Imagine you’re at a trade show, perusing the aisles of booths from companies in your industry. How are you going to decide which to visit? The products and services each company offers will surely play a role, but so will the signage they use as part of their displays. The signs are what will attract your attention and give you the information you need to decide whether you want to visit a specific booth.
Trade shows are incredible opportunities for all kind of businesses. They offer the chance to meet numerous potential customers and partners all in one place at one time. To make the most of these opportunities, you need signage that will attract the right people, give them a positive impression of your company and portray your brand’s personality. Let’s explore more about the benefits of trade show signs, the types you can use and how to choose the right kind for your needs.
Benefits of Trade Show Signs
High-quality, custom signage can help you accomplish your trade show goals. Here are some of the ways trade show signs can help you get the most out of the next event you attend.
Get People’s Attention
Trade shows are typically full of exhibitors vying for attendees’ attention. If you want to attract people to your booth, you need a display that will help you stand out from the crowd. The signs you include are a crucial part of that.
Adding a compelling image, appealing colors or text that features an engaging question can help to attract the eye of passersby. You can add accent lighting, backlit graphics and digital signage to your display to make it stand out even more. These little touches will help get people interested in your booth, so you get a chance to wow them with information about your company’s products or services.
Make a Good First Impression
For many trade show attendees, your booth will be their first impression of your company. Often, the signage that forms the backdrop of your display will be the first part of the booth they see. First impressions are always important, especially at trade shows where people have so many exhibitors to choose from. If you don’t impress them right away, they may move on to another opportunity.
That’s why it’s essential that your trade show booth signage looks professional. If you have high-quality signs, people are more likely to view your company as reputable and reliable. If your signage looks low-quality, people may assume your products are as well.
Inform Your Audience
Once you get someone’s attention, you need to convey information about your company, products and services to them to keep them interested. A high-quality sign can help you do that.
A well-designed sign printed with easy-to-read text can help you share basic information about your organization. It’s crucial to remember text isn’t the only way to convey information using signage. The fonts, colors, images and even materials you use send a message to attendees too.
Increase Brand Awareness
Trade shows are excellent for increasing brand awareness, and trade show signs can play a significant part in this. If you design your signs in a way that aligns with your brand, they can be powerful tools for boosting your its visibility.
One way to do this is to use your brand’s logo, taglines, colors, fonts and other brand elements on your signs. Your design should also match your brand’s personality. For example, if your brand focuses on being innovative and using cutting-edge technology, you should use a modern or even futuristic-looking design.
Grow Your Business
Your ultimate goal in attending a trade show is likely to grow your business. High-quality trade show signs can help you accomplish this objective by attracting the right people to your booth, keeping them interested, boosting brand awareness and creating a positive impression of your company. Our trade show signs are also cost-effective, so you can get all the benefit of attending a trade show while reducing your expenses.
Types of Trade Show Signs
When it comes to trade show signs, you have a lot of different options to choose from. Most are portable, which makes them easy to set up, tear down and move from event to event. You can also choose either indoor or outdoor trade show signs. Here’s a closer look at some of the sign types you can choose from.
- Table graphics: Many trade show booths feature a table in the center. You can drape a fabric covering over the table to add visual appeal to your booth. Adding display items like miniature pop-ups, small tabletop signs for trade shows and literature racks can also help make your booth more engaging.
- Flags: Adding a flag to your display can help it stand out from the other exhibits at the event. If your booth is outdoors, the flag will move with the wind, adding a dynamic element to your booth. You can even print a flag with a different design on each side, so the image displayed changes as people view it from different perspectives.
- Standing banners: Custom banners are an eye-catching way to convey information and boost your brand. You can order vinyl banners in a variety of shapes, colors and sizes. They come with laminates designed for either indoor or outdoor use. You can also choose banners that stand on their own or banners that hang from another object.
- Booth backdrops: Placing a custom-printed large-format sheet or canopy in the background of your booth can help you establish a theme and make your display more memorable. A backdrop can create a welcoming feel and make entering your booth feel like an immersive experience. You can also add a half-wall or paneled backwall accent to your booth.
- Folding display panels: Folding display panels are portable, easy to assemble and offer the opportunity to convey lots of useful information to event attendees. These signs come in a range of materials and sizes, from small tabletop displays to 20-foot-long display boards. These kinds of signs are excellent for placing in your booth for people who want to read more about a specific topic, product or service.
- Backlit graphics: Adding a backlit graphic to your display can make it even more eye-catching. These graphics use LED lights, frames and exchangeable fabric overlays to create a look that helps you stand out from the crowd. You can use it anywhere, either indoors or out, as long as you have access to a power source.
- Floor graphics: Floor graphics can help you take full advantage of the space within your booth for promoting your brand and conveying information to visitors. These semi-permanent decals consist of a base vinyl layer with an anti-skid laminate coating and an adhesive layer for sticking to the floor.
