Trade show promo products build buzz
When it comes to trade show time, Maureen Hart knows the importance of looking like a team. Hart is a revenue manager and event coordinator at Ace Endico, a specialty food distributor based in Brewster, New York.
Each year, the company puts on the Ace Endico Fall Food Showcase, featuring about 300 vendors. The next one is in September at Yankee Stadium®. While the company’s 150-plus employees won’t be dressed in the baseball team’s historic pinstripes, they will be dressed as a team. Each team member will be wearing a branded company polo shirt.
Origin Performance Pique Polo – Ladies’ and Men’s
“We’re a team and we promote teamwork a lot within our company,” Hart said. “We want unity. When everyone is dressed the same, everyone is treated like they’re the top salesperson.”
Like many trade shows, Ace Endico’s event is, first and foremost, a product showcase. This one also doubles as a customer appreciation event. That makes it critical for customers to be able to easily distinguish Ace Endico employees from other guests.
That’s where the carefully selected promotional polos help the team score. Even in the bustling environment, the branded shirts make it quick and easy for customers to find employees. For employees, it builds a sense of teamwork and camaraderie throughout the event.
Trade show competition heats up
Trade shows are back. In a summer 2023 survey of event professionals, 77% of meeting and event professionals said they expect a return to pre-pandemic attendance levels in North America. That aligns with what Jen Klitzke, senior trade show manager at 4imprint, is seeing across the floor. “These events are back with a vengeance,” she said. “People really are excited to be back and making connections.”
“These events are back with a vengeance,” said Jen Klitzke. “People really are excited to be back and making connections.”
And those connections are important. More than 77% of trade show attendees and nearly 83% of event organizers say in-person business-to-business conferences offer the best networking opportunities. To capitalize on the opportunities, organizations are finding ways to stand out—often with help from promo products for trade shows. Ace Endico’s coordinated apparel is a popular example, and one Klitzke sees more and more. “When everyone is dressed like a team, it makes the overall look of a booth more appealing,” she said. “It ties people together and it draws people in.”
Trade show promo products turn heads
Another example of a company working hard to be a trade show standout is Hillyard, a manufacturer and distributor of cleaning and hygiene solutions, with locations across the United States.
At a March event, the company stocked vacuum tumblers to hand out to attendees. “Longevity was something we thought about,” said Zenas Lim, a product manager at Hillyard. “It’s a tumbler you put your coffee in, you bring it to work, you have it at your desk. An insulated tumbler is so versatile, and people use them all the time.”
Vacuum insulation helps keep a drink hot or cold on long trade show days
Yowie Vacuum Tumbler
As inventors of the modern-day basketball gym floor finish, Hillyard has products that can be found in gyms and arenas nationwide. With its ties to hoops, Hillyard employees regularly attend the biennial Maple Flooring Manufacturing Association (MFMA) conference.
Lim said the MFMA event is important because it’s an opportunity to hear challenges customers are facing and to manage relationships. The company carefully considered the imprint for the tumblers. The goal: Maximize the impact of each promotional item. Along with the Hillyard logo, the tumblers included the words “First in gym finish.” The phrase draws attention to a core differentiator and entices recipients to learn more about the company’s history.
Hillyard’s decision to imprint more than its logo is a growing trend, according to Klitzke, who sees clever sayings, colors or imagery related to the event itself, or the location imprinted on trade show promo items. “I have found the more effort people put into the creativity of their products, the better they are received, as opposed to using only a brand logo,” she said.
Creativity can go a long way
As Ace Endico and Hillyard show, creative use of trade show promo products is key to helping brands stand out in bustling environments. Now, that’s a Yankee Stadium-worthy home run.
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