As an effective way to reach customers and develop a strong brand, a plastic badge holder makes as much of an impression at a trade show as a large display banner does. This is especially true if the company is giving away plastic badge holders as a trade show souvenir to remember them by. What your plastic badge shows will create a lasting memory of your booth and representatives, and if it is made well, could remain with a potential customer for a long time to come. A poorly made plastic badge with nothing to say, or that contains the wrong message will quickly be discarded.
The importance of a strong showing at a trade show can not be under-emphasized. Statistics show that businesses receive better results from trade shows and conventions than either direct mail or advertising to other businesses. The sales process benefits from the trade show atmosphere as well, with a majority of sales from trade shows needing little follow-maintenance, and costing much less than a traditional field sales call.
These benefits all speak to the need to analyze every aspect of a company’s trade show presentation, from display banners, to the trade show booth, to plastic name badge holders, and plastic badge giveaways. The business needs to ask some important questions as the promotional displays are being designed. Go to any trade show and the questions will become obvious:
- Are the items being given away sending a clear message?
- What types of items are most appealing? Are they the clear plastic badge holders containing company information? Miniature golf clubs? What grabs your attention?
- Regardless of the medium, does the message make sense and relate to the customer, or does it seem impotent and unclear?
- Even more important, how likely are you to keep the giveaways you see on display? If the message is good, the longer the customer holds on to it, the better the chance they will make a purchase in the future.
- Is the company trying to draw you in with an intelligent message and attractive, vibrant displays, or does the display booth seem to have been done on a tight budget?
Potential customers walking around a consumer or trade show do ask themselves these questions, at least on a subconscious level.
Representatives at the display booth need to have clear identification to be part of a solid and cohesive trade show display. A sloppy, cheap looking plastic id badge makes just as poor an impression as a slouching retractable banner. To be sure every detail demonstrates that care and thought were put into your trade show booth, make sure your sales reps look sharp, and have sharp accessories such as id badge holders.
The plastic id badge holder will last longer and project a better image if it is made of rigid plastic and has a professional photo id, or eye-catching graphic inside. Rigid plastic badge holders make it easy to change out a photo or display graphic, and will last through several shows without bending, breaking, or tearing. These badge holders can also double as ID card holder giveaways or for use as a holder for smart cards.
A plastic name badge holder that develops tears is one of the tackiest details that can be shown to customers. Name badge holders are an inexpensive but important accessory, and a torn one says that the business is too cheap to do things correctly. For this reason a hard plastic badge holder makes sense.
For only pennies more per badge holder, a cleverly designed rigid holder can be purchased that has a thumb notch that makes it easy to extract the card inside. Consider that plastic id badge holders for employees will be used to gain access in and out of many trade shows, and the logical choice is a hard plastic holder. This also means that it lasts longer for the customer who takes it home as a giveaway.
Plastic badge holders can typically be found at the same company that provides other trade show tools, including business cards, display banners and stands, and pop-up table displays. It is a good idea to purchase extras, whether they are only for the employees manning the display booth, or to be set out as giveaways.
If the badge holders will be used as giveaways, the same questions you may ask when wandering a trade show are just as important to ask as you set up for your own company’s display. Is there an exciting message that clearly communicates what you have to say to the customer? If necessary, is there a striking graphic on a business or advertising card to go with the message inside the plastic holder? The same company that does the printing for your vinyl roller banners will have no problem replicating that same image for your plastic badge holder.
This could be amusing to many people, within the company or strangers; regardless it is chaotic and inefficient. Handing out and forcing everyone keep plastic id badger holders on their person is not asking too much, Code Pink has not protested this, not yet at least.