How to leave a lasting impression?

Giving a gift creates a favourable impression. It can make a good connection, it can be an incentive, it can communicate a message and it can raise awareness of the gift recipient. If you are considering giving away giveaways at your next trade show, consider the following ten questions:

What do you want to achieve by making a promotional gift?

Promotional gifts should aim to communicate, motivate, promote, raise awareness and create a memorable occasion. The gift and the message must have a certain impact.

How to choose your promotional gift?

There are many possible gifts and you need to find the one that best suits what you want to achieve and is consistent with your objectives. Do you want it to enhance a theme or convey a specific message, or should it be an educational tool to teach your audience? Remember that your choice of gift will have an impact on your company's brand image.

Who do you want your promotional gift to be aimed at?

A clear purpose for a promotional gift will help you identify the recipients. You can offer different gifts to different visitors, with high quality gifts to your main customers and a lower value gift to other customers.

How does your marketing giveaway fit into your marketing theme?

Look for an item that naturally fits your marketing message. Have your message clearly printed on the gift item with the company name, your logo and your telephone number. It is important that the recipient remembers the person who gave the gift long after the event.

What is your budget?

The prices of gifts vary considerably. Quality, quantity and special orders will influence the price. Consider using the same item for several shows to save on quantities.

What do visitors have to do to receive a promotional gift?

You can use your promotional gift in a variety of ways. It can be used as a reward for visitors who agree to take part in demonstrations, a presentation or a competition. It can be used as a thank you to visitors who give you information about their specific needs, or to visitors who stop by your stand. Don't leave giveaways available to just anyone, it diminishes their value and has little impact.

Will the giveaways contribute directly to promoting your future sales?

Distribute a discount coupon or gift voucher that requires further contact with the company to redeem. Consider gifts that lead to frequent visits to customers and prospects, such as free refills. An effective promotional gift is a good investment.

How can your promotional gift complement your exhibition objectives?

Giveaways can be used to pre-qualify your prospects. One company uses playing cards. Before the show they send "kings" to the most important customers, "queens" to suppliers and "jacks" to new or promising prospects. She asks the recipients to bring the cards back to the stand to receive a special gift. When the cards are returned, the stand staff will already know some information about the visitor. With the help of the cards, they can make better use of their time.

How will you inform your audience about promotional gifts?

Novel or particularly useful giveaways can really draw prospects to your stand. Send an incentive invitation with details of the giveaway or create a two-part incentive, sending the first part to the best prospects before the show and letting them know the second part is available at your stand.

How to evaluate the usefulness of your promotional gift?

Develop a tracking mechanism to measure the success of your giveaway. Code the items so that you know they came from the show. A post-show follow-up can include a question about the giveaway. Do visitors remember receiving it and was it useful? After the show, review the giveaway operation with the stand team. Did it attract specific prospects to the stand? Was it attractive enough to convince passers-by to stop by the stand? Did customers find the giveaway useful? Did the giveaway reflect the brand image you want to project?

 


 

Discover our projects >