Giveaways are the sprinkles on a trade show – they are not needed but they make things more colorful and memorable. The question is what type of giveaways do you want to give out. Here are the three main questions to help you decide what to choose and some examples.
What does your target market need/ what will they use?
You are not at the trade show to reach every person attending, you want to reach your target market – so pick a giveaway that will resonate with them. When you are having meetings with them – in person or virtual – take a look at what is on their desk or around them.
Example: Your target market is gardeners – giveaway nice gardening gloves or neck coolers.
Your target market is busy moms – giveaway a mini quick spa kit that allows them to have “me” time in their busy schedule.
What is the reason for the giveaways?
You should have a reason for the giveaway. Is it to collect leads, draw people to your booth, or to increase brand awareness? Know what you want to do with the giveaway. There are always the people who walk around looking to fill up their bag (or even wagon) with as much stuff as possible. This happens more at consumer based shows verses professional shows. If you are at a consumer show candy is a great option to set out. This allows you to have a giveaway for everyone without having to put out a ton of money.
Example: Are you looking to get social media interactions? Ask people to post a picture of them at the booth and tag you to get one of the giveaways. Here is how to use your promotions the right way.
Example: If you are looking to collect leads, make sure you scan everyone before you hand out the giveaways.
What is your budget?
Once you have the above questions, then you can start your search for items that fall within your budget.
Some things to look for that are not included in the pricing on most sites.
Logo cost – there is normally a one time fee for the company to take your logo and put it into the right format. This can be from $20 – $80.
Shipping Cost – Shipping is almost always extra. Some places will estimate the shipping for you, others will wait until check out.
If you cannot find an item that you like to give out to everyone – consider doing one or two large gifts that you raffle away to those who are in your lead system or give you their information.
Example: If you are at a womens conference, you can give away a Coach purse.
Example: If you are at a hunting show, giveaway a very nice cooler.
Some items to consider when looking at giveaways
- Some items have some assembly required.
- I was at a booth that was giving away these great flashlights. They came individually wrapped and when I tried to turn them on in the packaging – none of them would turn on. I opened a package and discovered that each flashlight had a piece of plastic on top of the battery that had to be taken out for them to turn on. We had 250 of them. I spent at least 3 hours unpacking them, unscrewing the battery compartment, removing the plastic, and ensuring that they worked.
- Where will you place the items that are not on display?
- If you get large items like water bottles, you need space in your booth to hide them, or you can pay for accessible storage.
- What are you doing with any leftovers?
- I rarely suggest branding items for specific shows unless you know that you will give them all out. Having your company branding allows you to use items at many shows or even give to clients as gifts.