Convention Checklist Part 5/5 - The Swagg!

I had to save the best for last... Checklist part 5 of 5 is the ever important Promotional Product! United was sporting 2 fan favorites; hand sanitizer and a crescent sling bag. People loved (LOVED!) the bag, and the hand sanitizer went over swimmingly since people spent all day shaking other people's hands.

Our swag was quite popular, but i have to give credit where credit is due. The New York Times and Con Ed held it down with some of my favorite items:

Compressed Sponge

Foldable Flying Disc

I really, really love the flying disc. I'm not sure why exactly, I think it just screams; "fun is about to take place". And the compressed sponge, well, I can explain that one even less, but I'll tell you this; it will remain on my desk/ in my kitchen/ on my mind for the next few months.

What is the lesson people? Just because you are one of the most respected, trusted, and stuffy-seeming news papers in the world, doesn't mean you can't give out frisbees at a trade show.

Convention Checklist Part 4/5 - Floor Graphics

The coolest thing about Floor Graphics is that you have almost unlimited advertising space and very little competition. A lot of convention centers will allow you to put floor graphics in the aisles to drive traffic towards your booth, but not many people actually do. If you use the removable adhesive type, the floor can't be carpeted, so call the venue first and make sure that it's ok.

Another cool thing about the adhesive floor graphics, is that they can be die-cut into any shape. Think of the potential with this; arrows pointing towards your booth, or footprints leading the way. You could print in four color process on the graphics and showcase your product as people walk by. Imagine printing something that looks like a dollar bill on your graphic. Talk about getting attention, you will have people literally stopping and bending over to try and grab it. Yalk about having a potential consumer's complete attention!

A different type of 'floor graphics' that I love, that not many people think about, is the customized carpet. As a frequenter of conventions and trade shows as an attendee, walking on concrete for 8 hours can be hard on the feet, back, and knees. Having a nice, plushy carpet in your booth will encourage people to come back just so they can have a sigh of relief as thepressure is relieved on their feet. (Plus, you get to stand on comfy, plushy carpet for 8 hours too).

Check out our very self-explanatory (But effective) floor graphic:

Convention Checklist Part 3/5 - Table Cloth

Ok all of you booth jockeys out there, I've got 2 words for you; Brand Everything.

It is important that you send a consistent message to your prospective clients and convention attendees. One of the nicer ways to do this is with a customized table cloth. They typically come in 6' or 8' options, and can be 'fitted' or 'throw style'. whether you get one or the other should depend on your look and your budget. I find that the 8 Ft. throw style can be re used in multiple situations, but there is something sleek about a fitted table cloth. The smooth lines curving with and conforming to the table. It's just a sexier look.

There are also printing options. Spot color vs. 4 color process. Again, this will depend largely on your look and your budget. Call us, we will help you make the most of your marketing dollar.

Part 2: The Booth.

After noticing your lovely retractile banner, your perspective client will probably mosey on over to your booth. Now is when we get to the meat and potatoes; your booth display.

You have many options here. You could get a large background and podium:

Or how about one of my personal favorites, the mosaic display. This one is easily set up and taken down, is very transportable and very eye catching.

You can also use the 3 angle display. It's a very simple and effective way to get your message across:

Here I have only listed 3 of many, many options. These are all great options. You can call the experts here and we can discuss which one will best showcase your business.

Convention Checklist Part 1/5 - Banners

Today begins our five part series on convention planning and materials. I will talk about what you need in terms of marketing materials to get the attention you want from the attendees. And I will give you ideas that will help you achieve top-of-mind awareness. Heed my advice and you will get more new clients from every trade show that you do.

Let's get started by talking about the piece that is usually the largest and will help attract attention to your booth or table; the banner. Too many booth jockeys (just coined it) over look the importance of having a sign at eye level. Convention attendees walk by hundreds of smiling faces. (Don't get me wrong, having a smiling face is important.) However, you will not stand out if you simply sit there smiling. You must to have some signage. Take, for example, the United banner.

A few points about our banner;

-Vibrant colors that meet our branding guidelines.

-Taller than the average person, so that people can see the banner, even if they are in a crowd.

