When used wisely, trade show giveaways or promotional products are an investment in your business. They serve as silent salespeople, promoting your company long after the trade show or sales event is over. If you are considering adding incentives to your marketing strategy, you are in luck. The incentives industry is a multi-billion-dollar business with a vast range of products that can be printed, embossed, programmed, or custom-made to enhance and bring attention to your trade show exhibit.
Promotional product experts are often asked, “What’s a hot giveaway right now?” However, a “hot” or “cool” giveaway may not translate into an effective marketing tool for your target market. Some are simply trendy and will be shoved into a drawer in a month or two. Others are gimmicky and may not reflect your brand. Ultimately, a promotional product’s job is to create a memorable experience – something that reminds the recipient of their experience with you and (hopefully) entices them to do business with you.
What are Trade Show Giveaways— and Why Do They Matter?
Whether you use the term premium incentives, promotional products, or trade show giveaways, the goal should be the same. You want to capture the attention of potential clients AND be remembered for all the right reasons.
So, what are the right reasons? Everyone loves a freebie, and giveaways are a proven method for attracting people at a show. However, “If you think of them as trade show giveaways,” according to Rama Beerfas, owner of Lev Promotions, “They will have as much value to your recipients as they do to you. If you reframe them as promotional incentives or gifts, you’ll start to realize that a target branded incentive can bring you closer to achieving your goals and providing measurable results.”
Many companies start by searching the web for incentive ideas. Which isn’t a bad way to explore what’s available. However, the choices can be overwhelming. Is that really a wise use of your time? Spending hours searching for the perfect ink pen? Don’t make that mistake! Work with a promotional incentives expert who will ask you the right questions and narrow down your choices. It’s what they do. And it won’t cost you anymore.
Tradeshow Giveaways vs. Promotional Incentives: Is There a Difference?
These terms are often used interchangeably, and in fact are the same in theory if not in practice. However, trade show giveaways and promotional incentives have distinct purposes and strategies.
Promotional incentives is a broader term that encompasses any offering designed to motivate a specific action or behavior from a target audience. While trade show giveaways are a type of promotional incentive, promotional incentives can be used in many other marketing contexts beyond tradeshows.
The Primary Goals of Trade Show Giveaways:
- Increase Booth Traffic: Giveaways act as a magnet, drawing attendees to a booth amidst a crowded exhibition floor. People are often more likely to approach a booth if they see the possibility of receiving something free.
- Boost Brand Awareness and Recall: When attendees leave with an item featuring a company’s logo and contact information, it serves as a tangible reminder of the brand long after the event. This helps keep the company top-of-mind.
- Generate Leads: Giveaways can be used to incentivize attendees to provide contact information (e.g., scanning a QR code, signing up for a newsletter, or participating in a game) which can then be nurtured into potential sales leads.
- Spark Engagement and Interaction: Handing out promotional items provides an easy icebreaker for booth staff to initiate conversations with potential customers.
The Primary Goals of Promotional Incentives:
- Drive Sales and Revenue: By offering discounts, free gifts, or other perks, businesses can encourage immediate purchases.
- Improve Customer Loyalty and Retention: Loyalty programs, rewards, and exclusive offers make customers feel valued, strengthening their bond with the brand and encouraging repeat business.
- Customer Acquisition: Incentives can attract new customers to a business, expanding the client base.
- Generate Demand: Creating interest in products or services to stimulate purchases.
- Increase Brand Engagement: Encouraging customers to interact more deeply with the brand.
- Collect Customer Data: Offering incentives in exchange for data like email addresses, preferences, or feedback.
While trade show giveaways are a tactical tool for immediate engagement and brand presence at events, promotional incentives represent a broader strategic approach to influence behavior across various marketing and business objectives.
The Four Types of Incentives or Giveaways
- Apparel (T-shirts, hats, golf shirts, etc.)
- Office Supplies (pens, calendars, clocks, mousepads, mugs, etc.)
- Fun Stuff (toys, gag gifts, electronics, etc.)
- Perishables (candy, mints, food and beverage, etc.)
