May 24, 2021

This paid piece is sponsored by Interstate Office Products.

Your annual industry meeting, convention or trade show might have skipped a year – but odds are if one isn’t scheduled yet, it’s on the way.

“Third quarter seems to be ramping up as far as trade shows go,” said Curt Reinschmidt, sales consultant for Interstate Office Products. “Things are starting to ramp up, and the timing is great to be thinking about your needs.”

For some, the industry events have started already.

Jason Kelling, an owner and underwriter for Redstone Insurance Brokers, was in North Dakota two weeks ago and Huron last week as part of trade shows for Farmers Union Insurance.

When he met with Reinschmidt about designing a booth and securing promotional products, “we had a really tight time frame,” Kelling said.

“And they were super responsive. I didn’t commit to go to the convention because I didn’t think I could get all the material put together that quickly, and Curt did it in less than a month, and I was able to commit to it. It was the best experience I’ve had working with a company like that.”

Reinschmidt and the IOP team were able to help Kelling design and produce a retractable banner with his company’s logos and information, a branded wind sail and a tablecloth with his logo. He was able to give away branded coffee cups, hats and shirts.

“I’ve worked with other print shops, and this was absolutely a fantastic experience,” Kelling said.

“Usually, you get something and have to send it back, or it takes forever to get. With this, we didn’t have to run all over town getting things and putting it together. They were super helpful arranging everything and making it look nice.”

It looked so nice, a show organizer even approached him about it.

“I had the director come up and say how fantastic it looked and how it really popped – he made a point to tell us how it looked, which does not normally happen, so that was great,” Kelling said. “And we had hats on the table with our emblem on it, and he said how well that turned out and how he’d actually wear it.”

The team at Siouxland Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery had a similar experience with its newly designed booth at the South Dakota Dental Association’s recent annual meeting.

“It turned out really great. We were excited about it,” said marketing coordinator Melissa Smith.

The booth was used as a thank-you for dental offices that refer business to Siouxland Oral, so it included T-shirts with “fun dental sayings like ‘Blame it all on my roots’” along with pens, lip balm and treats.

“We had always ordered a lot of office supplies from Interstate Office Products, so once they were doing the promotional side, I began using them even more,” Smith said. “I prefer to keep it local and all in one place, so we built a relationship, and Curt was really helpful throughout the entire process.”

The new 20-foot banner and tower displays are an eye-catching way to help the practice stand out, she said.

“Everyone was very impressed, including our doctors. Putting the best face on our practice and showing our ties to the community is important, and ours definitely was the best one there.”

Many in the business community still don’t realize IOP can be a one-stop shop for trade shows and other industry events, Reinschmidt said.

“A lot of people know us for furniture and furniture design, but from start to finish, we can be your partner with these displays and promotional products.”

A design team will work with you to execute your vision for the event, keeping it consistent with your branding and helping source promotional products that will be effective.

“For the display, we can be very efficient with production once we have approved artwork,” Reinschmidt said. “For your swag, we may need a little more lead time depending on your selections.”

IOP has a huge variety of promotional merchandise that can be customized. Tech gadgets are still a hot item, including microfiber cloths for cleaning screens. Tumblers and drinkware are always popular, including for remote workers, along with apparel.

And don’t forget about new hires or those who might be returning to the office after a long period of remote work.

“We definitely see companies continuing to look at promotional items for employee appreciation,” Reinschmidt said. “And we’re always able to create a custom merch store for your company so you can allow employees some choice.”

It’s generally better to reach out sooner rather than later, he added.

“If you have an event coming up anytime in 2021, we can begin to talk about your needs,” he said. “And we think you’ll find there’s a lot of added value when you can streamline it to one source.”

Get connected with Curt and his team at IOP today by calling 605-275-3110 or emailing [email protected].