-LARGE lettering so people can read it from almost any distance.

-Convenient and east to open, close, carry around, and store.

-Comes with its own carrying bag, and the entire package is actually very light.

Although our banner just has our logo, many companies find it useful to have their banners display some of their products and services.

There are so many types of banners out there; we can always help you find the right banner for you. I think that the retractable banner is perfect for busy convention booth jockeys because it looks great, it's light, and it's easy to set up.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of our series, coming next week!

Vegas Convention

Next week is the industry's big, big show in fabulous Las Vegas!! I will be there all week, and I will be thinking of you, my reader, as I go from aisle to aisle, finding the best, coolest, funnest, greenest, newest, and most unique items for me to blog about and for you to read about.

Looking for a special promotion this year? Do you have great marketing ideas swirling about in your brain, but you're not sure how to execute? Does your company only buy promotions that are forest-green in color? Now is the perfect time for us to talk! Drop me a line, comment, or email and I will be sure to bring you back some awesome samples that will tie your marketing campaign together like magic!

Let's start oh10 off the right way... By going to Vegas. Umm, that is, by going to Vegas and owning this convention!

Flying Disc is FUN!

I have not been able to put down this collapsible flying disc that I got at the convention. Luckily, I picked up 3 so I can have one at work, one at home, and may be I'll keep the last one in my car for something to play with the other cars while at a red light or when I'm stuck in traffic.

The Disc has a nice large imprint area, and a little imprintable storage bag. I am thinking only one thing: Beach promo! Ok, I'm thinking a couple of things, spring time is coming up and this is your perfect Campus promotion. Sponsoring a BBQ or picnic? At less then a dollar(!) these babies are sure to spread your name around campus. I guarantee that your promo will be used throughout the summer months as well, increasing your brand's exposure exponentially. Extremely Excellent promotion.

NYC Promotional Product Convention

There was a great promotional product convention here in NYC last weekend. I always love these because usually at conventions the promotions are a side note. An important side note, but the main focus of the con is always Comics or Electronics . At a promotional product con, the whole goal is to visit the booths and get free stuff. It is just a wonderful feeling. Keep it here for posts of some of my Favs from the con!

NYCC Promotions, last one[s] I promise.

I know it's been a little while since I've posted, so to make it up to you, the reader, I will cover a couple of items tonight. We will start with the shirts that Sega was throwing into the crowd. Sega is a video game manufacturer for all major consoles. You may remember their lovable character Sonic the Hedgehog.

However, there were no cute and cuddly characters this time, folks. Sega was promoting their new games; "The Conduit" and "House of the Dead: Overkill". Click on the names to check out the game trailers. Here are the shirts;

Front:

Back:

I know the images aren't great, head over to our Picasa web album to see more detail on the designs.

As a good promotion always does, the shirts brought mobs of people to Sega's booth at the convention. There were gentlemen in full zombie make-up touting the arrangement; "hug a zombie, get a shirt", I'm secure enough to hug a zombie, and I'm glad I did. I then proceeded to demo both games, and I am excited for their release.

A major point about the shirts; they are tagless! If you are like me, when you have an uncomfortable paper or plastic tag hanging out of the back of your shirt it can become the bain of your existence. Sega has the foresight not to associate the killing of zombies with any uncomfortableness. Good job Sega!

NYCC Promotions Part 2

After I got the wolverine key chain from Del Rey, I walked around only a little before I was handed a foam toilet seat (full size!). Now, I'm accustomed to seeing many bizarre costumes at events like these, but when I was handed a foam toilet seat, I wasn't sure weather I was supposed to wear it around my neck or just look at it. I didn't wear it, but I had to hold on to it so I got a friend to wear mine for me. Unfortunately, he turned down any photo ops for the blog. Here is the seat:

You can see that time has been rough on this promotion. Although it's only been a week or so, the bright white foam has discolored slightly to become a more yellowish hue around the edges.

But all in all, this custom promo from fox screams for attention in a sea of short attention spans. Supposedly in the show, the main character dies when a rouge toilet seat falls out of a plane and hits her in the head.

