Where to start with choosing the best merch for your exhibition stands

Getting exhibition attendance just right is a skill in and of itself. There are a lot of different aspects that need to be considered, and it can be tricky to work out which way you should be directing your resources. 

One aspect that you’ll need to think about at some point is what kind of merch you’re going to use. From the importance of understanding your audience to the logistical side of it all, here’s where you can start. 

Understand your audience

The first thing to understand is that your merch isn’t just something that you make to please your own aesthetic tastes. Ultimately, you’re not the one who will end up wearing or using that merch – that will be your target audience. 

This needs to be something that you understand from the very beginning, and should inform the entire design process. Make sure that you do proper market research, so that you’re aware of the kind of clientele you’re trying to cater to with your branded tote bags or pens. 

Brand consistency

You also need to focus on achieving brand consistency in your overall approach. For example, if you’ve chosen a minimal approach to your exhibition stand in collaboration with a designer like Focal Exhibitions, then you wouldn’t want to spoil that by displaying loud, over-the-top merchandise in the same space. 

Make sure that you’re thinking about all the other interrelated pieces of the puzzle throughout the design process. It’s easier to do it all together, rather than find yourself limited by certain aspects of your design and branding philosophy that you hadn’t fully thought through earlier on.

Define your purpose

Merch does have some universal benefits, but it can be infinitely more useful if deployed with a clear purpose. Before you start researching different merch options, you need to think about what it is in particular that you want to achieve.

It’s important that you don’t just do these kinds of things for the sake of it. At best, you’ll fail to maximise the utility of your investment; at worst, you’ll straight up waste money and potentially even do some damage to your brand.

The logistical aspect

Lastly, you’ll want to consider the actual nuts and bolts of getting good merch ready for the exhibition itself. This will include things like finding an appropriate merch manufacturer, working out the costs of everything, and then finally getting your orders together in time for the event day. 

This is generally the most straightforward aspect, but it still requires some time and a bit of planning to get it right. Don’t put it off until the last minute either, or you could end up having to spend more money on a subpar product.

There’s no single formula that you can apply to merch-choosing processes, but the points outlined above do come pretty close to one. By asking these important questions, you can make sure that you’re making the most of your trade show attendance opportunities, while maximising your merch ROI.