What to plan before an event or trade show

Event merchandise has to work in a real place, on a real day, with people carrying it around. A good event item suits the audience, the venue, the timing and the way it gets handed over.

The most useful things to know at the start are the event date, the audience size, and what you want people to do with the item once they leave.

Work backwards from the date

The product has to be chosen, stock checked, artwork approved, branded, packed and delivered before the event team needs it in their hands. If the venue has a freight window or an advance warehouse, build that in too.

Think about weight and carrying. A bottle, notebook, cap or tote works well because it's easy to hand over and easy to keep. A heavy or awkward item can look great in a catalogue and die on the event floor.

• Event date and delivery deadline.
• Venue, delivery address and freight constraints.
• Audience size, plus spares for staff, speakers and late additions.
• Pack contents, if the merchandise is being kitted.
• Who approves artwork, and by when.

What tends to work on the day

Apparel and caps do well when the item should be visible on the day. Drinkware, notebooks, bags and desk items do better when you want it to travel home or back to an office and stay in use.

Where event orders come unstuck

The usual cause is a fixed date with a product shortlist nobody has filtered by what can actually be delivered in time. Artwork revisions then compress whatever slack was left, especially when several people have to sign off a proof.

Launch kits and event packs get complicated faster than people expect. A five-item pack looks simple, but each item can have its own stock position, branding method, proof and freight path.

• Artwork approval takes longer than anyone planned for.
• Each item in a pack runs to a different lead time.
• The product is easy to order and hard to get into the venue.
• Nobody allowed for staff samples, spares or damaged packaging.

What we check

We check supplier stock, branding options, proof timing, freight, pack contents, and whether the item still makes sense at the moment someone hands it to someone else. If the timeline is tight, we'll cut the range down to what can realistically make it.