A great trade show product will highlight your brand, tell your brand story, and draw in the audience. When done right, a trade show product will be a hit and make the time you spent creating it all worthwhile. But things can go wrong and it’s crucial to be prepared for them.

One of the biggest preparation tools is to understand the most common mistakes made with trade show products.

1. No Message

An effective trade show display does not exist just for its own sake. Sure, an event tent that does nothing but show your brand name and ware is better than no message but successful expo displays are the ones, which go beyond that. They showcase a message beyond ‘buy from us’. This ensures they can connect with their visitors.

Much like creating an ad campaign, try having a larger vision for the trade show display. Highlight how you integrate your products or services with modern technology. Visitors these days need a reason to go to a trade show product and communicate with the staff. Their many businesses competing for attention. A clear message adds to the dimension of the company and gives people a reason to stop and have a chat.

2. Cluttered Displays

Trade show attendees, on average, spend fewer than 5 minutes looking at the display prior to deciding if they would like to learn more or walk away. In case your display is filled with many business cards, brochures, and other elements or your graphics are chaotic, you won’t be able to convey your message clearly. Your customers or clients can then decide to walk away.

3. Going Too Big

As the adage goes ‘Go big or go home’. However, that is not necessarily wise when creating trade show products for custom event tents. It is particularly true if you haven’t attended many trade shows previously. If you are new to trade shows, you might not know what your target audience is looking for and you might be in the learning process. But if you have ever attended many trade shows, you might want to save your more impressive and larger displays for larger shows while keeping the smaller ones for secondary exhibitions.

4. Poor Graphics

When you are presenting your business at a trade show, you need to put your best foot forward. These are highly competitive events and if you are careless, it can have a heavy toll on your brand image. Often, business owners make the mistake of using poor-quality graphics on their trade show products. In most cases, poor quality is because of using poor-quality images in the file. These images tend to have a lower resolution. This, in turn, tends to make appear grainier during large-format printing. Using higher-resolution graphics can prevent this. You will have a higher quality trade show display that grabs attention and increases footfalls in the trade show booth.

5. Giveaways without a Focus

If you have attended a trade show you will know that attendees walk away with various free stuff. Pens, stress balls, and water bottles are only a few of the giveaways at a trade show. While deciding on which product you should give away, ensure it fits into the theme of the overall display. For instance, if you are providing tech solutions you might choose to give away mouse pads or screen cleaners with your brand logo.

6. Not Paying Attention to the Size

When it comes to real estate, it is all about location. At a majority of the events, the big booths tend to get the prime real estate, with locations that are close to the entrance, along the primary aisle, and right in the center of the action. The result is smaller booths see less traffic. In case this is your big event, your primary lead generation opportunity, then it might not be the right time for a small pop-up display. This is the place where you should announce your presence with authority. Modular displays, custom exhibits, and attractive graphics are in order.