Comments on: Marketing Swagger

By: Michael Thimmesch

Michael Thimmesch — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 21:04:23 +0000

As a trade show exhibit company, we’ve given away lots of different promotional items, everything from a watch that cost us $1.80 each, to a trip for two to Hawaii that costs thousands.
What we strive for with each giveaway is not only it something the client would want, but that it ties into our theme or message at the show. So the watches, which were shaped like tubes, were a great tie-in with our Tube System exhibit system we introduced at that year’s show, and the free trip to Hawaii tied into to the theme, “Marooned on an island exhibit?” when dot-bomb exhibitors were trying to get away from their heavy custom island exhibits.
Otherwise, choose giveaways that help clients do their job — like the tape measure example in the earlier post — so you help bring in and reward qualified visitors.
And I have to say, I like swag too. Not only does it bring in attendees, it also helps the booth staffers engage with attendees easier, which makes them worth their weight in gold.

By: Bill Senger

Bill Senger — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 10:03:17 +0000

I’ve learned from my clients that the first rule of swag is that it should be small enough to fit into an already overpacked suitcase or garment bag. Anything that doesn’t fit risks being left to the housekeeping staff.
Pens are way overdone, but do get used. T-shirts and baseball caps also tend to stick, but only if they are very creatively designed. Swiss Army knives with your company logo have enduring value, but are not likely to be seen very often.
The most useful items I’ve collected were USB flash drives and a mini-mouse for my laptop. Both very useful items and I see the vendors’ logos every time I fire up my laptop in a hotel room.

By: Neil Anuskiewicz

Neil Anuskiewicz — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 01:49:41 +0000

Of course, I meant plugin hybrid car not card. My credit card does not need to be electric…Oh wait, maybe that would be useful if I got a little shock every time I reached for it.

By: Neil Anuskiewicz

Neil Anuskiewicz — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 01:46:09 +0000

My favorite swag is a coffee cup.
My dad went to a plug in hybrid conference and brought me two cool coffee cups from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). The design is okay when the cup is cold but when you pour hot coffee in the color of the cup becomes light and a scene is revealed including trees, a blue sky, and a cool looking plugin hybrid card.
Now, here is swag that I drink out of every morning.

By: Alexandra West

Alexandra West — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 20:27:09 +0000

My clients find these items successful in getting brand recognition and being useful (note: the items are all 3D and Motion Printing, that’s what I market). Not sure if it would make me buy, but this is what the customers tell me…
- Lenticular Cups (people hang onto them because they are long-lasting and really cool. People even sell them on eBay, and they were intended for a b2b audience so that is impressive)
- Lenticular Mousepads also get good response and people hang onto them a long time.
To speak to the ROI question on swag… I don’t understand why people don’t put a special web landing page or unique 800# on the giveaway/freemium so they can accurately gauge their response? If you have web analytics, this is an easy and cheap way to know what’s working. And swag isn’t cheap. And if it IS cheap, chances are your customer will think so too.

By: Boris Mahovac - Email Marketing Coach

Boris Mahovac - Email Marketing Coach — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 13:46:46 +0000

I’ve had great success with calendars – but not the usual, full-size wall calendars. I went for the mini 4″x4″ 13 month one.
My clients loved them because they were smaller, but still offered a full month’s view per page.
Calendars are great because, if you get the right one, your clients are going to keep them and use them for a full year!
Beats holiday greeting cards which get read and discarded, and can sometimes be even more expensive than a calendar .

By: Scott Monty

Scott Monty — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:51:51 +0000

Earlier this year at SXSW, Zappos.com made itself useful to everyone by giving out Zappos-branded rain ponchos in the hallway of the convention center, just as it started raining.
It had nothing to do with their product – but once again, it had to do with giving someone a useful product at the right time. As if they needed help in that department, they got many more loyal fans that day.
Was it effective? I still remember it today, don’t I?

By: Rob

Rob — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:13:29 +0000

We have given away a couple goodies.
1. We made a self promotion DVD that incorporated our office and our portfolio. In the DVD was an animated character that took a journey through our office and into some portfolio pieces.
We sent out the DVD along with a package that included an Old Style Glass Bottled Coke, popcorn, and some candy. Basically, a movie theme that had a personalized ticket for the viewing.
We have received great responses from the package along with a couple new jobs/clients.
2. We send out a postcard every month to let our subscribers know that there is a new newsletter on our website. On the postcard, we ask a question that is relevant to the newsletter and the first 2 correct answers (by email), win a $50 Gas Card.
Purpose is to drive the audience to certain sections of the website.
We have received new contacts from these with a few new jobs.

By: Steve Woodruff

Steve Woodruff — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:19:30 +0000

@Brett: RoS (Return on Swag)? – that’s going to be a tough metric to produce. Swag is one piece of a multi-pronged approach (which should include advertising, social media in many cases, training, packaging, and lots of other elements) – each of which may be difficult to tie directly to specific sales, but all of which cumulatively contribute to favorably influencing buyers.

By: Brett

Brett — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:49:04 +0000

Steve -
The real question here is have you done any business to date with the company that gave you the earbuds? I understand the value of brand recognition/awareness, and I don’t underestimate it. But are there hard examples/case studies of anyone who can attribute swag to signing on the dotted line?