It is common knowledge that we all go to trade shows to promote our companies, our products or services and our brands. The tough part is creating a booth that will help your brand stand out from the crowd in a memorable way. There are several ways to become more noticeable. Although, finding one that fits your brand is not always easy. One of the best methods for getting your booth noticed is having a giveaway that people really want. Traditionally, trade show booths have the same old swag at every show that tend to blend together in your mind and are quickly forgotten. However, if you want your brand to get noticed, try one of these unique ideas at your next trade show:
1. Headshots
Not every bit of swag needs to be tangible. Everyone at your conference uses headshots for their professional image. Offer a high-quality headshot at your booth during the trade show to help your clients update their social media image. You can help them get more business and in return they will spread the word to other trade show attendees. While they are waiting for their turn, you will have time to engage and network with them.
2. Lanyards with a Business Card Holder
One of the problems that trade show attendees face is having enough hands to carry everything. Since the goal of a trade show is to widen your contact list, providing useful lanyards to carry business cards is a very useful giveaway idea. It frees up the hands and makes business cards readily available to hand out to everyone you meet at a show. Additionally, they can be customized and branded to help spread awareness of your brand. Lanyards are affordable to give out and extremely practical for other attendees.
3. Charitable Donations
Technically this idea is not a giveaway; however you can draw a lot of attention by creating a game that results in winners giving charity to a worthy cause. You could set up a roulette wheel or spinner that has varying amounts of money that you will donate if your visitor wins. If a player lands on a $4.00 space, your company donates $4 to your listed charity. Players can match or add any donations they want to the pot. At the end of the show, you can email or text everyone the total amount raised and have a presentation video they can visit online or an actual presentation they can attend during the show.
4. Branded Care Packages
Create a small care package for attendees to comfort them after a day on their feet. Brand the outer package with your logo, and then fill it up with necessities such as hand soap, tissue, aspirin, cough drops and a snack. Trade shows can be extremely wearing, and attendees will love this idea. If your company makes its own products, a care package is a great way to showcase a sample of your item to attendees and draw attention to your brand.
5. Digital Downloads
Another intangible idea is a digital download such as a whitepaper or e-book. You can gather your prospects’ email addresses and send them the link for the download at the end of each day. Using this method, you accelerate their entry into your sales funnel immediately after the conference. You can follow up with them at your regular timetable to see if they received and read the whitepaper you sent and have any questions. E-books or whitepapers are informative and valuable for the recipient because they can highlight industry trends and position your brand as an authoritative leader in the field.
6. Small Gifts to Take Home
Trade show swag can fill a suitcase when you return home from a conference, so try something small. Branded luggage tags make for great trade show swag because of the small size and they are typically useful when traveling back home. Packages of seeds related to your product or wrapped tea bags are easy to put in a purse or pocket. These items will get used during the conference or once the attendee gets home. And your recipient won’t have to suffer because they carried it around. Food items are always received well, therefore small packages of instant coffee, nuts or any type of lightweight food item works for this idea.
What giveaways have worked for your trade show booths in the past?
