Every year, numerous different events and conferences attract thousands of guests worldwide. The leading attraction of each of those live events is (or at least should be) the content. However, as we all know, a small well-designed gift may also become the sparkling star at a particular event.

Attendees always remember the special prizes that coordinators hand out, the contests that take place and the workshops and various surprises implemented in the program. They all come along with catchy promotional gifts, usually branded with logos of the sponsors. You know, it’s all about the free swag! On one hand, a really cool branded gift can make an event truly go the extra mile. On the other, the truly boring swag can make the guests grumble and look for the nearest trash can.

My point here is that giving things away just for the sake of giving things away is absolute nonsense. The best swag has a meaning and a purpose.It is closely tied in with the message you are trying to convey.

Most marketing professionals would actually argue that it’s impossible to categorically classify any item as “good” or “bad” swag. The key is always to make sure that the promotional gifts are either useful or have some specific relevance given the purpose of the event. (Read more: tips about choosing good swag)

Well, we came up with the idea of “The top best and the top worst swag items”, a chart which conference coordinators might find useful and exhilarating. Starting from today, we are going to regularly post various examples, representingthe best and worst promotional gifts we have come across. Hopefully, our collection will help inspire you to create an awesome swag bag:

Top 3 “BAD” items:

In the “worst swag” category of the week fell caps, paper weights and key chains. Caps branded with corporate logos are outdated and boring way of advertising. They sometimes might even be too costly. If you still decide to use branded caps, they most probably are going to end up hidden in someone’s wardrobe and you as a marketing coordinator won’t be able to convey your message.

image: baseballcapp.wordpress.com

Key chains are among the most commonly gifted items since promotional giveaways emerged. Over the time they became widely overused among event coordinators, thus, accepted as one of the least effective ways to get attendees to remember a brand it became. There is only one exception – people might consider key chains cool, only if they resemble an opener.

image: http://www.montbleu.eu

If our chart existed as a marketing guide book, a paper weight would be the piece of swag that breaks every rule. They are heavy and sizeable, which is something that traveling conference attendees would most likely try to omit. Moreover, paper weights are dated, which makes them useless over a longer period of time.

image: www.countryliving.com

Top 3 “GOOD” items:

Here we go with the favorites of the week. Once I received a small tin box of breath mints at a conference. Most people really appreciated this type of swag. Hardly, can someone considerate it as an expensive promotion, so you do not need to invest a lot if your budget is tight. Actually, it often comes in handy at the event, especially when food is served between lecture sessions and attendees do not have time to brush their teeth.

image: www.epromos.com

At the second place this week stand the seasonal items. Usually, most companies don’t give away seasonal products, mainly because the sponsors are looking for gifts that attendees can use year round. However, that fact alone makes these items outstanding!If you’re hosting a summer conference, you may give out items like beach towels or blankets, flip flops, and frisbees.Seasonal giftsand outdoor sport items cater to activities attendees can try during the event. Moreover, people will use them in public places where othes may ask, where you got thator which company is that. That way, your brand exposure will go far beyond you have expected.

image: www.paradiseswimwear.com

Lastly, our favorite of the week are the mobile chargers. Speaking of myself and most of the people I know, we all love them! Whether tweeting, texting, checking emails, or stalking someone, most attendees are on their phones at conferences. As we all have experienced, the phone’s battery life is most likely going to be below 50% by lunch time. Fixing that problem will guarantee that every attendee will love you and remember your brand’s name. A mobile charger is a practical and thoughtful swag. Furthermore, that gadget will be used way after the conference is over. And what does that mean? That means your logo will be visible long after your conference ends.

image: www.power-bank.co.in

Hopefully, the guidelines listed above were helpful. Our next “top best and the top worst swag items” suggestions are coming soon! Meanwhile, if you are still wondering what kind of promotional gifts to purchase, pick out swag that is useful and easy to travel with.

The post “The top best and the top worst swag items” appeared first on www.swagbag.eu.

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!

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