- Wall graphics: Wall graphics include a variety of sign types you can display on nearby walls or partitions. They include wall-mounted banners, fabric trade show posters and folding panel screens.
- Pop-up displays: Pop-up signs for trade shows include are portable 3D displays that are perfect for adding visual appeal to a trade show booth. Our collapsible pop-up displays feature accordion-style support frames, while our folding panel displays have printed panels that help them stand. The displays come in a variety of sizes and designs.
- Digital signage: If you want to add a more-high tech edge to your display, add some digital trade show booth signage. This option offers the advantage of being able to display multiple images so you can convey more information with just one sign.
How to Choose Trade Show Signs
With so many possible choices, picking the right trade show sign can be challenging. Carefully weighing your options, though, can help you ensure you get the most out of your trade show experience. Here are five things to consider when choosing a trade show sign to help you make the right pick.
Your Trade Show Goals
What is your main goal in coming to the trade show in question? The answer to this question will help drive all the decisions you make about the event, including what signage you use.
Your goal may be to get leads, network with potential vendors, launch a new product, build brand awareness or learn about your industry. Whatever your objective is, the design of your signage should help you achieve it.
For example, if you want to launch a new product, your signage should feature it heavily. You may also want some space to demonstrate your product. If your goal is to increase brand awareness, you’ll want to make your brand name, logo, colors, font and other brand elements especially noticeable. You could do this, for instance, with an eye-catching backdrop or prominent banner featuring your logo against a background of your brand colors.
Your Brand
No matter what your goal is, all your signage should match your brand’s personality. Trade shows are an outstanding opportunity to build your brand, so you don’t want to miss out on it or send mixed messages that confuse your audience. Keep your signage consistent with your brand’s image, and you’ll be good to go.
Staying on-brand means including brand elements in your design when appropriate. It also means you need to consider your brand’s personality when designing your booth and signage overall. For instance, if your brand has a modern, sleek feel to it, you don’t want to use outdated graphics and fonts on your signs. If the target audience of your company is people who like the outdoors, your theme probably shouldn’t focus on city life.
The Available Space
Another consideration is the space you’ll be working with. You don’t always have all the details ahead of time, especially if you’re doing multiple events, but do your best to get as much information as you can and work with what you have.
The amount of space you have, of course, will impact how large your signs can be. You should also try to find out if you can hang things from the ceilings or place items on the walls or floor. If you plan on using backlit or digital displays, you’ll need access to a power source. It’s also crucial to know whether your booth will be inside or outside. If you participate in a lot of outdoor events, you may want to choose signage materials that can withstand the elements.
Portability
Portability is another factor to keep in mind. A lot of trade show signage is designed to be easy to set up, tear down and transport, but this varies according to the complexity of the designs, the size of the signs and the types of materials used. If you go to a lot of events or you’re often working on a tight schedule at trade shows, you may want to prioritize portability. Some examples of portable displays include standing banners, hanging banners, table coverings, pop-up displays, wall-mounted displays and folding display panels.
Your Booth Formation
It’s essential to design your signage with your booth formation, or the overall layout of your booth, in mind. Doing so will help ensure your booth has a cohesive look and feel to it, which leads to a better, more memorable experience for trade show visitors.
Booth formations often come in the form of a modular kit. At SpeedPro, we offer four types of kits.
- Linear module: Linear displays feature a rectangular fabric backdrop with a portable frame. They may also include fabric pillowcase and wind fabric accents and display accessories.
- Vector frame modular: Vector frames give your display a 3D look using push-fit SEG backdrop graphics and aluminum framing. These geometric kits may also have counters and LED graphic backlighting.
- Hybrid modular: Hybrid kits combine elements of the linear and vector frames kits. They feature push-fit SEG backdrops and aluminum framing, as well as fabric and accessory extension. They may also come with other features such as half walls, canvas canopies, LED lighting and geometric architectural fabric structures.
- Island and orbital: Island and orbit kits create circular, 360-degree displays. They often feature fabric graphics held up by steel trusses and may also include additional towers, kiosks, canopies and other features.
Choose a Reliable Partner
A key to choosing the right signs and having a successful trade show is working with the right partners. You want a team made up of experts in printed products who want to partner with you, rather than just work with you, and become an extension of your marketing team. When you choose SpeedPro, that’s exactly what you get.
We collaborate with you to make sure you get the perfect solution to fit your needs. We’ll help you pick the right products and print them using high-quality materials for reliable, professional-looking results. We specialize in large-format printing, so we’re experts in what we do. We’ll tackle any project, big or small, and we’ll make sure you get the results on time and up to your standards.
If you’re looking for a partner who can help you make your next trade show appearance a success, and who you can count on for events down the road too, contact your local SpeedPro studio today.
