by guest writer Tim Somers, Bizarre Marketing
Trade shows and conferences bring together every kind of manufacturer, supplier, and consumer of an industry, the main purpose is to share information with the public, and also in some cases for the launching of new products, systems, and services to a large targeted audience at the same time.
What is a giveaway?
It has become commonplace for exhibitors at such industry events to have giveaways at their booths. The giveaways, which can be anything small and functional are embossed with the company name, logo, milestone, or the latest products image. Quite often a company’s main motive is to announce their latest achievement or a significant milestone, where a promotional item is then distributed to the visitors so that they carry home a souvenir and remember the company and its product or services.
The most common giveaways are small and relatively less expensive items like pens, key chains, koozies, frisbees, or stress balls. Some companies might up the ante and give away notebooks, digital clocks, travel mugs, t-shirts, etc. But these kinds of more expensive items are usually not given to the public, but to other industry people like manufacturers or suppliers and every key buyers of a company’s products. These items are meant to be of use and value to the people receiving the gifts and are used to be reminders of the company and its products or services at a strategic time.
If done right with a strategic marketing message these giveaways can be highly sought after items since they serve a particular purpose or perform a service which can be quite useful to the industry insiders. Compasses, paper weights, stethoscopes, thermometers, barometers, screw driver sets, etc. are some simple examples of such useful industry specific giveaways.
There are some companies and industries that go out of their way to come up with distinctive ideas for giveaways. Giving away gift coupons for free product or gift cards for your products or services is also a very good idea; so is conducting a drawing: get your visitors to drop their cards into a box; tell them that on the last day there will be a drawing and the winner will get a surprise corporate branded gift. Here the benefit is you get plenty of business cards for future marketing touches to prospective clients.
Being different and unique is really the key to having a successful tradeshow exhibit where you are collecting prospective clients contact information – but you must always give them something with the “What’s In It For Them” mindset.
