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22nd July 2021
The events and exhibitions industry has been one of the hardest hit by COVID regulations, both here in the UK and around the world. For many businesses, these large events play a vital role in their marketing strategy as they are a very effective way to reach out to your target audience in mass volumes.
So now, as with the gradual lifting of restrictions, they could be set to make a return – whether they are in the same format as before or new and improved is yet to be seen.
But as a business, how can you make the biggest impact at any event?
As with all marketing activities, identifying your goals for attending these events from the outset will help you to create a presence that’s not only eye-catching, but also functional and effectively achieves your business objectives.
Are you looking to gain new customers? Launch a new product or service? Gather valuable data for research or a future communications plan?
Understanding this will help you design your stand, create the key messages and make sure you have all the functionality and support materials you need.
Once you’ve identified your trade show objectives and business goals, it’s important to make sure that your exhibition stand lives up to your brand.
Creating a striking professional physical presence to represent your business at a trade show or exhibition may seem like a straightforward task, but in reality it can take a great deal of detailed planning and requires specialist design expertise.
It is important to remember that functionality and appearance have to work together to get the best results – your stand must not only look good, but it has to work on the day.
The graphics for your stand must be created on a scale that will work on a large structure in a busy environment. Your existing brand may look great on brochureware and other smaller items, but it may not work as well on the larger scale required by an exhibition stand.
You may need to adapt, or even create new, large scale graphics specifically for use in an exhibition environment. Making sure your key messages are seen is crucial too in the design.
Seeking help from experienced designers and printers is advisable – they will be well versed in the pitfalls of large-scale graphics and print, and could save you from costly mistakes.
When planning for an event, it’s not just the stand itself that you need to organise – there are so many more branding opportunities to promote your business. From banners, posters and signs to brochureware, flyers and branded giveaways, investing in the support material will maximise the impact of your business, helping to generate more interest and leads.
Using free-standing signs around your booth or plot can add to your stand - making them double sided is advisable so they can be read by visitors passing you from both directions. Another way to attract attention is to produce large format print signs which rise above head height so they are visible even when the exhibition space is busy.
While an eye-catching stand and good product demos are important, it’s the people in your team that do the hard work at these events - they make the connections and add personality to your business.
By wearing branded clothing, your team becomes an extension of your logo, your website and your adverts. The brand will be placed in front of mind creating greater awareness.
It is important to source high-quality, branded clothing as they represent your business and have to make the right impression.
Offering branded giveaways is a quick and easy way to start a conversation, and from there you have an opportunity to network and generate a lead.
You can start with the more budget options such as pens, bags and pads, and go up to more specialised items such as branded USB sticks, coffee cups and golf accessories.
Most people will accept a promotional freebie as part of the opening exchange, but they then keep the gift leaving them with a lasting impression of your company - as well as a physical reminder of your brand and the services you offer.
At Longridge, we are large scale design and print specialists with huge knowledge and experience in events and exhibitions.
We can advise you on how to design the most eye-catching stands and promotional materials, all to the highest quality to really grab people’s attention.
Talk to us today about we can help your business bring your brand to life.
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