Once upon a time, taking a solid-colored pop-up tent with you was enough to make your brand look professional at any event you attended. In today’s competitive world, that’s no longer the case. Today, your customers not only expect you to have full-color, custom pop up tents, but they also expect you to show up with all the bells and whistles. Custom tent accessories allow you to show that your brand doesn’t just do the bare minimum at events: you go above and beyond to create a customized, branded experience your customers will remember. In this guide, we’ll go over the best accessories and add-ons for custom tents and how they can help you deliver a memorable experience at every event you attend.
Practical Accessories to Increase Your Custom Tent's Longevity
Some of the most important accessories you can buy for your custom event tent won’t make your display look any more appealing to your customers. Instead, these more practical accessories will help keep your custom pop up tent in its best possible condition. They’ll protect your investment, helping your custom tent live its longest possible lifespan and, in turn, giving you the most bang for your buck. These practical accessories include weights and carrying bags.
Weights for Your Custom Pop Up Tent
Most custom tent manufacturers will include stakes with your custom pop up tent. However, stakes are only useful at events where you’re stationed on soft ground. If your tent is being set up indoors or outside on cement or pavement, stakes don’t do you much good. In these instances, you need a different way to secure your pop up tent. At times, you may be able to tie your tent to nearby fixtures like trees or buildings, you can’t always rely on these types of fixtures being exactly where you need them to be. Bringing your own weights is the best way to ensure you have what you need to safely secure your pop up tent at any event you attend.
| Sand Bags
When you think of a sand bag, you may picture the giant bag of sand you’d use to fill your toddler’s sand box at home. But the type of sand bag used as a weight for your custom pop up tent has a different look entirely. Sand bags for pop up tents are often manufactured to blend in with the rest of your decor. You can even find portable anchors that tie onto your tent frame.
One of the major benefits to using sand bags is that you can pour the sand out, making it easy to fold the sand bags up and pack them in your luggage if you’re attending events out of town. However, in those instances, you would need to be able to buy sand or gravel upon arrival in your destination town, and continually refilling your sand bags is an added expense.
| Weight Plates
Weight plates generally come in the form of small, heavy discs made of steel or rubber that you can tie your tent canopy to. Many of them are shaped so they can wrap around the legs of your tent frame, making for easy set-up without detracting from the overall look of your display.
The biggest benefit to using weight plates is that you don’t have to fill them with any material on arrival. Your one investment in your weight plates is all you need to have the weights at all times. However, they can be quite heavy, and paying to transport them on airplanes to out of town events can get expensive fast.
| Water Weights
Water weights can be as simple-looking as plastic jugs that you tie your tent canopy to, or as complex as custom pirnted PVC-based ballasts that can be hooked onto your tent frame before being filled with water.
Like sand weights, water weights offer the benefit of being able to travel well. You can empty them between uses, making them more lightweight and transportable. With water weights, unlike with sand weights, refilling them is fairly inexpensive--even free in many locations. However, water weights can be relatively difficult to clean, and if they’re not properly cleaned and dried between uses, they can mildew.
Custom Tent Transportation Bags
One of the most frequent times custom tents get ruined is during transportation to and from events. Proper transportation bags keep your investment safe during these critical times.
When choosing a transportation bag for your custom tent, look for one made out of a thick, durable material such as canvas. You want to be able to set your bag on the ground at events without worrying that a rock or stick will poke through your bag to your tent canopy. You also want a transportation bag that has a separate pocket or compartment for your tent stakes so you don’t risk them poking through your tent canopy during transport.
Keep in mind that when you add up the weight of your tent canopy, your stakes, and your tent frame, your custom pop up tent can get pretty heavy, especially if you’re carting it over long distances. You may want to consider a deluxe rolling storage bag to make transportation across large event spaces easier.
Eye-Catching Custom Tent Accessories to Make Your Event Display Stand Out
Once you have all the practical accessories you need to ensure your custom pop up tent’s longevity, your next step is to invest in accessories that will make your event display stand out against the competition. There are numerous ways you can do this, from placing sidewalls or railskirts on your custom tent to investing in other accessories like custom tablecloths and custom advertising flags. Every accessory you choose helps you stand out just a little bit more at your event, drawing in more customers while increasing brand recognition over time.
