If you have an event coming up, here are some guidelines to help you promote it in the best way.

BONUS: Train Your Staff to Get the Most From Your Trade Show Booth

1. What’s your budget?

It’s important to allot a large enough budget to promote upcoming event effectively. It’s always good to have a few different branded visual references at your table. Use these basics as a guideline:

• A table throw: about $179
• A retractable banner: about $249
• At least 1 handout (brochures, postcards): $79
• A Business card: $39

Total: $546

When planning your budget, remember that these promotional materials aren’t a one-time investment. Most of Printing Solutions’ customers reprint their signs and banners only once a year at most. So you can invest a few bucks into something big and high-quality that other marketing material just cannot do.

2. What functionality do you need?

Consider your purpose for attending the event when you plan your promotional materials. Do you want to connect with potential clients, or are you there to look for new companies to partner with? Tailor your materials toward your end goal.

Certain materials are essential regardless of your end goal — you’ll always need a large sign or banner to attract the most attention possible. But if your booth doesn’t include a table front and center, you might want to skip the table throw and put your budget toward more interesting freebies to hand out at the event.

Keep in mind that just because you purchase these materials for a specific event doesn’t mean that they’re useless between trade shows. A lot of wide format printing is very versatile in that you can use it for many different occasions. Once your event is over, displaying your signs or banners in your office or conference room just adds additional branding to your workspace.

3. What products do you already have?

It’s always a good idea to go through your existing supplies before an event and take inventory of what you already have. If you’ve attended trade shows or tabled other events before, chances are you can repurpose some of your existing materials, like table throws, business cards, and banners. But if the materials show signs of wear or are of a low quality, you might want to consider reprinting.

“We take print and see how we can design something specifically for it. The two go together,” says Kristyn Dingman, Printing Solutions’ Director of Marketing. “You can have a high-end retractable banner that has an unattractive graphic on it, or you can have a really solid design of your logo that is printed on a cheap material. The two are essential to one another. Printing on a high-quality material with a high-quality visual is the best route to take.”

If you’re planning your first event and need to start from scratch with promotional materials, our On-The-Go Package was created just for your. It includes over 6 different print marketing options for one price and is a customizable and comprehensive solution to that helps to promote upcoming event.

BONUS: Large Format Printing and What You Are Doing Wrong

For us, the best part of planning any event is seeing the customer’s face light up when we have the display set up in our office for them to pick up. Seeing that end result and the reactions we get are priceless.

Need Help To Promote Upcoming Event?

If you need help planning and to promote upcoming event or trade show, let Printing Solutions help. Give us a call at 480-596-6300 to get started.

The post How Should I Promote My Upcoming Event? appeared first on Printing Solutions.

Fortunately, there’s a lot more to stickers than the arts and crafts aisle, and when it comes to choosing one that’s right for your business, the options are pretty much endless. Read on to find out why stickers are not just for kids.

What is a Sticker?

“We have this definition of ‘stickers.’ Well, ‘stickers’ means so many things,’ says Kristyn Lechwar, Printing Solutions’ Director of Marketing. “An adhesive label is more so the proper term — it can be anything that you would like to stick somewhere.”

BONUS: 5 Innovative Ways to Use Print Marketing

Printing Solutions’ stickers are usually paper-based, and come in a wide variety of stocks and finishes. The most commonly requested finish is a glossy coating that seals and protects, making stickers perfectly touchable and long-lasting. Our paper crack-back stickers are a popular choice, as they are a cost effective and high quality option for someone looking for a large order of stickers to hand out or distribute.

Vinyl is significantly tougher than paper and is great for bumper stickers, outdoor surfaces, or for any situation where the sticker might be exposed to the elements — think of them as all-weather labels. While a little more on the pricy side than paper stickers, the professional look and rugged durability of vinyl makes it worth the extra dough.

But when it comes down to it, stickers really can be anything that sticks — paper and vinyl are the most popular sticker materials, but are far from your only option. We can print on countless labelling materials, each of which can act as a solution for what our clients are looking for.

