trade-show Rebranding / Design reboot for show media walls / booth

Sam & Oliver

Sam & Oliver

Sales this year have tripled what I did last year.  Granted I've got 3 more flavors with 6 total.
 
But one of the biggest challenges I've faced at shows is the statement "Oh, this is for people? I thought it was hot sauce for dogs."
 
As absurd as that sounds, I understand that marketing with pair of dogs on the bottle would be a marketing anomaly.  People tend to think a food item with an animal is for, or of that animal.
 
However, my friend has a picture of a beaver on his bottles, yet never gets asked if it's a hot sauce for beavers.
 
So, I have included shots of my booth setup at my first home show, where I (last minute) went from 20 feet of sales front to 25, forcing me to grab a 3rd table for the front and get creative with it.
 
I'm thinking of re-designing my brand image from the ground up again.  What suggestions to avoid the "is this for dogs?" without losing the nice logo I have?
 
I have flags that say hot-sauce and bbq-sauce that sit on the outdoor tent or booth, but those only serve purpose for people using me as a point of reference, or to find me at a show above the crowd.  Casuals strolling by often say "oh it's for dogs" until I chime in and say "this is for people" in which they say "oh, it is?  I thought it was for dogs" and will come over for samples.  But I know I'm losing a great deal of people I can't engage, which was prevalent this past weekend when I was working solo instead of my usual 2-man crew.
 
Is it as simple as changing the back wall to say "hot sauce and bbq sauce" next to the logo?  Is it a missing banner at eye-level?
 
I would think the crowd standing in front sampling would be enough...
 
Looking for suggestions of what to do in 2017.
 
Edit: not sure why i left the chair out in the middle of the booth, but the chair is normally hidden from view on the side in case I ever had to sit down, and also provides shelter for my electronics and cooler.
 

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That's great to hear sales are chugging right along!  And that the festivals/events are working. 
 
Im sure others will chime in, so I'll start with the first thing I noticed-s the sign says "handcrafted heat", which tells me nothing, especially if it's at a home improvement show.  I dont' know if the dogs have to go, but the banners should definitely say SAUCES, or HOT SAUCE AND BBQ SAUCE, HANDCRAFTED SAUCES (but you might want to be carefull including the word HANDCRAFTED in case you ever go with a co-packer.  It's prolly semantics that will hijack the thread, but I think there's a difference between the sauces I make, by hand, and other mass produced or co-packed sauces.  Yes, they are artisan, small batch, and a plethora of other catch words, but I don't consider them HANDmade.)
 
Anyway, you definitely need something on the banner that says FOOD.  Looking at it right now, with the 2 dogs and "handcrafted heat", that could be for dog sweaters. 
 
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Plus- I think you can have things on the banners that are not on the label.  IIRC, the labels do have the dogs logo and then the name of the sauce so people see the sauce name at the same time as the dog logo.  The banners must get something food related on them.  Remove 'handcrafted heat' and put some food related wording and maybe even double the size of the font to get peoples attention.  THe flags on the corners work but not for close up.  Same with the table signs.  Personally I think table signs are a waste of money as noone can see them once customers start queuing up. 
 
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Yeah my first impression too is that it may be some sort of dog related item because I don't see anything on it that says otherwise except for the flags, which are not at eye level with all the dog stuff.  The flags don't stand out enough if that is the only thing saying that it is an edible product.  If the dog logo is going to stay, I'd make it smaller on all the booth wrapping and include something about it being sauce.  
 
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Sam & Oliver said:
Is it as simple as changing the back wall to say "hot sauce and bbq sauce" next to the logo?  Is it a missing banner at eye-level?
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No! It is not that simple. Why? Because if people at conventions are confused it means people everywhere are confused, places you don't have a banner, or a chance to talk to people.
 
Always remember you need to get your brand across without explanation. So you need to consider people on amazon, your website, in the local hot shop, etc. "Is this for dogs?" If you are not there to answer they assume it is.
 
There's so many niche products these days like ice cream for dogs or whatever okay I get the confusion.
 
I don't know the answer right now. Maybe a slogan that ties it all together. Maybe losing the silhouettes.
 
Funny thing is I think it has to do with you having two dogs not one. One dog = hey this hot sauce was named for this dog cool! Two dogs = this must be for dogs! I really think that has a lot to do with it. Your subconscious reads dog(s!).
 
Hope this helps in some way.
 
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Lucky Dog Hot Sauce has HOT SAUCE in every title, name, post, etc.
 
Gunther's Gourmet is named after a dog, but they don't have a dog in the logo, just some romance text referencing the pooch.   
 
Maybe it is something about the 2 dogs -v- 1 dog image. 
 
Also... even though Lucky Dog is named after a dog named Lucky, it's still a pretty generic phrase that is used for many things (lottery tickets, etc) so people don't associate Lucky dog to a specific dog. 
 
 
 
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Edit...i need to clarify that the table signs i was talking about are the table skirts, not the signs on top of the tables.
 