I love the idea for the promotion, and to be honest, I've only heard great things about the show (even though it's been canceled). This promo is for the upcoming Direct to DVD movie and it got some attention from the die hard fans along with attention from the casual con goers like me. This show has such a following that someone believes they can sell the foam seat for a few bucks on ebay. Compare his pic to mine to see the difference in color (and camera quality).

NYCC Promotions Part 1

Throughout all of the hustle and bustle at the Jacob Javitz Convention Center this weekend I was able to grab a few good promotions. One of my favorites is this cool Wolverine Keychain.













The Key chains were given away by Del Rey Manga, a company that imports a lot of Japanese Graphic Novels into the US. The key chain is promoting "Wolverine: Prodigal Son" a new graphic novel from Del Rey. Apparently in the book, "Logan [aka. Wolverine] is a teenage rebel with a real good reason for having a real bad attitude". The key chain features the name of the graphic novel, along with some really nice art of the bad-ass teenage wolverine. The key chain itself is of nice construction and I wouldn't be too embarrassed to have it on my car keys. The only down side is that they left the "Hecho en Mexico" tag on every key chain.

Check out these sites for more info on Conventions and pop-culture.

Promotions Ruled the weekend at NYCC

This weekend was the comic book convention in NYC. I attended Saturday and Sunday only to find that everyone was giving away promotions like it was going out of style! All of the larger booths were throwing shirts into a crowd or giving out keychains. Even the smaller booths had pins and bookmarks to help grab attention and promote themselves. Keep your eyes here over the next few days as we go through some of my favorite promotions (including the foam toilet seat cover).

Green Promotion from Vegas

In my Previous post, I spoke about green-promotions that are Actively Green- like the tree sapling in branded packaging that encourages people to plant trees- as opposed to passively green promotions like a recycled notebook. Actually, using any of our green promotions is a great way to expand your company's 'green initiative' and to send a message about caring for the environment. But we brought back an Actively Green promotion from Las Vegas that I am really excited about.

Pen shown for scale.


Here is what it says on the packaging: "The handmade paper foot is embedded with a hearty mix of perennial wildflower seeds. Plant under a thin layer of soil and water thoroughly. Keep moist until seedlings are well established." Ok, pretty simple instructions, I'm no green-thumb but I think I could plant these flowers succesfully. I love the shape of this one; a green footprint. (haha, get it?) But they can be die cut to match your logo. A promotion like this is versitile; it is well priced for give aways at a convention or promotional event, and it can also work really well as a direct mail campaign. This inexpensive, actively green promotion will remind the even the worst bottonist that your brand cares about the environment everytime they see their beautiful flowers.

More from Vegas! Promotions That Stick!

I found some more promotions in my coleague's stash from Vegas. She isn't here today so I've decided to write about them before she could.

We've got 2 very interesting, inexpensive promotions that have some potential in niche markets. The first one is the magnetic roll of tape. You might be laughing, but let me tell you, I love this stuff! I've been making business cards into refrigerator magnets, and it is fun. I'm going to stick one on my friend's fridge at her party tonight. And I will put the rest on my fridge at my new apartment. They will be our first magnets, and they will make good conversation-starters for when we have our house-warming party. But the promotional potential is definately here. Since the roll looks like a normal scotch-style tape roll, the side of the container is all imprintable space. I'm thinking; school teachers, art teachers, home-makers, students, college students, and more can be reached with this promotional item. I know that when I go home today I'm going to make some more stuff into magnets. Priced for give-away's.

Now lets talk about the 'Duct Tape in your pocket'. This promotion is a foot and a half of duct tape with a removable backer so it can be folded and put in a pocket or wallet and it won't stick to itself. At first, I was like ..."really?" but the more I thought about it, the more I think I'm going to keep it in the center console of my car. I could use duct tape about 8 times per day on average and I think that this is a great car centered promotion. Gas stations, auto mechanics, electricians, repair men and other repair based service people can leave this little guy behind after a job with some kind of clever saying impinted on the package. How about; "if something else breaks, use this tape and then call me" with a phone number. I think that is clever eough to make a lasting impression. they can then take the roll of magnet tape out of their pocket and stick the duct tape to the fridge.

Check out the web album for more pics.