In every trade show, the showcasing representatives should have a specific purpose. That purpose could be just general networking, to promote a new product/service etc. Whatever it is, you can bet that there is some form of handout that will help you accomplish that goal.
In this article, we will focus on two examples to highlight how to use tradeshow handouts. As a general goal, you need to identify your purpose before every tradeshow, and for every purpose, there will be certain types of handouts that are more effective than others. Before we move on, I want to briefly expand upon brochures, booklets and promotional products, some of the most commonly used handouts.
- Brochures: Best used to outline your company and its products/services. Can also be used to talk about one particular product, i.e. if you wanted to bring attention to a new product, you can feature it on a brochure.
- Booklets: More commonly seen with rich context. Many of the booklets we print are used to present research. This will be more successful when you are in a trade show where you are expecting people to come to you with a desire to learn.
- Promotional products: Extremely effective in raising awareness and just reminding people that you are there. (see image above for example tote bag)
Let’s go through the whole process together in this example. Your company is one that benefits greatly from a strong social media presence and is active with original content. You learn that the expected audience in the next trade show you will be participating in is expected to be young adults. Therefore, you identify that your goal is to generate as much attraction to your social media accounts as possible. One handout you may consider is what we call a social media card. Basically, it is a business card that instead of listing a specific person’s contact information, it lists your company’s social media accounts (example template below). 
Obviously just handing out social media cards isn’t the most effective way, handouts are only as effective as you make them to be! One common tool that is used is a giveaway. The way it works is that you would have a set number of prizes, and each social media action would put in that person’s name in a raffle a certain number of times. If you value your Instagram presence more, people who follow you on instagram gain 2 entries in the raffle, while people who like you on Facebook might only get 1 entry.
Recently we were invited to a vendor fair by one of our customers. We’ve been working with them for a while so most of their employees already know us. We knew that a decent amount of people there will know about us and our services. Those that do know us however, might not know all of our products and sevices. With that information, we idientfied that the best handouts would be be promotional products and brochures. The promotional products we choose are simple Kendall Press mugs, pens and to-do lists. These products are small, have our contact information on it and will hopefully serve as a reminder that we are there for them if they need us. We also brough in some Kendall Press brochures for the people who are less familiar with us, so that they can have a quick summary of the company and products and services that we have to offer.
This article is part of a series designed to help companies prepare for trade shows called All About Trade Shows. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to leave one below. In addition, Kendall Press offers many services beyond just print material to help you prepare for trade shows and similar events. If you would like to learn more about how we can work together to ensure the best presence for your company, please contact us by clicking on the button below!