All of Printing Solutions’ paper stickers come with a UV glossy finish, and can be printed in countless different shapes, sizes, and stocks.

How Should I Use Stickers?

Our clients use stickers for all kinds of purposes — anything from labels for bottles or boxes to placing them on products directly.

Healing Solutions is one of our clients that really has this down. They use an attractive sticker as a label for all of their aromatherapy products.

“We do their labeling as a skinny, long piece,” Kristyn says. “It can’t really come off and it gets wrapped around. Water bottles that have the paper wrapper, they fall off. This is a great, cost-effective solution for the thousands of pieces they do.”

We also offer bumper sticker options, as well as large stickers that clients can actually resell. A bumper sticker we did for U and Improved is a great example. It turned out really well and it was perfect for the owner to hand out.

Several clients of ours love handing stickers out as gifts as well.

“We do a really fun sticker for The Boys and Girls Club,” Kristyn says. “They hand these out at events with a very strong message on them. It really creates a lasting impression.”

Who Should Use Stickers?

The key thing to think about when it comes to picking the right print marketing materials, including stickers, is to see how it would work with your company’s culture overall. For example, a dentist office might want to invest in a kid-friendly sticker to hand out since the dentist is such a scary thing for kids.

“This isn’t just for fun, goofy companies,” Kristyn says. “Anybody could use a sticker.”

Another thing to consider when choosing a sticker is its purpose. Will it be adhered indoors or outdoors? How long do you want it to say there before it is removed?

“Stickers leave a physical impression, so if you are going to be handing them out, once it’s adhered to something it doesn’t go away,” Kristyn says. “It’s permanent.”

BONUS: Guerrilla Marketing — Why You Should Use It

Are you considering investing in a nifty sticker for your business? Printing Solutions can help! With countless shapes and sizes to choose from and a talented design team by your side every step of the way, your final product is sure to be a hit. Give us a call at 480-596-6300 to get started.

The post Stickers: Not Just for Kids! appeared first on Printing Solutions.

Rather than just sitting idly waiting for your ship to come in, this is one instance when getting creative with some guerrilla marketing might be the ticket. There are some guerrilla marketing strategies that have been proven to work in the past over and over again that you, as a small business, could and should use to promote yourself.  Here’s why…

It’s Inexpensive

There are many different clever ways to promote a small business that cost very little. In fact, many people would argue that the best guerrilla marketing strategies are the least expensive. When it comes to marketing, bigger isn’t always better. Rather than billboards or television commercials, think stickers, postcards, mini-Frisbees, or even inexpensive flyers that say just the right thing. Try leaving your business cards in tactical places where your intended audience will more likely see them.

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Lasting Impression

One of the advantages to using guerrilla-marketing tactics is that it can often be very liberating when it comes to creativity. It allows you to push the envelope and be just a bit daring when it comes to getting your message across. Some businesses have found that these risks lead to more memorable messages that stick with their potential customers longer. Even the simplest or least expensive marketing campaign can create a buzz or a following rather quickly. Don’t be afraid to try something unique and different to help your cause.

Keeps You Focused

There will always be time for well thought out and well-organized marketing strategies that are might be considered mainstream, traditional and proven. Those things are definitely important. However, by remaining open to the idea of occasional guerrilla marketing ideas, you are keeping yourself in the right mindset for the growth of your business. When you look for the small and unique opportunities to push your branding or draw attention to your products or services, you will be more growth oriented and focused. This can definitely be contagious and soon your entire team will be on the ball when it comes to guerrilla marketing.

When any of your guerrilla marketing strategies involve design or print, be sure to turn to the experts at Printing Solutions. We’re ready to put our experience and expertise to work for you and provide you with quick and effective solutions at the right price. Give us a call at 480-596-6300.

The post Guerrilla Marketing – Why You Should Use It appeared first on Printing Solutions.