Trade shows could not be underestimated as important marketing tools that were able to reach a huge target market at one go. Over the years organised trade shows had provided an even playing field in which small business and large ones came together to determine the trade show effectiveness.

A study was conducted to determine organisations’ views towards effectiveness of trade shows and exhibitions as a marketing tool. The problem statement was that most organisations were operating in budgetary constraints and therefore the need to ensure that their objectives were met became critical. It was noted that great issues that marketers were faced with were that the pandemic reduced purchasing power, reduced growth rate, increased competition, consumer awareness and pressure on pricing. Organisations were therefore constantly looking for the lowest cost effective methods to promote their products and services and the effectiveness of trade shows as a marketing platform to meet their objectives was not known. The results of this study was useful to:-

potential exhibitors who might wish to use the trade shows for promotion of their products and services,
participants to the show who were in a position to determine whether shows were appropriate to ensure that the exhibitions fitted into their overall strategy and,
exhibition organisers who used the results to formulate strategies that added value to participating organisations and ensured company and brand growth.

In the review summary, trade shows at their most effective could be important marketing tools for business. They were vital parts of the marketing mix as they combined the mass – reach of advertising, the targeting of direct mail, direct selling and the networking benefits of the internet. Shows created a unique environment in which a wide range of sales and marketing objectives were pursued. The shows brought buyers and sellers together to a central location.

Trade shows ranked second to advertising in the business marketing communications budget for many companies.

That was why trade shows had emerged as an important component of companies’ marketing strategies. Trade shows, also known as trade fairs, expositions, scientific/technical conferences, conventions or exhibits, were basically the gathering of an entire industry at a single location at a given point in time. Companies paid for a booth to expose their products and services at the trade show. To many companies, trade shows represented an effective way of doing business because they attracted huge crowds of visitors.

Trade Show Giveaways Frequently Asked Questions

How to Choose the Right Trade Show?

You can choose the right trade show by doing your homework ahead of time. Figure out your target audience and search online for upcoming shows near you. Be prepared to travel!

How to Improve Traffic to Your Trade Show Booth?

Free giveaways, sitting space, flashy displays, and a bite to eat are all great ways to improve traffic to your trade show booth. It also doesn’t hurt to be one of the first displays people see when they walk in the door.

What You Should Do Before a Trade Show

Think of it this way – the best movies in the world aren’t going to get attention without the trailers. Why should a trade show be any different? In fact, 70% of show attendees will create a list of the booths they want to visit before they even arrive to the event. Take these steps ahead of time to ensure your booth makes the list!

Use Social Media

You can use it to send out updates about the trade show and encourage your followers to come visit. Let them sneak a peek at how exciting it’s going to be at your booth.

Create an Eblast

Are you displaying a new product at the trade show? Give your subscribers a heads up with a pre-show eblast. Even if you don’t have a design team, you can still craft a well-designed email that will hype people up!

Set Up Appointments

Make it possible for prospects to schedule a time to talk with you at the show. You can even take it a step further and give them a nice gift for thinking ahead. If the attendees know a gift is involved, they’re more likely to pay you a visit.

Send Out Direct Mailers

While it may seem old school, direct mailers are still valuable in the business world. Be creative with your design and remember to include a QR code, promo item, or raffle ticket they can use at the show.

Offer Incentives

You want attendees to visit you before anyone else. Maybe the first 100 people to visit your booth will get a complimentary dinner or a prize basket with your new product, free of charge! There should always be a reason for them to visit you over anyone else.

Create a Great Display

Now that you have the prime spot on the trade show floor, you need to come through with an incredible display. Start with making sure you have awesome giveaways to hand out to the crowd. From there, create an eye-catching backdrop and staff your booth with vibrant, enthusiastic personalities.

What is a Trade Show Giveaway?

A trade show giveaway is any excited branded products which attracts participants at a Trade Show to your stand or booth allowing you to engage with potential customers. These can be small and simple like branded bags, keychains, pens or great gifts like technology products, drinkware and mugs. Remember the greatest Trade Show Giveaways increase your brand exposure and have a long lasting effect.

Do Trade Show Giveaways Work?

Yes, trade show giveaways absolutely work! They have the power to bring more traffic to your booth, especially the useful trendy items. Plus, the people who visit a trade show will bring these items home as souvenirs so they can remember you later.

What Makes The Best Conference Swag & Gift Idea?

These 5 traits should be considered when selecting the best conference swag for your upcoming in-person or virtual event:

Memorable — Does the conference swag actually help people remember your brand?
Quality — Is it made of material that gives people the impression that they’ve received something of value?
Sharable — Is the promo product an item that the individual would be proud to gift to another?
Creative — It is fun and outside-the-box instead of the same ideas other vendors are using
Durable — Is the gift going to last for years?

To get the best return on investment, ask your recipients to subscribe to your email newsletter or complete another relevant business action like filling out a survey. Most of the time, they will be happy to help.

Promo products yield a return on investment beyond any other marketing strategy.

Why? They’re a guaranteed way to get your brand in the hands of your customers. People aren’t going to hang on to a newspaper ad, and you can’t really use a TV commercial. Whether you give away personalised pens or flash drives and power banks, your customers will have more than just your brand name to take home with them. Every time they jot a note with their pen or store items in their tote, they’ll remember their experience working with your company. You won’t find those impressions in any other form of advertising!

Use Your Promotional Products to Create a Theme and Feeling

Your promotional products will send a message about you and your company. Best to create and plan that message for maximum effect.

Friendly, Clever, Zany, Innovative

Do you want your customers to think of your brand in a light-hearted friendly way, as a clever company with zany new ideas, as a quality brand, as an innovator, as the leader in its field, as a big player or an enthusiastic smaller player? An experienced promotional and trade show merchandiser will assist you with lots of ideas once you have decided the theme you would like to take.

Use Trade Show SWAG to Target Qualified Customers

It’s easy to hand out products and SWAG to everyone at your conference or trade show, but it’s more valuable when it provides a good return on investment too.

Mass Exposure with Highly Visible SWAG

If you are an unknown entity and new to this space, then everyone at the trade show is a potential client. Therefore you may choose for mass exposure by handing out inexpensive, highly visible SWAG to all available participants.

Target with Quality Products

If you are an established brand with a clearly targeted customer base, then it is probably better to have fewer giveaways, but higher quality, more expensive products to give out to individuals, that you have qualified as existing or potential customers. Before you order any promotional goods, you need to be clear on who you are targeting, what’s your demographic, and also set the parameters for your staff on the stand to target specific groups of potential customers with a limited number of higher quality giveaways.

What are Our Most Successful Trade Show Promotional Products?

Promo Factor can create, source, supply and brand just about anything you can think of, so your imagination is the only limiting factor in what can be delivered to you.

As a guide, here are some of our most successful promotional products and proven winners in the trade show and branded giveaway area.

The Effectiveness of Trade Shows as a Marketing Tool