Top Off the Season With a Custom Canopy
As we head into the last full month of summer, marching over the sun-baked ground through the dust that swirls in the wake of the long hot afternoons that lead to Memorial Day, we’re reminded that the pinnacle season for county fairs and family reunions, outdoor picnics and parties, end of season events and festivals is upon us. That season can mean hours under the relentless dog days sun or under the leaden clouds of early autumn. In such an environment, few things are often more inviting than the shelter of a portable canopy.
The typical county fair, small town festival, block party or city event is usually characterized by row after row of portable canopies. The most standard versions are usually somewhere around 3 meters by 3 meters, stand around 2.5 meters high when fully extended, and are most often colored plain white.
Under these plain white canopies are found myriad types of businesses, ranging from homemade soap shops to hot dog stands. The owners of these businesses have often put thought, time and effort into cultivating their presentation underneath the canopy. They’ve had colorful, professional-looking signs designed and printed. They’ve considered how they’ll display their wares, how they’ll light the area, and how they’ll accept payment. Many times they’ve even considered how they’ll tag their products, the business cards they’ll offer, and what promotional literature they’ll make available to potential customers.
All of those things are important. All of those things are intended to create a desired image in the minds of the potential customers, and, done correctly, they can be quite effective. However, they cannot be seen and properly appreciated from more than a few yards away. One lane or two removed, one white canopy looks just like another. From the end of an aisle of dozens of white canopies, there’s no way to accurately predict what exactly the aisle might contain. From outside the festival or fair grounds, a group of white canopies offers no particular promise to a passerby trying to determine whether or not it is worth it to stop.
This type of anonymity stands out even more awkwardly against the brightly burning lights and the vibrant colors of the rides, games and food stands found at most fairs, carnivals, festivals, and community events. The lack of distinction doesn’t just fail to attract the positive attention of those in attendance but may actively dissuade them from visiting a particular canopy or even an entire group of canopies. The stark whiteness of the bland tents can serve as a warning sign to those looking for excitement that there’s none to be found in that area.
So, let’s do away with the plain white canopy and the pitfalls of blending in to the point of complete anonymity. A crowded, chaotic, lively festival atmosphere is nowhere for your company to play the role of the withering wallflower. You always want to make use of every opportunity to plant your company’s name and logo in the minds of your potential clients. You always want to be the one company that stands out from the crowd and that attracts the eyes of those in the vicinity. What better way to do that than by making use of more than 10 square meters of blank canvas that stands head and shoulders above the crowd.
Custom printed canopy pop-up tents fall under a commercial marketing strategy known in the advertising world as out-of-home marketing. This style of advertising is so named because it is aimed at reaching customers while they are outside their homes. This is meant to take advantage of times and situations during which customers may be more attentive and open to purposeful interaction than they may be while they are comfortable in their homes distracted with the challenges of everyday domestic life.
Online advertising magazine AdWeek heralded out-of-home marketing as the most dynamic and re-emergent medium of advertising in today’s environment. They cited the medium’s “big, bold presence in physical space” as one of its most powerful and defining characteristics. This presence lends a feeling of substance to the advertisement; it gives the customer a sense of shared experience with the company in terms of physical colocation.
There are a number of out-of-home advertising options available to companies competing in public for customer attention. However, not all of them come with the low-cost, reusable characteristics of a printed canopy. In many scenarios during which a company may be setting up a pop-up tent, they have already agreed to pay the cost for the lot or space on which they’ll be hawking their wares. However, the cost of the space is usually meant to be offset by the sales that the company’s presence at the event is suspected to generate.
The cost of the printed canopy is a one-time, low-cost, high-yield investment. We can reasonably assume that this minimal cost is quickly offset by the value of advertising to hundreds or even thousands of potential customers shortly after the initial purpose. All value created after that point is therefore purely cost-free. Unlike a billboard, which is stationary and therefore achieves diminishing advertising returns over a period of time in the same location, a printed canopy can reach an entirely different group of potential customers each and every time it is erected at a different event and in a different location.
Take advantage of the advertising opportunities that the events, fairs, festivals and carnivals at which your company has decided to have a presence are offering this coming season. Take advantage of the attention of customers outside of their homes and of the festive atmosphere these events provide. Contribute to the colorful, lively environment while still drawing attention to your company, its services, and its products. Stand out from your competitors with a creative, professional-looking print. Most of all, separate your company from the faceless sea of white your potential clients may choose to skip on their way to more appealing tents.
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