Events and exhibitions are the ideal places to showcase your brand in its physical form. From setting up the expo booth to handing out business cards, your brand story should effortlessly flow throughout your event space. So, how do you entice visitors to your stand and create a memorable event for both you and your customer?

What do I need to print for my event?

Always have your brand messaging at the forefront of your mind when considering what to print for your next event. Whilst budget is no doubt a big consideration, try and focus on maximising your brand message to full effect first, rather than shoehorning print into your event to meet a certain budget. If you’re on a tight budget, think about how you can use your event banners and materials for other events. Can your banner be used at multiple events?

Planning ahead

If you’re a seasoned event organiser you’ll understand how important it is to plan. If this is your first attempt at event planning, it can all seem like a daunting prospect. Starting backward from the event date is best practice. Once the event date is confirmed, you can start adding key dates to the plan, such as having your artwork proof signed off, and prior to that having the artwork supplied to your print company in good time. Our team is flexible, resourceful, and fully adept at handling print for events, so we help every step of the way.

Your exhibition space 

You’ll need to fill your whole event space creatively to successfully create a memorable event. You might have booked a small area at the back of the room or you may have the prime location. Wherever you’ve paid to be, you’ll need to think about how to grab people’s attention with the space available to you.

Engagement is key

Once you’ve captured their interest, you’ll want to keep them engaged, and ideally intrigued to find out more. If you’re in a good conversation with a potential customer, don’t let other prospects leave the stand. Think creatively about how to retain their presence, like getting them to interact with a game on the stand for example a buzz wire. ‘Don’t buzz the wire and you win a little giveaway!’ Or lock some champagne in a cabinet and guess the code to get in and win! In a tech-savvy world, it is often the more original, tangible, cross-generational ideas that connect with people, keeping them engaged for longer.

Core brand messaging

What core messages do you want to convey at the event? What’s your goal? Answer these questions, and then start to sketch how your answers might present visually. Will your message work better with two roller banners or just one? Do you want your podium to subtly sit in the background or do you want it to take centre stage and be the first thing that captures people’s interest?

Exhibition stand style

Exhibition stands come in lots of shapes, sizes, and materials. If you’re a clothing brand you may want to stay authentic to your brand and go for a stretch fabric display or a pop-up fabric display. Alternatively, if you want to create a sturdy impression to match your robust brand, then a rigid display stand could be the one for you.  Bigger exhibition displays are often bespoke built to suit you, and this includes fully recyclable and reusable stand options if required!

Snake stands are a quirky alternative to your classic, flat banner. They’ll add depth to your space and are often the most effective way of presenting your brand because they stand out in a crowd. Lightbox displays, also known as back-lit displays are another eye-catcher, particularly if the event space has low-level lighting.

Your promotional giveaways 

It’s hard to deny that we all love a good freebie. Receiving an unexpected gift makes us happy, especially if it’s something practical and a bit different. Stay authentic to your brand and remind yourself of your core messaging to help choose the right promotional giveaway/s for your event.

Giveaways such as branded seed-planting packets are an ideal match for sustainably focused businesses, but don’t forget that classic giveaways such as branded pens, notebooks, and water bottles can be equally as effective!

Given the fact we’re in a digitally saturated world, it could make sense for you to combine a physical giveaway with a digital giveaway such as an e-book or webinar. What matters most is that you have engaged with your customer successfully enough to make your brand memorable.

Be creative with your flyers and business cards

Not only should your flyers be visually creative, but they should also be physically creative too. With so many materials and print processes quite literally at your fingertips, it’s essential to revert back to your core messaging and convey the message through a thoughtfully designed, tactile flyer or brochure.

Choose materials to match your brand

From Kraft material to uncoated or laminated, metallic foil or pearl, to rounded corners and custom sizes, there really is a solution for every brand.

The latter is the same with business cards too. Business cards that seamlessly integrate with your other print collateral really do pack some punch, especially at events and exhibitions. Brand consistency is essential and in the case of leaflets, flyers, brochures, and business cards, you can effectively reinforce your brand message by matching up your materials and print processes across your smaller event print items.

But what about after the event?

They went to the event and you successfully captured their interest on the day. But what about after the event? How can you reinforce your brand further with print? How can you encourage people to contact you? A follow-up mailing piece in the form of a direct mail giveaway, promotional pack, or discount brochure can all be thrown into the mix when thinking about your post-event communication.

Our team would love to throw a few more ideas into the mix too so don’t hesitate to get in touch with us to bounce ideas, budgets, and brand messaging around for your next event.