Walking in a Winter Wonderland: How to Prepare your Company for a Winter Trade Show

After a year of virtual events, viewing businesses through a computer screen and the buzz about the return of in-person trade shows is deafening. Your company needs to be prepared for this return and stocking up on promotional marketing items now will save time, effort, and money in the future. Furthermore, stocking up on items that provide value to recipients and knowing how to use the items will prove just as, if not more, valuable to your company and brand.

Understanding your Company

Prior to registering for an in-person trade show, you will need to brainstorm alongside your trusted team to evaluate reasons and goals for wanting to attend. Your company should be able to clearly articulate the following: what is your brand and why will a trade show benefit the company, what are your company’s top three goals in attending, and what effort will your company make to stand out. Taking the time now to prepare these answers will give your company time to research, prepare and develop strategies as well as allow you to feel fully ready to be in front of people instead of rushing at the last minute to get ready.

Promotional Marketing Items

It’s important to realize that your company will be competing against others at the event and will need to be able to draw visitors in. Your company will not stand out with generic stress toys or bland coffee mugs. Products that have been customized to fit your brand while still providing actual use to recipients will help people be more likely to stop and chat. Practical products that help keep visitors healthy and feeling on top of their game like hand sanitizer, bottles of lotion, and lip balms are trade show staples that someone can never have too many of. If your company is deciding to utilize promotional products to stand out, consider items that give recipients usage and fun. These types of products include shot glasses, smart device power banks, and cutting boards.

Standing Out

At events when so many companies are there and all trying to vie for a visitor’s attention it’s important to begin planning now on how your company will stand out. A great method to do so is by putting some promotional items together into a giveaway, people seem to go crazy for bags or baskets of free goodies! Pairing items together to create a theme for your giveaway is a surefire way to get as many people as possible to chat at your booth. Consider pairing wine-related items together to create a beverage basket or put some beach-related items together to create a Spring Break basket. Another method to stand out is by setting the mood; your company can achieve this by lighting your booth with extra lights that represent company colors or by drawing visitors in with a scent. Our final method of standing out comes by drawing your visitors in with something unique. Consider setting up a coffee station where visitors can grab a quick cup before or after chatting with your booth. You can even set the station up to represent your brand even more by supplying it with custom disposable cups. The smell and the excitement over a coffee station are sure to make your booth a well visited one. Another unique way of drawing visitors in is by setting up a game to play while having your conversation. Talking flows naturally during periods of fun so consider setting up a small cornhole game or maybe challenge visitors to a putting green.

In closing, we hope that these tips have helped prepare your company for an upcoming trade show. Also, don’t forget that Perfect Imprints is here to help with every single step of the process and make your next trade show your best one.