How to stand out from the crowd

It pays to promote your brand at tradeshows. In a 2009 Oxford Economics Business Travel study, executives reported returns of $4 to $5.99 per dollar invested on conference and tradeshow participation. Guaranteeing great returns and increasing your client base requires a convention booth that stands out. Make your next exhibition memorable by stocking up on the right tradeshow items.

Tradeshow giveaways
The average tradeshow in 2010 spanned 174,364 square feet of exhibit space, featured 554 exhibitors and drew 16,023 attendees. In a crowd that big, making true brand impressions is imperative. Eye-catching promotional giveaways can help steer foot traffic to your booth through viral marketing and provide conventioneers with a lasting brand reminder. Here are a few ways to take your tradeshow promotion to the next level:

• Hold a contest for a high-value promotional item and give everyone who enters a free pen or USB flash drive. This way, you capture information for post-event follow-ups, and they walk away with a brand reminder.
• Provide multiple reminders in one giveaway with a promotional package. Hand out promotional notepads with pens, logoed hats with shirts, hand sanitizers with aluminum bottles, or jump drives with desk calendars. Put these or other giveaways inside a tote or other promotional bag with your prominently featured logo that attendees will carry around the convention.
• Send visitors home with your brand's capabilities in the actual promotional product. For example, load an informational brochure or presentation onto a logoed thumb drive.
• Bring a few premium gifts to recognize valued current clients.
• Make sure your tradeshow staff is recognizable. Logoed apparel helps enhance your brand as you greet booth visitors. Logoed polo shirts, promotional lanyards and badges are a must on convention days.

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