Point Of Purchase Displays is a business resource tool for the P.O.P.industry

Promoting Your Business Through Promotional Merchandise

The use of promotional give-aways are an essential part of putting on a successful stand at trade shows and exhibitions. There are thousands of items available, so choosing the correct ones for your show are vital. For example, look at your target audience and analyse them. What age group are they? Is the majority male or female? Are these people businessmen / woman, general public, students, or even children? So get your target audience into perspective.

Getting a product which is practical in size is also important. If you are a small company and are fitting your stand and literature in your car, there is no point trying to transport 250 budget umbrellas. Make sure that the product(s) you choose are manageable and transportable.

Remember, custom promotional products are one of the key factors that attract people to your stand in the first place. No matter what services your business offers, when there are 50 exhibitors, and one of them is handing out little gadgets and give-aways, you can be assured they will attract the most to their stand, and if that is the case, then the give-aways have done half their job. Once you get them to your stand, that is when you do your thing, and market your business.

It is always good to try and find something a little different to give away. Lets face it, when people think about promotional gifts, they automatically think, pens, coasters, mugs, mousemats, personalised pencils .... and so on. These are still the most popular items because they are useful. We sell more pens than any other products and there are thousands of them available as they are useful and still an excellent general give-away. However, there is a difference between a general give-away and a trade show give-away. The trade show give-away needs to attract, then carry your company logo and message throughout it's lifetime. There is a huge range of products available so don't limit yourself to the basics, look at something people are not likely to throw away, with either a novelty factor, useful factor, or even better, both. Think of what you would like if you were a visitor! Getting it right can make a big difference to your business.

Once you have decided on your item(s) it is a good idea to get some branded carrier bags for your visitors to carry any literature or items they are given by yourselves and other exhibitors. This not only serves as a useful option for your visitors, but also as an extrememly effective form of advertising for your company. It is wise to spend that little bit more and have your bags printed both sides of the carriers to maximise your exposure. Remember, if you wanted to do your bit for the environment, then you could always order biodegradable carrier bags. These are getting far more popular now due to them using recycled polythene and are generally 100% biodegradable and compostable. At the end of the day, all it takes is a little thought and planning in order to have a rewarding and successful event.

Andy Black is a company director at one of the north easts largest promotional gifts companies and has 15 years of experience within the promotional products sector.

http://www.pps-ltd.co.uk http://www.pps-ltd.co.uk/promotional_products.html http://www.pps-ltd.co.uk/biodegradable_plastic_bags.html