Why a Bin of Gifts Isn’t the Best Trade Show Strategy

Image by Gary Chan on Unsplash

Forbes magazine recently highlighted that quality over quantity should rule when choosing promotional giveaways.

Two big reasons for doing so are;

1. Cheap promotional items go to landfill because they’re thrown away (i.e. not valued). That’s terrible for sustainability and does no good for the business distributing the items.
2. It’s more effective for a business to provide quality items to fewer but more important people. Doing so creates a warm feeling in the recipient, and they are more likely to keep and use the gift. Great!

When you walk around an exhibition hall, you often see stands that reflect both kinds of thinking.

You see stands ranging from the very tatty to the most professional.

Do you wonder (I know I do) why anyone would take the tatty approach when they put their business on display?

It can’t be because they don’t care.

Perhaps they’re new to exhibiting, or they didn’t have or leave enough time to get organised (perhaps someone had given them a cheap planner).

It has to explain why you see ill-fitting or peeling graphics, products sticking out into aisles because they don’t fit into the space, and even stands with no lighting or floor covering.

Despite the chaos, they may still have a good show (heck, some leads are better than none).

And trade shows are about products and services, not beauty contests for stands and their designers.

But good or excellent stands make the product or service the hero.

They display exhibits and messaging to the best effect.

In doing so, they directly support the sales efforts of the exhibiting business.

Offering quality promotional items to buyers who come to your stand via an invitation you’ve sent pre-show is an excellent way to boost stand visits.

It’s also more likely to improve the quality of your sales leads.

If you’d like to take your stand design or graphics to a higher level, let’s talk.

Email [email protected] or call 01702 662 111.