Sunday, December 23, 2018

Veteran Attendees Rate The Best Trade Show Giveaways

By Carol Kelly


Trade shows are great ways to publicize your company, network with others in the industry, and get a feel for the latest market trends. You may only participate in a few of these events during the year, so you have to make the most of your presence. One way to do that is to determine what makes the best trade show giveaways and then modify that information to fit your particular company. People who have participated in a number of shows have some good ideas for you.

Experienced attendees say the handouts that are useful make the best promotions. Can koozies are a good example. Participants have complained that inundating them with paper brochures and flyers only fills up trash cans. These sorts of promotions are rarely kept and don't make much of an impact. This is a prime example of a wasted opportunity.

On the other hand, you can never have too many koozies. People put them in kitchen drawers and use them when friends come over. You never know when someone will be prompted to learn more about your business because they saw the brand on their koozie.

You won't go wrong by giving out anything to do with electronics. A veteran participant of promotional events picks socket cell phone chargers as a great giveaway that he keeps in the glove compartment of his car. The one he got has several types of connectors, which makes it even more useful. Not only does he use the charger himself, he offers it to friends whose phones need charging.

Handouts that have multiple uses for the recipient are very popular. A medical technician who has attended several shows brags about the insulated lunch tote she received from a medical college booth. The representatives were handing out written recipes in addition to the lunch totes. The recipes offered healthy and easy ideas for making working lunches.

Offering handouts that are industry appropriate is the best idea. Instead of choosing some generic giveaway, you are better off with promotions related to your product. A wedding show attendee was recently impressed by the scented candle packaged in organza she was given at a wedding consulting booth. It's not something you would see at an industrial event.

Have a drawing for big ticket items, and you'll have people standing in line. A show attendee recalls one of the best promotions he ever saw was at an electronics event where one booth was giving out tickets for a chance to win one of three home speakers. All you had to do to get a ticket was sign up for the company's email announcements. He didn't win, but he remembers the promotion and the company that conducted it.

Not all attendees liked the idea of promotions with brands plastered all over them. One participant received a key chain bottle opener combination at a media convention. It was branded, but it was also small and didn't make the attendee feel as though he was a walking advertisement for someone else's business.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment