Recently updated on February 11th, 2024
Companies participate in outdoor activities like sporting events and multiple events to get more attention. This helps them become more known and remembered in their business area. Events like trade shows are great for showing what a company does, the solutions their products provide, and how they can make a difference in people’s lives.
When it comes to business events outdoors, it’s important to stand out and highlight your brand. Pop up canopytents and canopy tent are often chosen for these events.
Picking the right kind of event tent is crucial, as it can either help or hinder your marketing efforts. Options include pole tents, frame tents, custom canopy tents, inflatable tents, and a custom canopy.
How do you choose between custom pop-up tents vs traditional blank tents: for your next outdoor event?
In this blog, we will talk about custom pop-up tents and traditional blank tents. We will also touch on the vital factors you need to know to make a well-informed decision.
Design and Construction
Custom pop up canopy tents are a great choice for local events, corporate events, and other events. They are easy to set up and take down, which makes them very convenient.
These tents have a metal frame that can be folded up, making them easy to move around. They are made of materials like aluminum. The tent cover is usually made of a strong fabric like polyester, and you can have your company logo or any design printed on it.
This is good for when you want to show off your brand at events. These tents are also good for staying out of direct sunlight and to provide shade.
On the other hand, there are simpler tents that don’t have any special designs. These are good for many things like camping, outdoor gatherings, or as quick shelters in emergencies. These event tents, often just plain in color, are usually cheaper than pop up canopy tents with custom designs.
This makes them a good choice if you don’t want to spend too much money. They have their own distinct features but are generally simpler than the custom ones.
Customization and Branding
Tent customization and tent branding options are essential when purchasing pop-up and traditional tents. These two enable you to have a tent that meets your specific needs and effectively promotes your business.
For Custom Pop-up Tents
Transforming a pop up canopy tent into an effective advertising medium is crucial for businesses. It’s especially important at local events, trade shows, or outdoor promotions. With a range of personalization options, your tent can strongly represent your brand. This means printing your company’s logo, name, and slogans. These prints can be achieved through various methods like screen printing or digital printing. You can also pick colors that highlight your brand and catch the eyes of potential customers.
The size and design of these tents vary, allowing you to select the best fit for your event’s space. The style of the tent, including the side walls, can be tailored to your needs. Add-ons such as lighting, tables, chairs, and flags also help in making your tent unique. What’s more, you can brand every part of the tent, from the canopy and side walls to the valances and peaks. Even the carrying case and other accessories can feature your brand.
Ease of use is another big plus. These tents come with a collapsible frame for easy transport. They are designed so that a single person can set them up, making them perfect for fairs and other outdoor events. The tents not only provide a space for your business but also offer shelter from the sun, ensuring comfort for you and your visitors.
For Traditional Blank Tents
Traditional blank tents are still customizable in size, style, and materials.
However, they may have limited branding capabilities, which might not be favorable to your business in promoting your brand.
Portability and Ease of Use
Pop up tents are an ideal solution for many businesses that require a quick and portable setup for promotional or marketing events. These tents are designed to be lightweight, making them perfect for transport and storage. Their compact nature and pop-up mechanism allow for effortless setup without the need for special tools. This feature is particularly beneficial for showcasing your brand in an efficient and timely manner.
These pop up tents are not only lightweight but also typically come with a carry bag. This makes them convenient to transport and store. Their design is such that they take up minimal space, which is a significant advantage over traditional tents. Most models include a bag or case, which simplifies the process of moving the tent from one location to another, making them a go-to choice for businesses on the move.
In terms of usability, pop up tents are known for their ease of setup and takedown, usually not requiring any extra tools. This is in stark contrast to traditional blank tents, which can be more cumbersome and time-consuming to assemble and disassemble. They often require more effort and experience to manage. Furthermore, maintaining a traditional tent can be more demanding, with any damage to the fabric needing prompt repair to avoid further issues.
Pop up tents, on the other hand, typically feature simpler maintenance and are more user-friendly, making them a favored choice for many businesses.
Durability and Weather Resistance
Lightweight materials like aluminum make up custom pop-up tents.
These materials are known to be durable and resistant to wear and tear.
So built as weather-resistant tents and also UV resistant. Giving extra protection to your property, products, and promotional materials.
As to tent durability, both custom pop-up and traditional blank tents can withstand different weather conditions.
