Trade Show Marketing Blog

Positioning is the way you set your product or service aside from your competition in the marketplace. As you can tell, the positioning of a product, service, or even store location will stick in the customers mind and always be associated with the company. If you just take a few moments to think about the type of restaurants along interstate, you will realize that they are mostly fast food. These companies have positioned themselves in a place where they know customers have a need for quick, easy food.

Location is only one factor in positioning a company. Think of communication and the messages that are portrayed through commercials and other types of advertisements. For example, what comes to your mind when you hear the name Mercedes, Gatorade, or Subaru? What about department stores such as Neiman Marcus, JCPenny, and Bloomingdales? If you think of the ads for each of these products and companies, you will notice that each place has a different approach. The approach that each company takes depends on the market they are trying to reach and that reflects how they will position themselves.

Positioning strategies are really important when it comes to choosing your trade show booth and graphic design. You want to make sure that the booth you choose reflects the image of your brand and coincides with any other marketing material you have. Determining what graphics you choose for your display depends on what your positioning strategy will be at the trade show. If you chose the correct show to exhibit at, most likely you will have competition there, so you want to make sure your products benefits and services stand out from the rest.

Positioning strategies generally focus on the consumer or the competition. Both ways associate product benefits with consumer needs, but to focus more on the consumer you have link the product with the benefits the consumer will derive by creating a favorable brand image. The competitive approach positions the product by comparing it, and the benefit it offers, with the competition. For example, Scope mouthwash positions itself as better tasting than Listerine. Apple positions itself as having fewer viruses than a PC. Positioning can be the most important part in marketing to establishing a brand.

Before you attend a trade show, pick your booth, and design graphics ask yourself these questions:

1. What position do we already hold in the target consumer’s mind? (This answer must come from the marketplace, not your manager).
2. What position does our company want to own?
3. What competition do we have to beat to get this?
4. Do we have a strong marketing budget to hold this position?
5. Will we stick with a consistent positioning strategy?
6. Do our creative’s match our positioning strategy?

MODdisplays has a lot of experience in picking a booth that best fits your company’s needs and strategy. If you have any questions or need advice on picking a trade show booth, please call MODdisplays at 877.663.3976 or email sales@moddisplays.com.

MODdisplays now offers a selection of promotional products to help your company increase brand awareness at your next trade show. It is a proven fact that trade show giveaways can help improve the return on your investment at your next event. Whether you’re looking for a branded pen, bag, notebook, stress ball, or lanyard, MODdisplays has a wide selection to choose from. Please visit www.moddisplays.com for more details.

Trade shows usually last six to eight hours, and offer time for booth staffers to interact with potential clients. Unless you make a big impression on your target audience, there is little hope that potential clients will remember your company’s brand. Sending potential clients away with branded giveaway items is a great way to make sure that you are not forgotten. High quality promotional items may remain in use for years, which serves as a constant reminder of your company.

“Our line of trade show products is constantly expanding and improving, and the addition of promotional items to our catalog complements our existing product line,” said Ben Hughes, Director of Sales at MODdisplays. “Although we will always focus our primary attention on the sale of trade show displays, many of our clients have expressed interest in purchasing trade show giveaways from our website as well. Our primary concern is to make shopping for trade show products easy and affordable for our clients, and we believe that the addition of promotional products is a step in that direction.”

Clients who order promotional products from MODdisplays will receive the same exceptionally quick service and dedicated attention as clients who order large trade show exhibits. MODdisplays has streamlined the process for ordering trade show booth packages to ensure that every order is fulfilled smoothly and every product arrives as expected. If you have any questions about the process at MODdisplays, call 877.663.3976 or email sales@moddisplays.com.

The Eco-1st Bamboo Retractable Banner Stand is unique because of its lightweight bamboo construction and its microknit recycled fabric graphic. If you’re looking for an affordable, attractive banner stand that’s environmentally friendly, you’ve found it.

