When it comes to effective trade show marketing, few things are more important that your trade show exhibit design. Custom exhibits with impressive interactive exhibit designs stand out in the crowd, attract more potential leads, and convey an air of professionalism, dedication, and sophistication that poorly constructed trade show booth designs simply can not muster.
That being said, there are a few things you can do to boost your booth?s effectiveness and popularity beyond displaying a stellar trade show exhibit design. One of those things involves handing out premium promotional giveaways and incentives.
Incentives, promotional products, giveaways?they all have the same goal. Exhibitors use them to capture the attention of trade show attendees. Moreover, these take-home gifts help a brand be remembered long after the show is over.
Everyone loves free stuff. It?s that simple, really. There are four primary types of incentives:
- Apparel
- Office supplies
- Knick-knacks
- Perishables (candy, beverages, and other edibles)
Promotional items are a gift as well as a marketing tool. The consumer will appreciate the offer and be able to easily recall the company?s trade show booth and marketing campaign.
It is important to keep in mind when distributing fun giveaways that:
- The cost of promotional items can add up. Give them out judiciously and stay within your budget. Allocate no more than five to 10% of your total budget to promotional items.
- There will always be moochers who simply go around the exhibit hall looking to pick up armfuls of free stuff. Again, give away your items judiciously. Place your giveaways towards the back of your exhibit so that only engaged customers will be able to pick them up.
- Incentives can be distracting if not properly incorporated into your marketing campaign. Plan your incentives around your campaign, not the other way around, and make sure you talk to interested viewers about your brand rather than these otherwise inconsequential items.
When done right, giving out promotional items can greatly enhance the effect of your trade show marketing campaign. The average trade show visitor spends about nine and a half hours viewing exhibits, so after a while some of them might all start to blur together. Besides displaying an impressive trade show booth, you can also use incentives to make your exhibit and your brand memorable.
