Five Simple Tips to Think of When You Want to Achieve SWAGBAG Greatness

People like things that they don’t see everyday. The swag worth investing in is a combination of items that attendees of different events will find useful and cool. The best thing you can do for your event is getting something unique for a give-away that you know nobody else has seen before.

However, that might be extremely hard. So the second best thing you might choose to do is to give away something that many people have seen before, but still want to acquire. That thing, at the same time, should be so creative and catchy that everyone would love to have. Why not a swag bag?

In Bulgaria, we call them simply branded bags. However, they became famous worldwide for their name “SWAG BAGS”. But what is actually a swag bag? It is one of those bags, filled with advertising materials and gifts that organizers of different events give to the attendees. Imagine the last conference or event you’ve attended, do you remember what all the people were doing right after they took their seats at the hall. Of course, they were rushing throughthe bags they had just received at the registration desk, smiling like little kids in front of a Christmas tree surrounded by colorful presents.

Everyone loves presents, especially if it’s a bag full of other small gifts…. Here we have listed five tips to think of when you prepare swag bags for your event.

Tip# 1: Show your appreciation

A swag bag is a suitable solution for a gift for both event planners and sponsors. Moreover, it is a great way to show people that their presence at your event is important and appreciated. Swag bags leave attendees with a feeling of value. You will find the simplest explanation in children’s words. Every kid will tell you, “Because gifts are cool!”

Recycled swag bag for The Intel Developer Forum and an Intel branded gift

Tip# 2: Choose quality and utility over quantity.

Preparing extremely expensive swag bags and branded gifts is not the most important, especially if they aren’t designed well. Always put quality on first place! If the gifts look as if they were bought from a Chinese store, no one would like to wear or use them for a long period.

Limit the quantity of products branded with your logo, but extend the quality and usefulness of those items. Moreover, always rely on creative designs. A swag bag produced from high-quality material and branded with beautifully designed layout might be the right choice for every event.

Tip# 3: Be Cool, give them food for thought and networking

At a conference, every company wants to transform all the guests into walking billboards advertising the company’s name or product. Instead, think about the main reason why people attend conferences – the networking opportunities. Give attendees an incentive or a good reason to network around your company. Give them a way to remember the people they meet or to interact around the branded gifts. That might save them from the awkward moment of silence in an introductory conversation. You will definitely be remembered.

Tip# 4: Give them incentive to wear the gift for a long time

Once the event is over, most branded gifts end up forgotten in the wardrobe. If attendees are more likely to chuck your gifts into the bin than to use them, think of something else. Ask yourself the question: how to make you guests willing to show or wear the swag they have just received even after the event?

Speaking of myself as a conference attendee, I do like colorful tote bags, especially when they are designed well. In those cases, I use to wear them often after the event as a shopping bag when I visit the grocery store, or as an additional bag when I go to the gym right after work. Research shows, that people are willing to use or wear branded gifts more than a year after the event if they are cool and useful.

Poken – an innovative way of transferring contact information between guests

Tip# 5: Fill the swag bag with cool goodies

What to put inside of a swag bag? Think of the items that people ataconferenceor another event willneed but might have forgotten to bring, and find a way to give them exactly that. For example, if you are organizing a conference think of something they can write on. If you are organizing an outdoor event, a cool bottle for water may be the right choice. You will not only be a hero, but you will save them again (remember the “networking effect” example). They will remember your brand and talk about it too.

Beware, sponsors will sometimes want to stuff your gift bag with too many advertisements and promotions. Make sure you keep a balance between relevant sponsor materials and inspiring gifts.

Bonus Tip:You can prepare a custom made list with suggested items or combinations that fulfill your concept for the event and give it to your sponsors. A win-win situation, you won’t need to change your plans and ideas all the time and still, the sponsors will have the opportunity to choose.

Follow those steps to ensure your branded gift is on the right track. Lastly, ask yourself if it is this something you would give to yourself or to someone you care about. If the answer is yes, your success is granted. These five simple tips will guide you to SWAGBAG Greatness!