Top tips for creating an unforgettable trade show stand

If you’ve ever had the delight of attending a trade show with show-stopping stands, you will know the giddy joy of being a child again. Eyes wide in delight you rush towards the stand and do a slow turn, taking it all in, you smile and do one of two things: 1) Take a picture -you need to remember this company as well as show your friends and colleagues. 2) You begin talking to the stallholder who has approached you during your open-mouthed 360.

Two different responses from you, two great responses for the company behind the booth. Most businesses put together their trade show stand using the same information and design that goes into their brochures and marketing campaigns. The result is a generic stand that reads like a sales letter instead of an invitation. The main ingredient for an unforgettable stand is creativity.  Successful trade show stands are the ones that engage with people and incorporate a degree of interactivity. Booths that tell stories are the trade show booths whose stories are retold back in the office - which is exactly the environment the company behind the stand wants to be discussed in.

Concept. You want to exhibit a design that will capture visitors’ imagination while conveying your brand’s unique brand in an original way. Once settled on a concept, the following factors make the difference between a mediocre trade show stand and an amazing trade show stand.

Linkage. You want a concept that conveys your company’s style and product, ultimately, you want it to make sense. This is the time to sit down and discuss how these creative ideas could be incorporated on the floor. Your trade show stand doesn’t need to convince prospective customers to engage with you – that’s your sales team’s job. Instead, it needs to be a powerful message that gets prospects to step into your stand and ask questions.

Creative. The creativity behind a trade show booth is the most important factor. Colour plays a major role in the type of message your business wants to send, and choosing a colour that strikes the right balance between helping you get noticed and supporting your brand is an important decision. Just like different colours have an impact on how your company is perceived, images have an effect on the way passers-by view your company. Use images to filter out bad leads while intentionally attracting the type of prospects your company is looking for.

Operation. There is more work than goes into a booth than just a great, creative concept. Consider how your booth will be constructed, transported, set up, torn-down, transported back, and stored/destroyed. These are time-consuming tasks. From researching materials to physically transporting the booth, time is limited and decisions need to be made for a smooth process.

Giveaways. Promotional products make the perfect giveaways for exhibitions and trade shows, as they increase stand traffic. Here at EverythingBranded we have a wide range of promotional giveaways and branded tradeshows products that can be custom designed with your logo. The first step of making a sale is actually attracting prospects to your stand, so get peoples’ attention with high-quality promotional products. In a crowded expo of booths and attendees, your brand needs all the favourable impressions you can get!

76.3% of trade show attendees that received a giveaway said they had a more favourable attitude towards the company that gave them a promotional product, according to Georgia Southern University. Using trade show giveaways positions your brand positively in the eyes of prospects and certainly makes it more likely for them to consider your products or services. Giving away any old promotional product won’t guarantee positive reactions from attendees. Be sure to select useful, high-quality products that have value and tie into your brand. You certainly don’t want to represent your brand with a cheap product that breaks easily and has little benefit to the attendee.