When organising trade shows, companies usually focus on the basics—booking the venue, reeling in new business partners, and making their stand look aesthetically appealing. However, there is one aspect of trade shows that often gets overlooked—the promotional products.
Promotional products are arguably one of the most effective ways to raise brand awareness. They can shape how the public perceives a brand and how appealing potential business partners find a company. Therefore, for companies trying to up their brand visibility at trade shows, promotional products should not be an afterthought.
Why Companies Should Prioritise Promotional Products for Their Trade Shows
The main purpose of trade shows is for companies to network and raise brand awareness. And promotional products are an integral part of a successful marketing strategy. Consequently, companies should plan what promotional products to hand out at trade shows. Doing so early will contribute to more brand awareness in several ways.
1. Planning Ahead Will Increase the Products’ Effectiveness
The most effective promotional merchandise do three things— it reaches the intended audience, impacts them positively, and gets them thinking of the brand. If a company makes its promotional products an afterthought, it won’t be able to achieve any of these goals.
Sure, handing out any kind of promotional product at trade shows will get a brand name out there. However, if the product is low-quality, or inappropriate for the intended audience, people will discard it. What’s more, they won’t even consider doing business with the brand in the future.
In contrast, a company that selects its promotional products in advance can align these purchases with the goals they have for its trade show. For example, maybe a company wants to promote a new product by handing out free samples. On the other hand, maybe they want to draw in new investors with a more high-end promotional bundle. Either way, selecting the promotional product beforehand can help companies achieve their desired marketing and financial goals.
2. The Right Products Will Help Develop Brand Recognition
Promotional products are key to generating brand recognition. Companies like McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, and Apple became household names by constantly raising brand awareness with promotional campaigns. As a result, they’ve achieved astronomical success and people everywhere can instantly identify their logos.
Companies looking for a breakthrough should take note and invest in promotional products. Handing out useful, good-quality items is the surest way to get customers to develop positive feelings toward a brand. It can also boost the brand image. Nothing makes a brand famous like a quality product customers enjoy using.
3. Quality Promos Will Encourage Repeat Business and Brand Loyalty
Good promotional products don’t just raise brand awareness—they encourage repeat business. Customers want to invest their money in useful products that will last.
However, customers can’t know if what the brand is selling is good quality without trying it out first.
So their first experience with a brand will be limited to whatever kind of promotional product a brand is handing out. If that product is poorly made, they will likely think the brand is selling goods and services that are of similar quality. Therefore, brands that want to keep customers coming back for more, need to prioritize high-quality promotional products.
Key Takeaways on Promotional Products at Trade Shows
Trade shows are only good if they help a brand expand its customer base and raise brand awareness. Since promotional products play a key role in marketing, companies shouldn’t make them an afterthought. That is why selecting the right promotional products for a trade show beforehand helps brands achieve their financial and marketing goals.