Branding : From Carpet to Canopy

I’ve spent the last few weeks reading, researching, and referencing various branding techniques.  As some of you already know, I’m an events & wedding planner by profession; and also providing branding and marketing consultancy services.

A friend of mine has his own flooring and tiling company and we were discussing how a large chunk of clients don’t see the importance of increasing the spends for events so that it can include all-round branding i.e. from carpet to canopy.  I use this term (and it’s quite catchy too) because whilst browsing a few sites today, I came across some great reference material and pictures that I could point out to future clients.

When a company or brand is looking at general corporate branding, creating and increasing team spirit, increasing customer awareness – then custom logo mats are the perfect solution.  Whether its a sports team, a food chain, an art gallery, a nursery or university, or a multinational company – they are all using customized logo mats to enhance their brand presence across their respective outlets / offices.

There are a variety of mats that can be used from indoor mats, outdoor mats, and industrial mats.   The mats are light weight; can be moved around; protects the floors AND creates a great first impression to new and potential clients; not to mention that the use of floor mats decreases the wear & tear on existing flooring and decreases the cleaning bill !  There are also anti-fatigue mats which provides for ergonomic comfort for employees especially if they have to stand for long periods of time.  Its been proven that using this style of mats increases productivity and employee satisfaction.

India is known for its multitude of exhibitions and trade shows – every week there’s something or the other going on.  And yet, every time I visit any of the shows and exhibitions, I come out feeling slightly disappointed.  I spend the majority of my time ‘hunting’ for a brand that might stand out to me .. instead of the brand catching my attention. 

As an event manager, setting up a booth at a trade show or exhibition to me is the equivalent of having a store or office by which potential customers will judge the business and based on that judgment they will determine whether or not they want to enter your store / booth etc.  

Brands have yet to catch on to using customized/branded trade show flooring or trade show carpeting at these exhibitions and shows as it increases the visual impact of the display area; and creates a more professional environment.   All trade shows have the same flooring – why not make yours stand out ! Besides its always better to for a brand to own their own flooring especially if participating in multiple exhibitions and shows in a year.

I’ve always found that using a logo canopy creates a high impact (more so in outdoor events); particular if one wants to keep budgets low.  For the longest time, clients have just used canopies to put their brand name on the structures – however nowadays they even want to put out full colour pictures of the product(s) to print onto the tents.

Brands are opting for more graphic covered tents primarily for sporting events, fashion events, trade shows, and any road show campaigns inside and/or outside retail establishments.   These can range in size from 10 x 10 feet to as large as 100 x 100 feet if not larger depending on the scale of the event. 

These branded canopies provide venue owners, and corporate sponsors the dual benefits of outdoor protection AND high profile brand exposure.

So as you can see it’s not really that difficult for a brand to cater to complete carpet to canopy branding .. it can be done in a cost effective manner.  The brands just have to open their eyes, smell the coffee, and remember that it’s about customer perception at the end of the day.

Would love to hear any added thoughts to the above article.  Of course there are many more ways for a brand to marketing and brand themselves.  The above are just 3 of the simpler ways a brand can get their message across to mass audiences.

Related Items branded canopies branded trade show flooring branding at exhibitions branding at trade shows carpet to canopy branding custom logo mats