Have a trade show coming up? Do you have all the materials you need to knock it out of the park? We can help. From banners and booth layout to flyers and videos, Northbound has you covered.

We’ve helped several clients across multiple industries prepare for their shows and other promotional events. Here is a breakdown of some of the essential pieces you should consider having in order to stand out from your competitors in the next booth over.

Booth Design / Signage

The first thing that your potential customers will notice is your booth! Hopefully you’ve already scored a great location in the venue. Next, you’ll need to consider your booth layout and signage.

Bold banners are a great way to draw people over to learn more. Make sure you know the size of your booth and what’s allowed. We can use those measurements to do a 3-D mockup of your booth to make sure that everything fits and looks great.

Video and Photo

Video is a great way to introduce your company to potential customers when your staff at the booth is occupied with other customers (since your great booth and signage is bringing so many people over). A small monitor will take up minimal space in your booth and work wonders to sell your product and company.

In addition to video, you’ll want to have custom photography of your product or service. Remember showing up to Homecoming in the same outfit as someone else? Using the same stock photo as seven competitors at the show is even more embarrassing.

Call-to-Action Materials

Why are you making an appearance at this show? Do you want to educate your audience? Sell your product? Create a community around your business? Make sure you give visitors an easy way to take action. Do you have a way for them to subscribe to learn more? A coupon that gives them a special discount? A link where they can make a purchase?

If there isn’t an easy action for them to take, they’ll forget your business by the time they get to the next booth.

Coupons

About those coupons… Do they have a coupon code on them so that you can track the success of the show? Coupon codes can help you decide which marketing expenses are worth it and which aren’t.

Make sure the coupons are also clearly recognizable as your brand. When visitors are sorting through millions of papers in their free tote bags, they won’t notice another white sheet of paper. Use your brand colors and larger copy to catch their eye!

Freebies / Promo Items

Another way to avoid disappearing into the vast irrelevance of those tote bags is by giving away (actually) useful promo items. Instead of the typical pen, come up with a clever alternative. Think about the theme of the show and what items might go along with that.

Once you’ve picked out some great promo items, don’t just slap on your logo. Think about how to incorporate your branding in a way that doesn’t make the item tacky.

Giveaway Campaign

A great way to build your email list and to generate interest in your business is through a giveaway campaign. We’ve run a few giveaway campaigns that have generated sizable email lists, as well as thousands of dollars in sales.

Brochures and Flyers

Like your coupons, you want to make sure your other print materials stand out. Custom photography, professional design, and copywriting are must-dos for quality print pieces. If done well, a visitor will be grateful to have a digestible, legible reference on your company.

Business Cards

If you don’t have business cards for your team yet or anymore, read why you should!

Website

If you don’t have a strategically built website where new customers can take actions like purchase your product, subscribe to your newsletter, or find contact information, you aren’t being considerate of your customers’ needs. A user-experience driven website is absolutely necessary to represent your business as professional and reliable. Read about our process for designing budget-friendly websites here.

Social Media

Like websites, social media is another way to engage with your potential customers in the way that they want to be engaged. Depending on your industry, certain platforms will be more successful than others. A research and analytics based social media strategy can efficiently (and relatively cheaply) help promote your appearance at a trade show to your target market.

Ready to start preparations for your upcoming event or trade show? Start your journey.