For restaurants, cafés, hotels and bars, the tent card is hard to beat as an in-store marketing tool. From the daily special to a brand-new product or service, this little table-top sign catches the eye and helps drive sales. A tent card usually keeps its message simple and direct — and that is exactly what makes it so good at nudging customers to buy.
What is a tent card?
A tent card is a mini billboard that sits on a table or counter, using full-colour printing and a clean design to put a message in front of your customers. It is die-cut from a single sheet, with locking tabs built into the shape, so it folds and slots together into a free-standing "tent" — no tape or glue required. Very convenient.
Tent cards are usually A5 or smaller, but they punch well above their size — especially in high-exposure spots like the cashier counter, restaurant and bar tables, or the desk in a hotel room.
What tent cards do for your business
Tent cards are most common in hospitality and F&B, where there are lots of products to promote and a fresh offer for every season or holiday. But whatever your industry, a tent card can pull in new customers, lift sales and raise brand awareness — from several directions at once.
Bring in more potential customers
Simply putting an offer on a tent card helps you drive foot traffic and engagement. That sounds complicated, but it really isn't: your customers are already in the room, so all the tent card has to do is give them a reason to check in on social media or share a post. Tease an upcoming event to get customers reposting it, or turn it into a game — "find the hidden decoration in our shop, film it, share it, and get a discount," for example.
Increase sales
Use a tent card to push a special offer or promotion in-store and lift sales of a specific product. The classic example is a restaurant promoting the dish of the month from a tent card on each table. By one informal count, five out of every ten tables end up ordering the featured dish — because a menu offers so many choices, and a tent card points customers firmly toward one, making the decision easier. The sales follow.
For a retail shop, put the tent card on the checkout counter. Customers see it while they pay, and the cashier can walk them through it too. An add-on offer or a "join our membership" prompt works well here — it's an easy way to talk a customer into a second purchase.
Raise brand awareness
If you supply products or services, give your customers some branded tent cards to place in their own shops. It's an effective way to boost brand awareness and exposure, and it strengthens your relationship with them at the same time. In your own store, design the card around content that ties closely to your brand — your company philosophy, the story behind a product, your community work. Positive messages like these all help lift how customers see your business.
Why you'll love tent cards
Tent cards are highly portable and endlessly versatile: whatever you're selling, a tent card can help promote or sell it, which makes it a genuine in-store marketing workhorse. Just keep the design from getting too busy — simple and direct is best, readable at a glance. Otherwise you'll miss the instant conversion, because a person's attention on any given ad lasts only three or four seconds.
Ready to print your own tent cards? We deliver across Hong Kong and Macau — message us on WhatsApp at +852 3001 5678 (English is fine) and we'll help you get yours right.