Identifying Your Trade Show Giveaway Strategy
With thousands of possible options, choosing the right one(s) is less about a Top 10 list and more about achieving your marketing goals and sales results. Start by identifying your:
- Target Audience
- Budget
- Quantity (it’s not about having something for everyone)
- Theme (and/or the theme of the show)
- Branding
- Strategy
If you’re looking to do what’s hot/trendy/cool/new, then you’re probably going to be one of many on the show floor handing out the same item. Incentives trends are a moving target, and suppliers are nimble at finding and promoting the latest gadget. It may be a charging pad this season and earbuds the next season.
How to Choose the Best Trade Show Giveaways: The 4 “Make It” Rules
- Make It Non-breakable. There’s nothing worse than getting a cool incentive only to have it break within days.
- Make It Lightweight. You don’t want them to abandon it midday just to lighten the load.
- Make It Compact. It can’t be bulky since it often has to pack in checked luggage.
- Make It TSA Friendly. Nothing is worse than seeing your promotional products in the trash can just outside the airport security checkpoint.
What Makes Good Marketing Merchandise?
You want items that appeal to your specific target market and that are tied into your overall marketing message. Your target market may be active adults. However, if your marketing focus is summer wear, a fall or winter incentive like beanies won’t make sense… even if you would REALLY LOVE to have a branded beanie.
The perfect marketing merchandise for one company (or even one campaign) may be completely inappropriate for another.
Tier Your Giveaway Marketing Strategy with BEST / BETTER / GOOD
- BEST is for your top prospects and best clients
- BETTER is for your good prospects, good existing clients and maybe even staff
- GOOD is for attendees who are qualified, but not really a hot prospect.
So how do you make the incentive feel like a gift rather than a giveaway? Store the nicer or higher value items out of sight, like in a counter, kiosk, or pedestal. Once you’ve qualified the prospect, then present them with a special gift, one they know not everyone else is getting. Perception matters!
10 Trade Show Giveaway Ideas to Inspire You
1. 3M Post-It Note Products designed for outdoor or wet settings. Great for the construction and manufacturing industries. Custom Post-It Note shapes are another way to create a memorable link to your company, like a construction hat or a sticky notepad in the shape of your state.
2. Custom or packaged gifts that can be handed out or shipped to recipients. Packaged gifts have a higher perceived value, like the flask shown below. Or consider a Gambling Gift Box — Have a drink, play some cards, roll some dice…you can do it all and have a great place to store them with this wooden box gift set
3. Create a custom gift kit with a bit more flair, start with the packaging. These can be a simple as a white box with your logo or a mailer boxes with inserts and internal and external printing.
4. Personalize a branded product to the next level, like a Powerjam Kit. Combining a versatile power bank with a wireless speaker is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.
5. Full-Color imprints are perfect for complicated logos or photo-quality imprints, like the cellphone grip holder. Plus, they have a more upscale appearance. Or consider a full-color Newport Journal. It features a soft faux leather cover with an inlaid fabric cover design. Each Newport journal has 80 sheets
6. Go sustainable – Green thumb gifts increase indoor oxygen, add color, and can provide herbs for the kitchen. For example, this Grow-Your-Own Cocktail Herb Garden Kits contain packages of seeds and starter soil, plus wooden plant stakes, all inside a recycled egg carton!
7. Bring your lunch to work. Whether it’s an Insulated Lunch Tote or a Wheat Straw Bento Box, these “lunchable” gifts are guaranteed to attract attention and become a daily lunch accessory.
8. Retro-inspired items are always a hit like old fashion hotel key rings or glitter lamps. For a true retro gift, consider the Turntable Wireless Speaker with Custom Record Envelope. The Turntable Speaker is packaged in a gift box and can be decorated with a custom decal on the faux vinyl record and your logo printed in full color on the side of the Turntable Speaker.
9. Travel Items to make your trip easier, more comfortable, and safer. Travelers appreciate thoughtful gifts like the Travel Aid Kit shown below or personalized luggage tags, ear plugs, or a compact foldable toothbrush.
10. Your pre-show mailers will be more memorable if you make them “bulky”. Savvy marketers know that “lumpy” mail gets opened 10X more often than flat envelopes. View over 80 ideas by clicking on this link.
