Table top displays are an excellent addition to your trade show presence, but they offer so much more than just convention utility. During the show, it's a tool to communicate with your visitors and help develop your brand. After the convention, it's still a powerful tool -- your company simply needs to learn how to use it, and think outside the box. Using your exhibit outside of conventions helps further your company's marketing goals, strengthens your branding, and helps establish you within your industry.

Use It At Company Events

It's common for companies to hold events celebrating the launch of a new product, or perhaps the opening of a new location. At events like this, you can expect to see a lot of new customers and quite possibly some journalists as well. To help everyone understand what your company is about, bring out the exhibit that you were using at the convention. The two events are actually quite similar; at a trade show, you're trying to help a crowd become acquainted with your company and your products. At an open house, you're trying to do the same thing. The only difference is that you're not competing with other companies for your visitors' attention. Because of the similarities, bringing out your exhibit and re-using it is a great way to boost your returns from the open house.

Use It At Charity Events You Sponsor

When your company does good deeds, you usually get more than just the knowledge that you helped someone as a reward. Typically, sponsoring a charity event will give you some kind of bonus representation at the actual event. In some cases, you'll just be mentioned as a sponsor, or have your logo featured in a program. But in other cases, you'll actually be given space to put up a small booth. When you have booth space, bringing along your table top displays is an excellent idea. This situation is also similar to a trade show, although people might not be expecting to see your company there. However, when they do see you, they're much more like to come see what you're about. When they know that you've been kind to charity, they're much more likely to be kind to you in return.

Using your exhibits at this kind of event is a good idea, but be sure that they aren't too salesy. A strong presentation is good for some trade shows, but it can be out of place at something like a charity run. Speak with the organizers ahead of time and determine what kind of situation you'll have. Adjust your plans accordingly, and leave anything that might be inappropriate back at the office. Better to have a simple booth staffed by caring people than less staff and table top displays that just don't fit.

Use It For Board Presentations

When you need to present a new plan to the board, you probably are used to using a visual aid. A well used trade show exhibit can be a very strong presentation tool. It is already a summary of what your company has produced because it's meant to show that presentation to all attendees. More than that, it's also a testament to how well your company is performing because it's evidence of well considered marketing. Just be careful that you keep the focus: don't let more than 20% of your information be printed on the exhibit.

Use It To Interact With Media

Your table top displays can also be a starting point for a media kit. Media kits help journalists get to know your company so they can easily write about you without having to do too much independent research. Your exhibit already promotes the most positive facts about your company, providing an excellent starting point for building a portfolio of your company that journalists can access.

Discover Your Own Uses

These ideas are just a few basic ways that you can utilize table top displays outside an exhibition. You'll almost certainly discover new ways yourself, once you open your mind and begin to look for them. The more you find, the more mileage you'll get out of your exhibit, and the more you'll increase the return on your investment.