Custom pop-up tents use lightweight materials such as aluminum or steel frames and polyester or vinyl canopies. They can also be water-resistant and can protect against UV rays.
On the other hand, traditional blank tents may not be as well-built as custom pop-up tents when it comes to different weather conditions like rain, snow, strong winds, and extreme heat.
Also, though some types may have a waterproof coating, they may not be as effective at keeping water out as the materials used in custom pop-up tents. They can make traditional blank tents more vulnerable to leaks and damage during heavy rain or other wet conditions.
Cost and Value
Let’s talk about tent cost and tent value.
Though traditional blank tents may sound affordable, custom pop-up tents may be slightly expensive due to several considerations. These include advanced design options for brand recall, convenience, tent durability, and added customization options. Depending on how and where your business intends to use it.
As such, custom pop-up tents can be a valuable investment for your business.
Factors to determine the best value for your event
When participating in a trade show event, you can consider these factors to ensure you’re gearing up for success.
Assess your goal
Before going to an event, know your main goal in joining. Is it for brand visibility? New product introduction? Are you reintroducing your company after doing a rebrand? Are these for generating new sales leads?
These will give you a clearer perspective on where and what to focus on.
Find the Right Event
Participating in an event is an expensive and laborious process for a business. Before shelling out a big part of your marketing and advertising expenses for outdoor events, it should be any of two things. Attend events within your industry and attend events where your target audience goes.
Leverage Social Media for Promotion
Announcing your event over social media helps you get better chances of resonating with your audience if they’ve already seen that before. You could use paid social media ads or post on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, or other social media platforms.
Prepare to Impress
There are two vital things that you need to remember about trade shows. First, outdoor events have a more inviting and fun atmosphere than indoor events, making attendees more open to new experiences and interactions. Second, outdoor events attract bigger crowds. Larger groups mean greater competition and higher engagement. Having eye-catching branded tents will be very significant. Make sure you build your commercial tents to stand out and capture the attention of your potential customers.
Do a Follow–up
Regardless of how many attendees you may have engaged in the event, no follow-up equals wasted effort. Without following up on your prospective customers, you may lose them.
Reach out with a personalized email to know if they may be interested. One friendly reminder: communicate but don’t spam.
Conclusion
Choosing the right tent for your outdoor event is necessary to ensure success. Custom pop-up tents and traditional blank tents are both popular options. But they differ in design, customization, portability, durability, weather resistance, cost, and value.
While custom pop-up tents offer broader customization and branding opportunities, portability, and ease of use, traditional blank tents are more affordable and versatile.
When determining the best value for your event, it is crucial to consider a few factors, such as assessing your goals, finding appropriate events to join, leveraging social media for promotion, preparing to impress, and doing a follow-up.
Ultimately, custom pop-up tents and traditional blank tents will depend on your specific needs and preferences as an event organizer. By carefully considering all of these factors, you can make an informed decision that will help ensure the success of your event.
FAQs
What is the best use of custom tents?
Custom tents are best for various outdoor shows and events. Businesses can use them as powerful branding and marketing tools. So they gain better exposure, establish brand recognition and recall and attract more potential customers.
To add, they are also great for several other outdoor events. It can be from camping to recreation, sports events to emergency and disaster relief efforts.
What is the difference between a tent and a canopy?
While searching for outdoor shelters, you might have seen pop up tent and canopy. They look similar but are different.
A canopy has a roof held up by poles. It’s open on all sides. This is good for shade and light rain shelter. Canopies are often at markets, sports, or as quick shelters for outdoor activities. They don’t close completely, but they’re great for easy setup and to showcase something.
A pop up tent is closed, with walls and a roof. It gives more privacy and guards against wind, rain, and bugs. Tents are used for camping, fairs, or as booths at promotional events. Their walls might be permanent or not. This lets you choose how much you open up to the outside. Tents are often lightweight tents, making them good for easy travel and quick use.
What are the advantages of pop-up tents?
There are various ways to use pop-up tents to your advantage.
You can use pop-up tents to increase visibility and brand awareness. It can help in achieving a better professional image to build a positive impact on potential customers.
Pop-up tents are also customizable, cost-effective, and convenient to use in various outdoor events. These instant canopies also protect exhibitors and attendees against any weather conditions.