Custom Printed Tent Walls
Custom tent walls enclose your tent area, ensuring that customers only come to your tent from the front rather than coming at you from all angles. This can be useful if you have a limited number of team members manning your table because it allows you to control the flow of traffic and ensures face-to-face interaction with everyone who comes to your tent.
In crowded events, tent walls also give you some separation from the tables surrounding yours, giving your area an air of privacy.
All of these benefits come with additional real estate for customized branding. For example, you can place your social media information, logo, or phone number on your sidewalls, helping your customers get the information they need about your brand while also closing off your space. There are two main types of custom tent walls available: sidewalls and half walls.
- Custom Sidewalls. Side walls are best at providing maximum branding real estate and privacy. You'll often see side walls used at trade shows and other indoor events where sound barriers between booths are especially important where every square inch of branding is crucial.
- Custom Half Walls/Railskirts. Half walls, also called railskirts, provide many of the same benefits as custom sidewalls but only come up half as far. These are great for creating a clear entrance to your table without making your booth feel as closed-off as with full side walls.
Other Custom Pop Up Tent Accessories
After you’ve created a sturdy custom pop up tent, you’ll want to provide event accessories that compliment your tent. One key to having complimentary tent accessories is to order all of your products from the same manufacturer. Often, ordering from the same manufacturer ensures that your colors and logos look the same on all of your tent accessories, providing a professional-looking brand consistency across the board.
| Custom Tablecloths
Next to the tent you choose, the tablecloth you choose for your event has the next biggest impact on your customers. Custom-branded tablecloths look more professional than solid colored tablecloths, though that custom branding does have a price tag associated with it. For a more budget-friendly option, you can also consider a solid color tablecloth with a custom table runner to lay on top of it.
Like custom pop up tents, custom tablecloths come in all shapes and sizes. Spandex tablecloths hug the tables they cover, making them least likely to blow away in a strong breeze while looking the most professional. On the other hand, tablecloths that can just be thrown over a table are more versatile for multiple table sizes, and are often favored by brands that attend multiple events throughout the year.
Consider your product when choosing the custom tablecloth to purchase for your brand. For example, if you’re going to be giving out beverage samples at your event, it’s important to get a tablecloth in a water repellent fabric. If you’re going to be cooking food, you’ll want flame retardant table covers. Knowing your needs will help you communicate with your manufacturer and customize the best tablecloths for your brand.
| Custom Advertising Flags
For a dynamic accessory that brings your marketing efforts outside the rectangular confines of your pop-up tent, consider custom advertising flags. These printed flags can have a surprisingly big impact when placed strategically at your event.
Feather flags are quite attention-grabbing. Rather than using them to convey lots of information, like your phone number or address, use them to catch your customers’ eyes and direct them to your display table. Some ideas include:
- SALE: These four letters and an arrow toward your booth can go a long way, especially when placed across a walkway that may become crowded at midday.
- Product Placement: If you're showcasing a new product at an event, like a new coffee flavor, putting your most enticing image on a custom flag outside your tent can encourage customers to come inside and sample it for themselves.
- Continuing Message: Want to get across a more lengthy message? Consider lining a walkway with custom teardrop flags, each with one or two words on them. Reading the entire message will feel almost like a scavenger hunt, and your event table will be the prize at the end!
With many shapes and styles to choose from, rectangle flags are truly one of the most versatile accessories on the market to pair with custom tents.
Making the Most of Your Event Display
Of course, there’s more to making the most out of an event than choosing the best branded accessories. Your custom pop up tent and custom tent accessories draw customers to your event table. Once your advertising draws them in, it’s your job to provide them with an experience they’ll remember. The best event tables provide more than a hand to shake and a coupon book to walk away with. They provide memories for your customers to carry with them going forward. Whether that memory is of a game they played, a product they sampled, or a heartwarming story you told them about your company, it’s only by giving your customers something to remember after they leave your table that you’ll make the most out of your event display.
At MVP Visuals, we're proud to work with hundreds of companies across the USA to provide high-quality custom displays, including printed tents, table covers, flags and more. Shop all custom display collections today!