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salsalady said:
Edit...i need to clarify that the table signs i was talking about are the table skirts, not the signs on top of the tables.
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salsalady said:
Personally I think table signs are a waste of money as noone can see them once customers start queuing up.
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What's wrong with table skirt branding? It's not a waste of money if someone sees it and buys the product.
 
So what if people cover it? When people aren't there, branding. Be "out there" as much as you can. A skirt is a one-time investment I'm sure it lasts 5 years or more unless you change your logo so why not be out there for that cost?
 
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The Hot Pepper said:
What's wrong with table skirt branding? It's not a waste of money if someone sees it and buys the product.
 
So what if people cover it? When people aren't there, branding. Be "out there" as much as you can. A skirt is a one-time investment I'm sure it lasts 5 years or more unless you change your logo so why not be out there for that cost?
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Nothing wrong with it, but i wouldnt put aprons as a first priority when choosing where to spend money on a booth.
 
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I would. Great exposure from across the room/park/parking lot. For how long it lasts, will pay for itself.

But again you are off topic. :P Doesn't really have to do with brand confusion.
 
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Dont get me wrong! The setup looks very professional, good clean colors, wondering about the gift bags, but they look good.
 
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Immediate thought....If people think that you created hot sauce for dogs, then these are people you probably don't want as customers anyways....lol
 
Given a few minutes of thought, I think the easiest solution is to implement a slogan/tag line into the picture....
 
'Sam & Oliver' - Hot Sauce for People!
Sam & Oliver - Not Just for Dogs!!!! (heh heh)
 
since you have a mustard and a BBQ sauce, maybe implement a term outside of hot sauce as well, since that is only part of the line....
 
i'm in the same boat...i have a ketchup, a salt, and about to unleash a hot candy bar....I'm going to be phasing out 'Sauce Company' from my name in 2017 as well....
 
 
 
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Our name is TEXAS CREEK PRODUCTS, that's what's on the licenses etc (right after A & J Enterprises, LLC)
 
THe logo is TEXAS CREEK
then each item has what it is.  THe label doesn't say "products"
 
Texas Creek
SALSA
 
Texas Creek
Chipotle BBQ Sauce
 
Texas Creek
Seasoning Salt
 
Texas Creek
Pickled Peppers
 
The FM banner says-
 
[red logo chile]Texas Creek Sauces and Salsa[green logo chile]
       Locally Made, Painfully Addicting (or something like that)
         Carlton, WA                     Est 1995
 

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Gemini Crow Sauce Company said:
Immediate thought....If people think that you created hot sauce for dogs, then these are people you probably don't want as customers anyways....lol
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I thought that too until I saw the picture. With the twin dog logo as the only image and the "Handcrafted Heat" in comparatively tiny text as the only thing that even vaugely suggests hot sauce, it's easy to mistake it for a dog product stall at a glance. If I wasn't actively looking for chilli then only the bottles would clue me in to this not being your average dog stall so the confusion makes sense.

Remember, customers aren't looking for sauce, they're finding it. You can't expect them to put in the effort to actually read anything until AFTER you've piqued their interest. And even then, you're selling to the average public so prepare for some being the bottom of the barrel in terms of reading ability and intellect anyway. If you can explain your line's general concept without words you'll be onto a winner.

Of course, I'm not saying you have to lose your current logo. It's who you are. Put it on your bottles and use it to tie your brand together, just try and keep the visual focus elsewhere and on something that tells people about the product, not about you.

For the bottles themselves, text is fine but images would still be better. For the stall, you really do need to get across visually that you're about not just chilli but PEOPLE enjoying it. Keep your logo prominent but not quite so everywhere.

As for whoever said that questions you get asked at the stall are questions that go unanswered elsewhere, there is an exception to that. Anyone who finds you online is a different audience who is actually LOOKING for chilli. Your about page matters but the look of the site can focus more on professionalism than explaining the products because these are people who WANT to read about your sauces. The good news is that, judging by your stall, you definitely look to have that professional style down.
 
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What about inserting Hot Sauce or BBQ Sauce inside the dogs on the logo depending on the product ? So the Dog on the left would have BBQ and the Dog on the right would have Sauce. Just throwing out an idea. 
 
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I keep coming back to the display photos then looking at Texas Creek, then trying to figure out why they look in the same genre to me.  I think I figured it out.  Display photos and inventory look very old world deli.  Not sure if the signs are chalk boards, but they look it.  You know, how deli would put up the daily special so they could change it the next day.  The racks look to be wood.  The table is not plastic covered even though if you gave out samples oh damn that would be a helpful thing.  Everything has that old world charm like a family run deli in the middle of a modern city.  That includes the bottles, labels, and very notably the items packaged in bags.

The Texas Creek labels have about the same general look.  Even the tin for the Pure Evil looks like it belongs in an old world deli.  Not sure about the white label, but everything else has that same genre.  I think it is all very attractive in this fast paced plastic world.
 
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