The graphics are printed using water-based inks, which is much better for the environment than solvent-based inks. The fabric that your image is printed on is made from recycled soda bottles. The hardware itself is made from durable, renewable bamboo. Every Eco-1st banner stand we sell has been designed and produced with the environment in mind. Whether you’re using the banner stand to promote your company’s green initiative or you’re genuinely committed to eco-friendly practices, this banner stand will suit your needs well.

An industry is a group of companies that operate with the same end-users in mind. For example, the trade show materials industry is comprised of all the companies that are working to sell trade show displays and exhibiting accessories to a group of people who can be collectively referred to as exhibitors. The strongest companies always find themselves in a leadership role within their industry, while weaker companies spend most of their energies imitating the strategies of the stronger companies in an attempt to catch up.

Trade show marketing is no different. If you find yourself planning your trade show exhibit by trying to model your booth after one of your best competitors, you will probably find that your industry-leading competitor will have further distanced itself by the time you’ve adequately mimicked their exhibiting system. In order to take a leadership role in your industry, you need to step away from industry standards and norms and take a long, hard look at what end-users are looking for. Once you understand your client’s profile, you’ll have a clear picture of what marketing steps to take. Instead of merely copying your competitors marketing efforts, you will be able to define your own presence and set the tone for your industry. Your display may take an entirely different shape and style than any of your competitors, but that won’t matter if your look is exactly what clients have been searching for.

One way to spot a dying company is to look for responsive marketing practices. Do you ever wonder why Microsoft doesn’t respond to Apple’s constant jabs about the inferiority of Windows PCs? The reason is simple: Microsoft holds over 80% of the market share, and responding to Apple’s marketing efforts would legitimize them. While marketing campaigns should be flexible enough to respond to changing competitive environments, they shouldn’t be focused entirely on tearing down competitors. A marketing strategy that directly attacks competitors in an unskilled or tactless way only serves to legitimize your competition, and may actually drive customers away who want to find out what it is about your competitor’s business model that has you in such a tiff.

When planning your next event, think carefully about what will interest your potential clients. If possible, try to take your thinking outside of the context of what other players in your industry are doing. If everyone else in your industry is making unnecessarily large profit margins, your company will have a lot of success by offering lower prices. If your industry lacks a recognizable brand name, improve your packaging and placement to put your logo in the minds of your potential clients. If your industry is like most, there is plenty of room for improvement. Can you ever improve as a company if you’re constantly copying ideas and responding to the work of your competitors?

Purchasing replacement graphics for your popup display is easy at MODdisplays. If you own a Standard 10ft Popup Display, replacing your main graphics and end panels costs as little as $1,200, with free graphic design included in the purchase price. This is an incredible value, especially considering that $1,200 will only buy you 3 graphic panels at the industry’s standard price.

We make ordering your new graphic panels simple through the use of our informative website and our integrated graphics uploader. When you upload your artwork into our advanced system, your artwork will be automatically associated with your order. Any color matching details you provide will be included on the work order, which ensures that no information gets lost in the communication process. Your project is immediately assigned to one of our experienced graphic designers, who will check your files for proper resolution, image quality, color correctness, spelling, and sizing to ensure that no mistakes are made in your graphic output.

Our popup display graphics are printed directly on a high-quality PET substrate using inkjet technology. The graphic is then thermally laminated (or “encapsulated”) with a protective film to ensure that your graphics last a long time. We ship our replacement graphics in solid tubes (instead of flimsy cardboard boxes) that are extremely protective to ensure that your graphic is not damaged in shipping or transportation. Please feel free to call 877.663.3976 or email sales@moddisplays with questions about our popup display graphics.

• Display Type: XRline
• Booth Size: 10′ x 10′
• Special Accommodations: Large Plasma Monitor
• Price Range: $7496.00
• Turnaround Time: 3 - 5 business days
• Setup Time: 1 hour

MODdisplays is proud to announce our biggest savings event ever: 15% off every product on our online store. We understand that marketing budgets get pinched near the end of the year, but that doesn’t mean that your company should have to sacrifice its presence at your next trade show.

Whether you’re looking for top of the line Exhibit One displays, popup displays, or Xpressions displays, you’ll find unbeatable prices on our online store.