Giving away promotional gifts or branded merchandise at Trade shows or events has been an incredibly successful strategy for getting the attention of your ideal customer at what can be incredibly busy and potentially competitive events. In this article, we discuss what the best freebies you can give away at events are.
What are event giveaways?
Event giveaways come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. They are used to both entice potential customers to your stand and to serve as a reminder of their visit and your brand. The most important thing you can do when selecting a gift or piece of merch to give away at your next event is to make sure that the item you give away is either useful, fun or inspires action. Above all, you should tie the gift to your product or service, so that it makes sense.
The history of promotional giveaways.
The appeal of getting something for nothing has made an irresistible ploy to get consumers engaged with a brand since the middle of the 19th century. The technique was first employed around 1851 by a travelling salesman, Benjamin Babbitt. He offered free lithographic prints with every purchase of his baking soda. Nearly a hundred years later, big brands like Kellogg’s would entice consumers to buy their serial by offering a free gift after collecting ten tokens printed on the back of their packets.
What makes a good giveaway item?
The best trade show giveaways are ones that encourage a recipient to engage with the brand and that draw other eyes to them once they have been gifted. Trade events can be a long day for an attendee so why not give them something they will thank you for? Branded consumables like sweets, chocolate or even branded fruit are a fun, welcome gift that will satisfy a prospect’s appetite and leave your brand on their lips.
Branded promotional merchandise
Gifts that carry your brand’s identity can score high for visual engagement. Products like tote bags which are incredibly useful gifts are a great way of advertising your brand at an event, make sure you have a great design on an excellent quality bag, that way you’ll be the bag of choice for putting everyone else’s promotional giveaways in!
If a bag isn’t your style, then useful gifts, like USB chargers, pens, keyrings and notepads, make excellent promotional gifts to giveaway at a tradeshow or event. If a gift is useful or sought after, a recipient is more likely to keep or pass it on to a colleague or friend.
