We have all been there. It’s the end of the tradeshow, you have a branded bag full of pencils, stress balls, and sell sheets. You bring them home with good intentions and they sit in that bright yellow bag in the corner for months.
Once you are registered for your next trade show, one of the most important aspects to think about it is your giveaway item. You can make a great in-person connection during the show, but unless you have a takeaway piece, there is a good chance you won’t hear from them again.
But how do you make sure your item doesn’t sit in the corner for months? Follow the golden rule. Make it wearable, shareable, or genuinely useful. As long as your takeaway piece falls into one of these three categories, you are on the right track!
Why Have a Giveaway Item?
When the budget is tight, it can be easy to want to forgo a giveaway item. From choosing the item itself to creating an eye-catching design there is a lot that goes into planning for a handout. After the dust settles, however, it is completely worth it.
If you have attended a trade show before, you know how much hustle and bustle there can be throughout the whole day. As an attendee, it is difficult to remember who you all spoke with and it is especially difficult to differentiate between those companies. As an exhibitor, it is difficult to make a touch point with every attendee that stops by your booth. A strong giveaway piece can help bridge that gap.
Think about the Audience
When deciding if you are going to choose something that is wearable, shareable, or genuinely useful, the most important aspect to think about is your audience. Who is attending the trade show and what do they need? If you are going to a building or construction based show, a yardstick with your logo on it could be of value. That way, every time a contractor pulls out their yardstick, your brand gets in front of them. If you are going to a trade show located in Seattle, having nicely branded umbrella drip bags could be a unique way to have everyone displaying your brand throughout the conference.
Oh Shit Kit
We recently attended the Craft Brewers Conference in Washington DC and focused on the “genuinely useful” category for our giveaway item. Having attended the conference in years prior, we knew that the post-show beer-focused parties were a huge hit among attendees. With this in mind, we decided to put together our “Oh Shit Kit” aka, hangover kit. We included everything the hungover beer enthusiasts would need to nurse their headache and get back to full trade-show function for the three-day affair. Once the word got out about our hangover kit, we were quite a popular booth from there on out.
The beauty of having a giveaway item that was so pertinent and useful to the attendees was that it brought many people to our booth whom might not have stopped otherwise. Instead of having to draw passersbys into our booth, we were having issues getting to talk with everyone who came through. We made sure to include a business card in the kits as well so those who couldn’t make a strong connection with us at the show, still knew how to contact us later.
Picking the perfect trade show giveaway items can be more challenging than it seems, but if you can find a wearable, shareable, or genuinely useful item that fits with your brand, it can be a huge success. If you would like to learn more about trade show giveaways and how you can wow your attendees, feel free to give us a call today.