8 Great Ways to Personalize Your Portable Display

Trade shows, job fairs, product launches and other settings where many vendors battle for attendees’ attention can be great for brand building and lead generation but they’re not inexpensive. The total costs of space, exhibit displays and graphics, travel, marketing materials and follow up can add up quickly, so participants have to ensure that their displays attract the attention of event attendees. Most businesses can’t afford to blend into the background in a setting where there’s so much to see that it can be difficult to see anything at all. It’s important to attract the attention of individuals on the floor.

There are many ways to personalize your portable display and your display space, but many event participants fail to take advantage. That’s good for event participants that choose to add an overhead display or customize their displays to fit their brand. Personalizing the portable display to fit the brand and to attract more attention enhances the probability that the trade show or event will be regarded as being positive for the business.

Custom Printed Graphics
Big companies have been able to splash large format graphics nearly everywhere for a very long time. Thanks to changes in technology and more affordable large format equipment pricing in recent years, large format printing now allows small companies to do the same, and at prices that small companies can afford. A large format banner raised above the level of your competitors’ displays can attract a great deal of attention among event attendees.

A ten foot popup display can span the entire length of your booth space and has the benefit of also extending past the five- to six-foot eye level of most individuals who will be passing in front of the booth. Lightweight, portable and easy to set up, a popup display with compelling and well designed large format graphics can attract a lot of attention.

There is no limit to the impact that custom printed large format graphics can have. The popup, large format display can be as simple as the company’s logo or it can contain detailed information that can invite attendees to linger and read its message. It can function as an attention grabber or give detailed information. It can present a general message and invite attendees to seek greater detail. The ways in which a popup, large format backdrop display can be used are nearly limitless.

Choose a Portable Display Style That Fits Your Brand
Its very important to choose a display style that reinforces your brand image. A company offering cutting edge technology and one offering high end landscaping services should have very different types of portable displays. Each can greatly benefit from a display style that suits the brand, however. Matching the display style with the brand results in a synergistic effect.

Video Monitors
We all have come to be dependent on video input, to the point that most people expect to see video within the trade show environment.  Attendees are quite willing to watch video messages even when they resist the same information provided through other means or media. Video captures people’s attention and can cause the steady stream of traffic past a booth to stop and take in the marketer’s message.

Lighting
Lighting can create an inviting scene that draws event attendees into the display space.  Marketers promoting outdoor products can benefit from adding full spectrum lighting that more closely matches the light quality of the sun. A company promoting products that would be found in a cozy indoor room can add lights colored to resemble the light qualities of a comfortable and inviting indoor space, even if that means protecting the display space from the glaring fluorescent lights far overhead.  Both halogen and LED lights are very effective at illuminating trade show display booths and backlit graphics can add an additional visual impact.

Display Frame Colors and Fabric Colors
Display frames and fabrics can set the tone of the display space and turn an otherwise unremarkable booth into a visually attractive space that commands attention. A unique display frame can draw attention to your booth and compliment your brand image.

Add a Hanging Overhead Display
Using a hanging overhead display effectively increases the visual space the booth occupies. Most trade shows, job fairs and similar events occur in high-ceilinged, cavernous rooms broken into grids and walkways that function only in two dimensions. Nearly all marketers neglect the use of the area above their allotted floor space, failing to maximize all of the space they could be using to their benefit. A hanging overhead display sign serves to attract more attention as well as identify the booth from a distance.

Even if the hanging display contains nothing but a brand name, its unexpected presence can help to draw people to the space. The hanging display can be a straight banner or piece of fabric, but it also can be dimensional in any number of shapes to add additional visual interest to the display space.

Incorporate a Game
65% of American households play videogames and the numbers are growing every year. Adding a game to your display space can encourage trade show attendees to come into your booth and stay for a longer period of time. The game can be a popular commercial game or it can be a simpler one designed specifically to support the exhibitor’s brand.  No matter what game you choose, games are a great way to get the attention of attendees and the process of learning and playing the game is a natural ice breaker and provides an opening to learn more about your prospects needs and see if there’s a fit for your product or service.

Incorporate a Giveaway That Reinforces Your Brand
Giving away something unique or valuable (in the eyes of the attendee) not only serves to bring people into the display space, it also gives the marketer useful contact information. The ideal giveaway is something that the attendee will keep around such as a USB drive, mug, t-shirt, notepad, or maybe even a toy for the kids.  The more they see your logo throughout the year the more likely they will think of you the next time they need a product or service in your niche.