OnFulfillment Blog | Event Marketing Materials

We’ve all heard the phrase “don’t sweat the small stuff.” That’s great advice—at least, for most situations.

But when it comes to event management and fulfillment, it’s almost all “small stuff.” The big stuff—like booth construction, signage, product displays—is right there in front of you, easy to see, track, and fix if needed. Instead, it’s the dozens of often overlooked administrative and organizational tasks that pose the real challenge. Collectively these jobs make an oversized contribution to the ultimate success of every trade show, conference, and seminar—and it’s not uncommon for many of them to slip through the cracks.

In fact, the small stuff is so important to effective event management that it brings to mind another popular phrase: “The devil is in the details.”

There might still be snow on the ground in many areas, but it won’t be long before golfers start dusting off their clubs and hitting links. And golf season means opportunities for companies to host or sponsor tournaments, whether to raise money for charity or attract new prospects and customers.

No matter the reason, there is a lot to consider when participating in a golf tournament. Like any outdoor event, tournaments must be treated differently than the typical indoor trade show or seminar. Signage must be designed to withstand the elements. Giveaways should be tailored to the event and activity. Golf tournaments also generate a high level of energy and friendly competition, all of which present unique and memorable branding opportunities for a highly targeted audience.

As a marketing professional, you probably don’t need to be told that branded promotional products are big business.

Companies today devote millions of their annual marketing budget to corporate-branded swag, apparel, and various other promo items for prospects, customers, partners, and employees. According to an article on LinkedIn, companies allocate 15% to 20% of their marketing budget to events, trade shows or external branding, a large portion of which is earmarked for promotional products. In the U.S. alone, that translates to between $21.2 billion and $26 billion annually, depending on the source; worldwide, that figure is far higher.

That is a lot of money. Yet shockingly, despite the huge budgets devoted to this space, many companies have no idea what promotional materials they currently have in inventory, where those items are, or how much of that inventory has actually been handed out.

It’s a new year, and that means a brand-new event season is upon us. Do you feel prepared for a successful 2025 campaign?

As you’re certainly aware, it takes more than submitting the proper paperwork by the stated deadlines, lining up booth staff, and ordering enough branded giveaways to get you through the year. Putting your best foot forward, making a good impression, and attracting the right prospects requires a more strategic approach—a blueprint that defines how you will approach the upcoming events and deliver a consistent and effective message to your target audience.

On top of all that, you’ll want to maximize your budget and spend wisely by making the most efficient use of available resources, simplify travel and accommodations, and repurpose materials as much as possible to ensure a more sustainable business model.

OnFulfillment has decades of experience planning, supporting, and managing the logistics of successful trade shows, conferences, seminars, and other events. And we’ve assembled the following tips, suggestions, and strategies that will help you ensure a successful 2025 season.

Trade show season is in full bloom.  The calendar is full of events—everything from industry-wide trade shows sponsored by corporate marketing to regional conferences and local seminars staffed by local sales teams and admins.

Lots of exposure and networking opportunities lie ahead.  That’s the good news.  The bad news is, you’ve been tasked with coordinating and overseeing these events nationwide—literally hundreds of shows coast to coast for which you must provide banners, signage, pop-up displays, collateral, and promotional materials.

Even if you were equipped to manage multiple vendors over several months and across multiple time zones to secure the necessary materials for each of these events, that’s only half the battle.  Once the deliverables have been produced, there remains the challenge of getting them all delivered where they need to be, when they need to be there.  That means boxes need to be packed, shipping labels printed, and detailed delivery instructions provided.  And since many of these items are reusable and need to be shared by several different groups, you also need to organize shipments between events and venues, often with razor-thin margins of error.