Whatever you call them–tchotchkes, giveaways, freebies, swag, or promotional items–no trade show booth or business expo would be complete without them.
But is a #2 pencil with your company logo really going to help you land that multi-million-dollar contract?
A well-conceived trade show giveaway could be as important to the success of your booth as any other element of your booth presentation. So, what does “smart swag” look like? Smart swag:
- Reinforces your brand (this is where your logo comes in).
- Includes your sales staff’s contact information
- Includes a call to action
- Ties in to the theme of your booth
- Reiterates (or even better, demonstrates) your organization’s USP
- Promotes or reminds the recipient of the products or services you demonstrated in the booth
- Is perceived to be of higher value than the boring pens, magnets and hard candy your competitors are handing out.
- Won’t be fragile or difficult for the recipient to pack
- Won’t set the recipient up for a pat-down when they try to get through airport security
Let’s say your company sells a breakthrough solar panel that is 27% more cost-efficient than anyone else’s. Why not give away a small, solar-powered calculator? And what if that calculator had a formula printed on it that the recipient could use to calculate her cost savings over your competition? (Needless to say, it would also have your logo, tagline, and other pertinent details.)
The possibilities are endless.
Yesterday I read a post from Chris Brogan about social media fatigue, in which he said if you are getting bored by doing social media, then change your approach you are limited not by the tools, but only by your imagination. That’s applies to trade shows, too. Try a different tack.