Tchotchkes for everyone!
Lately, we’ve been seeing a lot of content hitting the web built around trade show promotions. And for good reason, giveaways are a big deal, and people love them. No, don’t shake yo
ur head and pretend you don’t love free swag, because we know you keep a small drawer at work or home where tchotchkes go to die. You know the ones that didn’t fit on your key ring or on your fridge nor had any working use at all, and in three years when you’re cleaning out that drawer you’ll find all kinds of freebies that will bring with them a flood of event memories.. We just hope they’re happy ones!
Let us paint this picture for you, so we’re clear. You’ve got a fancy, attention-grabbing custom trade show booth display (we hope from GraphiColor Exhibits!) and think that’s all you need to draw the crowd into your space. Wrong. Many exhibitors think “if you build it, they will come.” Don’t overlook physically putting something in your prospect’s hands as they come in and out of your booth. A great blog by The Tradeshow Network Marketing Group argues “promoting the fact that you’re exhibiting is key to building traffic to your booth”. Check to see if you’re making other promotions mistakes.
So now you know you need something in hand for your next show. This doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive, and you can actually have some fun with it. So which ones are best for your business? With so many choices, how do you pick? Start with BUMS.
- Branded
- Useful
- Memorable
- Shelf Life
Your item should be all of the above. Consider these questions as your browsing the plethora of options:
- After the event will my prospect know my company name or how to contact us?
- Can my prospect use, or did they learn something, from what I gave them?
- Will my prospect remember my company in a day, a month, a year?
- Will my prospect keep my item for a day, a month, a year?
Don’t become overwhelmed. Look around at the next show for ideas or ask your clients what they’d be interested in receiving. Some common items are pens, mints, lip balm, hand sanitizer, etc. Believe us, there are plenty of trade show trends and promotional items out there! To help you get started, here are some of GraphiColor Exhibits’ favorites:
- A tote or reusable bag to collect other freebies! Think free advertising.
- Reusable water bottles. They tend to hang around the office.
- Decorative pieces. Introducing Dave Maskin, a real “Booth Magnet”.
- Something creative or funny, like Shannon Jordan’s Message in a Bottle.
So stock up your beautiful trade show booth displays with swag! You can even be strategic in giving away freebies to prospects, clients and the people who are solely there as a freebie-collector. They have many drawers at home and work.
Susan Friedmann at The Tradeshow Coach had a great idea for pre-qualifying your prospects. She suggests you send face cards to attendees, and associate a face card with a meaning. For example aces to hot prospects, kinds to clients, queens to venders and supplies, etc. Attach the card with a note that asks them to bring the card to your booth for a special prize and when they walk in and hand your booth staffers the card they will know who they’re talking to and curb the message to fit.
To Recap:
Beautiful trade show booth displays aren’t enough to pull in show attendees to your space.
Having giveaways that fit BUMS is the key to successful trade show promotions.
GraphiColor Exhibits provides custom trade show displays in Detroit, and loves awesome freebies!
Using giveaways is a unique and time-saving way to pre-qualify prospects and segment show attendees
