Planning catalogues, samples and giveaways

8 stand types

storage and rack solutions differ by type

Stand types

Print in two layers

The thick product catalogue stays on the stand and is read together during a meeting. That copy is display material, not handout material. The second layer is a thin summary: product family, a link to the technical data, and contact details. Keeping it under four pages is rule enough.

The quantity is simple to work out. Take the number of qualified conversations you expect, add a margin, and keep anything meant for general distribution out of that count. Over-printed catalogues either travel home or go in the bin, and both cost money.

Where the rack sits is a design decision. A literature rack at the entrance moves people past rather than stopping them; material beside the meeting area starts a conversation. That belongs in the design stage. How the catalogues reach the stand belongs in the plan too; boxes are heavy, they will not be carried by hand, and they need their own line on the freight list. Decide at the outset what happens to what is left over: carried home, given away on site, or stored for the next fair.

How samples travel

Samples are the strongest selling tool at a fair and the worst-travelled material at it. Heavy or fragile pieces do not survive a visitor’s bag. The right method is to show the sample on the stand and offer to post it. That offer solves the carrying problem and creates a legitimate reason for the first contact after the show.

Keep the despatch list on the stand: company, address, which sample, when it goes. A list written from memory after the fair always comes out short.

At fairs abroad, the customs status of samples is a separate matter. Pieces that will return travel under temporary importation; pieces that will be left behind need different treatment. Make that distinction before the freight is planned.

How samples sit on the stand is a design decision as well. Pieces meant to be handled go at a reachable height; fragile ones go behind glass. A sample a visitor can touch starts a much longer conversation than one they cannot. Limit the number too: showing every product has the same effect as showing none.

Giveaways

One rule holds for giveaways: hand over something that will be used, or hand over nothing. The pens and keyrings left in hotel rooms at the end of a fair are the quiet loss in the budget. An object the visitor actually uses, with your name small on it, outlives the alternative on the same money.

Quantity deserves the same care. A gift given to everyone reminds nobody; the same gift at the end of a qualified conversation becomes part of the conversation.

The space giveaways occupy on the stand is a cost too. If boxes fill part of the store, that floor area has been paid for. If leftovers are to be kept for the next fair rather than carried home, write it into the storage plan. Check what is printed on them, too: a gift carrying an old phone number or a former address reads as carelessness rather than a well-meant mistake. Verifying the contact details once more before the job goes to print is enough.

Can printed catalogues be dropped entirely?

Not yet in most sectors. A copy to read together on the stand helps a meeting; what can go is the version handed out in bulk.

Does a QR code replace printed material?

It complements it. A code works if the page behind it opens properly on a phone; where hall connectivity is weak you need a fallback.