Printed Marketing Materials for Trade Show Exhibitors
There are a lot of things to prepare for before exhibiting at an industry trade show. First and foremost, you must determine what you wish to achieve by taking part in the event.
Then, you need to develop the right theme to help reach your goals. You must also create and send out an effective direct mail campaign to drive attendees to your booth. Once you get them there, there’s one thing companies tend to overlook. It’s the subject of this month’s Ferrante Speaks newsletter. To learn what it is, and make sure you don’t ignore it, please read on…
Audrey Ferrante
Ferrante & Associates, Inc.
P.S. Remember that it’s vitally important to select the right vendor whether you’re participating in a trade show or simply performing your day-to-day marketing duties. After all, the potential costs and risks of choosing the wrong vendor are too great.
Do you have enough printed materials for your next trade show?
Even in the digital world we all live in today, printed marketing materials can still mean the difference between failure and success, especially when it comes to trade show participation. So why do so many companies neglect this very important piece of the promotional pie?
Options for trade show materials are endless (and invaluable)—
- Large format banners, posters and booth graphics to provide the “WOW” factor.
- Promotional handouts such as information sheets, flyers, and individual product literature.
- Pocket folders that can be filled with all sorts of useful marketing materials.
- Notepads, mouse pads and brochures – these are beneficial and highly effective giveaway items at trade show booths.
Printed Marketing Materials at Your Trade Show Make a Difference
And while you’re at it, consider some from this long list…
- Banners, posters and signage, indoor and outdoor
- Booth graphics
- Brochures, flyers, handouts
- Corporate brochures
- Printed dailies
- Directional signs
- Event announcements
- Event handout materials
- ID cards
- Invitations
- Maps
- Membership booklets
- Membership directories
- Name badges
- Pre-show mailings
- Tradeshow programs
- Raffle books
- Registration materials
- Save the date cards
- Table Tents
Because we live in a digital world.
Face facts, the world has gone digital. And there’s no turning back. So join in! Here are a couple of ways to do so. Create integrated multi-touch online and offline campaigns to increase attendance and follow-up messaging. At the show, use QR codes on your trade show booth’s printed materials. Many exhibitors use digital display boards with videos to show off products and impart additional information.
Don’t love them and leave them.
The ultimate key to your trade show success is centered on the lead-management process. The best time to plan for follow-up is right after the show. To get the process going, you’ll need to develop a systematic approach to follow-up. Establish a lead handling system, set timelines for follow-up, use a computerized database for tracking, make your sales force accountable for leads given to them, and then measure the results.
Exhibitors need to promote themselves. And so do trade show organizers.
Companies that regularly participate at trade shows know how much work is involved. Now just imagine how much show organizers have to do to get ready for an event!
You too, must have an array of marketing and event materials ready and waiting for attendees. They include but at not limited to the following:
- Advance and final programs
- Conference brochures, handouts and flyers
- Exhibitor prospectus
- Conference journal-notebooks
- Indoor and outdoor signage
- Posters, banners, booth graphics
- Presentation folders
- Postcards
- Pocket and badge agendas
- Membership directories
- Room signs
Think of your trade shows as one-to-one selling opportunities, where the focus is on what you can offer targeted customers. How cool is that! To make all this happen effectively and efficiently takes a great deal of experience and coordination.
- It takes the ability to print materials and keep costs down, using integrated on-demand digital, offset and large format printing.
- It takes the ability to simplify the entire printing and fulfillment process, ensuring materials get printed and delivered on time.
- It takes the ability to stay on top by taking advantage of integrated online and offline capabilities.
Call on Ferrante & Associates Whether YOU are Located, Across the World or Local!
We are accustomed to working with domestic and overseas trade show organizers or companies, hotels and convention centers. We will make sure your materials arrive when and where you want them and at the price agreed upon.You may not need all of the options discussed here, but it’s reassuring to know that you can turn to the professionals at Ferrante & Associates for any or all of these valuable services.
Keep the conversation with us going and growing
Thanks for reading this month’s Ferrante Speaks newsletter and learning why it’s crucial to have enough printed marketing materials on hand at an industry trade show. Having the right brochures and other materials allows you to better engage with potential clients.
If you’d like to learn more about how we think here at Ferrante & Associates, subscribe to our blogs on the right side of the page or subscribe to our monthly newsletter Ferrante Speaks . You may also follow us on Twitter , Google+ or Facebook.
