Companies take part in outdoor events to gain better exposure. It also helps them build brand recognition and recall in their respective industries.
Trade shows and other marketing events are excellent marketing tools to display and show what your company does. Same as what solution your products can offer and what difference it will make in their lives.
Business outdoor events are all about standing out and showcasing your brand. Pop-up canopies are a popular pick for promotional events. Yet, choosing the right kind of event tents to use could sink or boost your marketing goals.
How do you choose between custom pop-up tents vs traditional blank tents: for your next outdoor event?
In this blog, we will talk about custom pop-up tents and traditional blank tents. We will also touch on the vital factors you need to know to make a well-informed decision.
Design and Construction
Custom pop-up tents are among the most popular displays during events and trade shows. Easy to set up and disassemble, their structure and design depend on their intended use, tent materials, and desired tent features.
Manufacturers design custom pop-up tents to be portable, lightweight, and effortless to set up. These portable tents have collapsible pop-up frames made of aluminum or other tent material. Usually made of polyester or synthetic material, the canopy design can be custom-printed with your design or branding. It also makes them perfect for short-term outdoor events.
Traditional blank tents can be used as outdoor tents and for several purposes, from camping to outdoor events to emergency pop-up shelters.
Most often less expensive than custom pop-up tents, they make a good option for customers on a budget.
Customization and Branding
Tent customization and tent branding options are essential when purchasing pop-up and traditional tents. These two enable you to have a tent that meets your specific needs and effectively promotes your business.
For Custom Pop-up Tents
Creating a solid and impactful brand presence is a game-changer for any business. It is especially vital for any trade shows, exhibitions, or outdoor promotional events.
Despite many customization and branding options, you can turn your pop-up tent into a powerful marketing tool. One that reflects your brand values and captures the attention of your potential customers.
These tent branding options include printing logos, brand names, and taglines. These include images using screen printing, digital printing, and dye-sublimation printing techniques. You can also change the colors to match your promotional materials and make the brand colors stand out.
Their tent size and dimensions also vary. So you can choose based on the size of the event. The tent style and appearance are also customizable, such as the walls. You may also add accessories like lighting, tables, chairs, and flags to customize the tent. And finally, customized branding is also doable on the canopy, sidewalls, valances, and peaks, as well as on the carry bag and other accessories.
For Traditional Blank Tents
Traditional blank tents are still customizable in size, style, and materials.
However, they may have limited branding capabilities, which might not be favorable to your business in promoting your brand.
Portability and Ease of Use
Custom pop-up tents are an excellent choice for businesses that needs a short tent setup time and portable solutions for promotional events or marketing activities. These lightweight tents make them a perfect choice since they have a compact design and pop-up features without requiring special tools. All these will help you to achieve a quick and efficient way to showcase your brand.
Custom pop-up tents tend to be lightweight and easy to transport. Their compact design makes them easy to store and carry. Most types come with a case or storage bag, making tent transportation easy.
Traditional blank tents may take longer and more skill and experience to set up and take down than customized portable tents.
When it comes to ease of use, custom pop-up tents are designed for quick and easy setup and take down, often without using additional tools. Traditional blank tents can be bulky and hard to assemble and may require more maintenance and upkeep than custom tents. In addition, any tears or damage to the tent fabric may need to repair to prevent further damage.
Durability and Weather Resistance
Lightweight materials like aluminum make up custom pop-up tents.
These materials are known to be durable and resistant to wear and tear.
So built as weather-resistant tents and also UV resistant. Giving extra protection to your property, products, and promotional materials.
As to tent durability, both custom pop-up and traditional blank tents can withstand different weather conditions.
Custom pop-up tents use lightweight materials such as aluminum or steel frames and polyester or vinyl canopies. They can also be water-resistant and can protect against UV rays.
On the other hand, traditional blank tents may not be as well-built as custom pop-up tents when it comes to different weather conditions like rain, snow, strong winds, and extreme heat.
Also, though some types may have a waterproof coating, they may not be as effective at keeping water out as the materials used in custom pop-up tents. They can make traditional blank tents more vulnerable to leaks and damage during heavy rain or other wet conditions.
Cost and Value
Let’s talk about tent cost and tent value.
Though traditional blank tents may sound affordable, custom pop-up tents may be slightly expensive due to several considerations. These include advanced design options for brand recall, convenience, tent durability, and added customization options. Depending on how and where your business intends to use it.
As such, custom pop-up tents can be a valuable investment for your business.
Factors to determine the best value for your event
When participating in a trade show event, you can consider these factors to ensure you’re gearing up for success.
Assess your goal
Before going to an event, know your main goal in joining. Is it for brand visibility? New product introduction? Are you reintroducing your company after doing a rebrand? Are these for generating new sales leads?
These will give you a clearer perspective on where and what to focus on.
Find the Right Event
Participating in an event is an expensive and laborious process for a business. Before shelling out a big part of your marketing and advertising expenses for outdoor events, it should be any of two things. Attend events within your industry and attend events where your target audience goes.
Leverage Social Media for Promotion
Announcing your event over social media helps you get better chances of resonating with your audience if they’ve already seen that before. You could use paid social media ads or post on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, or other social media platforms.
Prepare to Impress
There are two vital things that you need to remember about trade shows. First, outdoor events have a more inviting and fun atmosphere than indoor events, making attendees more open to new experiences and interactions. Second, outdoor events attract bigger crowds. Larger groups mean greater competition and higher engagement. Having eye-catching branded tents will be very significant. Make sure you build your commercial tents to stand out and capture the attention of your potential customers.
Do a Follow–up
Regardless of how many attendees you may have engaged in the event, no follow-up equals wasted effort. Without following up on your prospective customers, you may lose them.
Reach out with a personalized email to know if they may be interested. One friendly reminder: communicate but don’t spam.
Conclusion
Choosing the right tent for your outdoor event is necessary to ensure success. Custom pop-up tents and traditional blank tents are both popular options. But they differ in design, customization, portability, durability, weather resistance, cost, and value.
While custom pop-up tents offer broader customization and branding opportunities, portability, and ease of use, traditional blank tents are more affordable and versatile.
When determining the best value for your event, it is crucial to consider a few factors, such as assessing your goals, finding appropriate events to join, leveraging social media for promotion, preparing to impress, and doing a follow-up.
Ultimately, custom pop-up tents and traditional blank tents will depend on your specific needs and preferences as an event organizer. By carefully considering all of these factors, you can make an informed decision that will help ensure the success of your event.
FAQs
What is the best use of custom tents?
Custom tents are best for various outdoor shows and events. Businesses can use them as powerful branding and marketing tools. So they gain better exposure, establish brand recognition and recall and attract more potential customers.
To add, they are also great for several other outdoor events. It can be from camping to recreation, sports events to emergency and disaster relief efforts.
What is the difference between a tent and a canopy?
You might have used the words canopy and tent when searching for outdoor shelters. Though they may have similarities, they are different.
A canopy is a structure that has a roof but no sides, while a tent is an enclosed structure.
What are the advantages of pop-up tents?
There are various ways to use pop-up tents to your advantage.
You can use pop-up tents to increase visibility and brand awareness. It can help in achieving a better professional image to build a positive impact on potential customers.
Pop-up tents are also customizable, cost-effective, and convenient to use in various outdoor events. These instant canopies also protect exhibitors and attendees against any weather conditions.
