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How to Choose Trade Show Giveaways

By John Holland of JH Studios, Inc.

Trade shows are a great chance to introduce your business to a large range of potential customers in a short space of time. Promotional items and tradeshow giveaways are a critical part of trade show success. People will stop at your booth to learn more about your company's products and services, but they won't stop for long. They will be 'testing the water' to see if you offer something that they are interested in. If they are interested they will take away some literature that they may or may not read later. They will also be waiting for you to say or do something memorable. This is where your giveaways come in.

It is a fact of trade show marketing that booths that offer really fantastic giveaways are going to get more attention. Just like on Halloween-- kids go where they get the treats. But what type of items make really fabulous trade show giveaways? There are two considerations in making this choice. Firstly, the item should work thematically with your literature and company branding-– It should look like it came from you. Secondly, the item should be unique and stand out from the crowd of other promotional products on offer at the trade show. The good news is that with hundreds of thousands of promotional items to choose from you should have no problem finding something.

In order to ensure that your giveaway items for trade shows are a success, consult a promotional products professional. A professional will be well versed in creating promotional items that fit in well with your company brand, that coordinate thematically with your existing literature and promotional items. They can advise you on choosing practical items that your clients will actually use. In the end run what you want is something fun and eye catching that is practical enough to be used regularly-- keeping your message in front of the client.

To ensure that you are not caught short due to unforeseen problems it is advisable to order your promotional item weeks or maybe even months in advance. It is also advisable to order a sample of the chosen item(s) so that you can hold it, use it and be sure that it is the right item to represent your company. Trade show giveaways can be a real strong part of your success-- driving traffic at the booth and creating an awareness of your company in the minds of the client.

John Holland is the founder of JH Studios, Inc, a web design and marketing firm in Tampa, FL.

PLEASE VISIT THE CONTRIBUTOR'S WEBSITE

Promotional Items
Promotional Products & Marketing Company
www.jhstudios.com

Thank you for sharing this excellent advise on trade show giveaways, John. Ive been to hundreds of them over the years and this advise still stands.
Best wishes.
Frederick

Thank you Frederick. My first trade show (before I got into the promotional product fulfillment industry) was an absolute nightmare. I was told that I had to have something to give out at the trade show and since 'good advice' was not something they thought was a good thing to give out-- I had to come up with something else. lol

My first trade show promotional item was a sticky dart (shaped like a man) that had my logo on it. It had nothing to do with my business-- but the kids loved them and had their parents begging us for more.... But sadly... They were more interested in the giveaway item than they were the product/services we were trying to sell (not to mention that the convention center officials were a little irritatd that these darts were now stuck to their high ceilings). You live and you learn. I try to take both my triumphs and failures and teach them to my clients so they'll know what to do or not do themselves. I'm glad you enjoyed the article, Frederick.

My wife is really creative in choosing giveaways for her national convention of romance authors each year. She finds items that appeal to readers, other authors and publishers.

She finds unique inexpensive items which follow the the theme of her latest book.

One year she found ceramic theatrical masks that came three to a package. They were well decorated with glitter so at three for a dollar she bought all the dollar store had. We soon found out when they were restocked and bought the whole box before it was even put on the shelf. These were a smash and disappeared quickly and went nicely with her book Carnal Carnavale.

Another year she bought chocolate cigars for An Acquired Taste. Another unique item that was the talk of the convention.

biblefreeorg May 14, 2010 00:28

Yes, you'll want something that the person will keep and use. My hubby and I were recently on a trip and got an invitation to tour a new Holiday Inn. As we left the Inn we were handed a gift bag each. There were the obligatory pens but the best gift was a 2 for 1 gift certificate from the Holiday Inn in each bag. (Book 2 days and get 1 day free.) Well, it so happens that Will and I have a reunion to go to in that same city in a couple of months. We were impressed by the gift and also got a chance to pass on our other certificate to a friend. Now, that is what I call a great giveaway!!!

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