo imprints to support your brand, will be more expensive.
If you are in a rush, laser-engraved promotional items can be turned around more quickly. Click here to check out our recent blog post with examples.
Do you have an important trade show coming up? Are you looking for fresh and effective ideas to have the greatest impact possible? We would love to brainstorm ideas with you and share what we have learned to elevate your business to stand out in the crowd. Contact us today for a consultation.
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