by Rachel Manthey

Your customer’s success at a trade show can hinge on the choice of promotional products to fuel traffic at the show. Promotional products are used for communication, motivation, promotion and recognition.  They can also build goodwill, communicate a message and create awareness.  When assisting a customer plan for a trade show, explore these questions:

1.     What does the client want to achieve by giving an incentive item?

2.     What message/slogan does the client want to promote?

3.     What is the budget?

4.     What benefit will recipients get from this gift?

5.     Will it be given to every visitor or a select group?

6.     How will the potential audience be informed about the gift?

7.     How will the premium’s effectiveness be measured?

Once you’ve answered those questions and have developed the approach, you may want to turn to Evans Manufacturing, a great resource of trade show premium gifts. Here are some ideas by industry:

• Give water bottles (Evans item #4208 28-ounce bike bottles available in 5 colored bottles and 10 colors of lids) and badge clips (Evans item #2022 Heart Secure-A –Badge available in seven colors, and can ship in 48 hours) to those attending a health related trade show.
• Provide golf tools such as Evans #3900 Eagle Divot Repair tool available in 33 colors or item #3875 Mairage Tee Pack from Evans and golf towel holders from Evans item #3960 to those attending a trade show centered on the sport of golf.
• Offer travel related items such as Evans #1750 Explorer Luggage Tags or the #1780 Secure-A- Case Luggage Strap to trade show participants in industries where heavy travel occurs, including sales.

• Suggest for safety fairs the brightly colored#3505 Bandage Dispensers with patterned bandages, available in 29 standard colors and four recycled colors that cover nearly all corporate colors needs.
• Financial institutions can really make a statement and drive traffic to their booths by distributing one of the four new coin banks that are Uniquely Evans this year; especially the #2230 Globe Bank. This modern, oval-shaped globe is a real attention getter. There is also a House N Home Bank (#2211), a cash Cube (#2200) and Action Pig (#2205). Watch the tail move as you drop coins in the pig bank!

Don’t forget to encourage clients to follow up after the trade show. They should set aside time within one week after the last day of the show to follow up, then 30, 60 and 90 days after.  Mailable pieces from Evans can be useful for these contacts, such as the six-inch leading edge ruler with pencil clasp. The brightly colored Valu Magnet Clip dropped off at a show attendee’s office will catch attention.  The Java sleeve, a new product for Evans, will fold for easy mailing or storage but has a large imprint area to really stand out in front of the recipient.

By Megan Mitchell

Imagine a small business owner who, like many at the beginning of their start-up, is eager to build a customer base but doesn’t know the best way to reach them. He has a limited budget and only a few marketing tools at his disposal. In this situation, what is the next logical step? How can he make a meaningful impact to his target audience?

Enter promotional products. While traditional marketing plans can be complicated and expensive, promotional products are a cost-effective advertising method that works. There is POWER in the promotional product! According to a recent study, 76% of customers could remember who gave them a branded item. Compare that to 53% of those who could remember a television ad or the just 27% who remembered an online advertisement.

Promotional products help you gain referrals, improve return business and increase customer recall. Give a customer a useful product just once and she will continue to use it for years! Not only that, but 76% of recipients have a better impression of a company after receiving a product from them. You are building goodwill with current and potential customers – something that distracting, traditional advertising can’t offer.

To see even more benefits of promotional products, click here. If you want help putting together a marketing plan of your own, contact us today! Use this example, featured in our 2011-2012 Idea Book, as inspiration to grow your business:

The bank business is very competitive – there are usually several in every town! To get people to sign up for a savings account, one bank took a special approach. They started a campaign called “Save Up for a Rainy Day” and ran local TV commercials about everyday people getting caught in tough situations. The commercials showed how savings accounts are not only great for retirement funds or college savings, but also for life’s unexpected expenses. Adding to the theme, the bank decided to give away logoed umbrellas to those who started a savings account and deposited $50. Not only did their ads show the benefit of a savings account, but the umbrella offer helped seal the message in customers’ minds and worked as an incentive to sign up for the bank!