Trade Show Giveaways That People Actually Keep
Keep or toss? Have you ever asked yourself that question when packing your bag after a trade show? Trade show attendees are more likely to keep giveaways that are practical, useful, and memorable. Items like water bottles, tote bags, pens, and notebooks are popular choices because they have everyday applications. In addition, consider high-quality items which are more likely to be kept.
1. Insulated Water Bottles: Think stainless steel, double-walled bottles from reputable brands (like Hydro Flask, Yeti, Aladdin). These are used daily, whether at the office, gym, or on the go.
2. Reusable Tote Bags: Not just for carrying other swag at the show, but a durable, stylish tote bag made from canvas or recycled materials will be used for groceries, errands, or even as a daily bag. Insulated tote bags, while more expensive, are a must have for many shoppers.
3. Quality Pens: Ditch the 49 cent pens with a half-life of two weeks. Quality pens have a comfortable grip, balanced weight, and a smooth, consistent ink flow. Attendees will keep gel pens, rollerball pens, and an upscale ballpoint pen.
4. Moleskin (or equivalent) Notebooks: Many trade show attendees love upscale blank notebooks with secure clasps and 80+ pages.
5. Custom Apparel: Instead of large, billboard-style logos, consider subtle branding on quality t-shirts, hoodies, or caps from popular brands. People are more likely to wear them if they look good.
By offering practical, useful, and memorable giveaways, you can increase the chances that attendees will keep and use your promotional items, which can help to increase brand awareness and generate positive buzz for your company.
Business Promotional Items to Avoid
#1. Any product in questionable taste: (e.g., a knife in many Asian cultures signifies cutting ties).
#2. Anything against the law or that shows a lack of understanding of social customs: (e.g., chewing gum in Singapore).
#3. See the “4 Make It” Rules previously mentioned.
#4. Any items of poor quality or has a poor/incorrect imprint on it. The quality of the item will reflect on your brand.
#5. Any giveaway that demonstrates a poor understanding of your target market: (e.g., a $1.50 tape measure given to contractors).
How to Make Your Trade Show Giveaway Part of the Experience
Many exhibitors view trade show giveaways as a “grab and go” incentive and don’t take the time to integrate into their overall marketing experience. One way of turning a trade show giveaway into a memorable incentive is to make it contingent on an interaction, education, or simply something fun. Here are a few ideas:
Games and Contests:
Consider games like Spin the Wheel, Trivia Challenges, Product-related Puzzles, or Digital Games.
Photo Booths or Virtual Reality Experiences:
Photo booths are always a draw on the trade show floor and both photo booths and VR experiences are ideal as social media shares.
Tiered Giveaways:
Offer attendees tiered giveaways based on their level of engagement. A grab and go attendee gets a basic inkpen but a potential client who books a meeting receives a tech gadget.
Personalize the Giveaway:
Customize a hat, shirt, or even a pen onsite with an engraving machine.
Limited Edition or VIP Giveaways:
Announce that a limited number of high-quality giveaways will be available each day. Or reserve your best incentives for high-priority leads or existing clients.
Remember, your trade show giveaway should have a “connection” to your brand, product, or your theme. In addition, it should have a purpose, a clear objective, whether that’s lead generation, branding, or increased engagement. Finally, higher quality giveaways are more likely to be kept and used. Lower quality products are often left in the hotel room or are trade show treats for someone’s kids.
Your Partner for Trade Show Giveaways
Premium incentives can be an effective trade show or event marketing tool when connected to your company, product, or campaign. There are thousands of choices in incentive items, and the choices change all the time.
Your consultant can guide you through the process of selecting appropriate incentives. In some cases, it is as simple as a pen or pad. In other cases, you may want multiple items linked to your overall marketing message. Incentives can be fun, effective, and expensive.
A special thanks to Rama Beerfas at Lev Promotions for sharing her invaluable advice about promotional incentives.
For over 30 years, Classic Exhibits has been designing and building creative custom solutions for our Distributor Partners and their clients. As North America’s largest private-label exhibit manufacturer, we have the unmatched capability, capacity, and creativity to create 3D projects ranging from 10 x 10 inline displays to 60 x 80 double-deck islands.
Find success on the trade show floor with an exhibit that reflects your marketing message. For more information, see www.classicexhibits.com and explore Exhibit Design Search or request a meeting with a Classic Distributor Partner.