2022 is looking to be a busy year for events and exhibitions. You might be on the fence about whether to attend exhibitions or events and whether they’re actually worth it for your business and lead generation. Well, that’s why we’re here to tell you why events are important for brand awareness and how you can use promotional merchandise to help you to make an impact!
Attending an exhibition as an exhibitor:
Depending on what product or service your business offers, there are many industry-specific exhibitions that you may be interested in attending. Or fabulous events like the mktgSHOWCASE that appeal to a wide range of industries. There may also be smaller scale, local events that are worth attending. Attending as an exhibitor means you need to put time, effort and investment into your presence at the event.
To capture the attention of attendees, you’ll want to create a visually appealing space. This could be done through a space only or shell scheme stand. Space only allows you to get creative and build your own bespoke stand. The sky’s the limit here in terms of how you choose to layout your space! We’ve seen some incredible stand designs in our time. But of course, it could become a costly investment! If you’ve opted for a shell scheme stand, you are usually restricted by space and so businesses generally opt for more traditional roller banners or pop up stands, but that doesn’t mean to say you can’t still get creative!
You’ll want to decide what other must-haves you need to prepare before the event. Do you want brochures or leaflets to give away? Are you going to have some form of entertainment to attract people to the stand (#spoileralert VR games are proving to be very popular this year!). And, most importantly (because we’re biased!) what branded merchandise are you going to hand out to passers-by?
Promotional merchandise is a necessity at exhibitions – you’ll find that almost every stand will have branded items for exhibitors to take home. It serves as a reminder of their interaction with you and also acts as brand awareness for people they interact with whilst using your branded water bottle or wireless charger.
The humble pen and post-it notes used to be the go-to for exhibitors but we’ve seen our clients become more and more ambitious with their promotional merchandise strategies, desperately trying to get ahead of competitors with new and innovative ideas! And that’s what we’re here for.
We can help you be one step ahead of the trends and work with you to curate a bank of items that suit your business and your prospective clients needs perfectly. Always think carefully about your end-user and what they’re likely to use on a day to day basis, not just at work but at home too!
Visiting an exhibition as an attendee:
Now is your chance to have a snoop at what other businesses are doing in terms of stand designs and promotional merchandise. Have a good look around the expo, take time to talk to valuable contacts to get your name out there and grab some of your favourite examples of promotional merchandise. We always find ourselves really inspired after attending an event and we know our clients do too! We often have conversations that start with “I saw a company at X event who we’re giving away this really cool XYZ”!
Events can be incredibly valuable for businesses if they are done right. You need to make an impact for that vital first impression and make even more of an impact for the lasting impression and for your business to be remembered. And to make sure that lasting impression stays with them long after they’ve left the exhibition, promotional merchandise is the way to go!
