How many low-quality branded pens does one person need? I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m picky about my pens. They need to have a sure grip, look good, and most of all write smoothly. If a pen scratches when it writes, I’m giving it away and if I can’t give it away – it’s going in the trash bin. A pen in the bin is not an effective piece of SWAG. So, here’s my first point. If you want to giveaway SWAG that folks will keep – don’t go cheap. Give SWAG attendees will remember.

Put Yourself in an Attendees Shoes

If you were attending the conference what would you want? I heard a story about a sponsor of a conference in Seattle who gave Umbrellas. It was a tech conference, and they gave the lowest tech piece of SWAG at the show. Umbrellas. Seattle averages 37.9 inches of rain per year. If you’re visiting Seattle rest assured, it will rain. The branded umbrellas were one of the most popular promotional products at the show. The point is to give people something they need.

USB’s are not a Flash in the Pan

Last week I was searching for a USB to save a presentation I was to facilitate the next day. Everything I had was full. Fortunately, my wife came to the rescue. She had an extra one. She’d picked it up at a conference.

“Universal Serial Bus’s (flash drives) are found to be “universally” useful, 46 % of urban dwellers, 44 % of suburbanites, and 44 % of rural residents own flash drives. Drives are an almost universally appreciated product. The next time you consider promotional products for your customers and clients don’t forget about flash drives.” — Don’t Forget about Flash Drives as Promotional Products

Want to Share Smart SWAG? Hand Out Smart Plugs

If you’re like me, you have no idea what a Smart plug is. It’s a simple tech idea that people love. “A high-tech home doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Smart plugs are an easy and affordable way to upgrade ordinary appliances, lighting, and any other electronics into smart home devices that you can control straight from your smartphone.” —  PC Magazine

“If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times. Smart plugs are one of the most underrated smart home products out there. No, they aren’t the flashiest, but they can automate dumb products in your home with ease and bring them into your smart home ecosystem.” — C/Net

On the Road Again

At big conferences, a large percentage of attendees travel to the event. Even local conferences are full of people who travel. With that in mind, you can’t go wrong with the business traveler in mind. “Cordless chargers, multi-functional cable chargers, earbud and charger combos, and cord wrap earbud organizers all come in handy when a business traveler is on the road. Whatever you can think of as far as electronic devices or accessories can be branded and given away as business traveler SWAG.” — Promotional Products with the Business Traveler in Mind.

Make Note of this!

People take notes at conferences. People like memo pads. Yes, we all take notes on our devices, but most of us hand write notes as well. “If you want to be successful with promotional products give people products they will use and keep. Memo pads, in all shapes and sizes, do just that.” — Write this Down People Like Memo Pads

“Padfolios can be used to organize a sales presentation, carry an iPad, and store business documents. It’s your office away from the office, a tool for the business road warrior, and it’s a great promotional product to give employees, vendors, and cherished customers. If you want to give something to folks that they’ll appreciate, and use, try a padfolio. It’s useful SWAG.” — Why Padfolios Make Great SWAG.

Leave Your Clients Blue

Who doesn’t like blue tooth products? There are speakers, headsets, and even security cameras. And did you know there’s a smart toothbrush? Really, I couldn’t make this up.

“I asked a friend, who has been in the Promotional Product Industry for more than 30 years, how many advertising specialty products there were. He said at least 500,000, but the reality is its closer to … infinite. And even if a product has never been used to advertise there’s always a first time. Blue Tooth wireless products aren’t new. However, their widespread use and acceptance are fairly new. Heck, my mom has Blue Tooth speakers.” – –  Blue Tooth Products Won’t Make Your Customers Blue.

Power Up

Who hasn’t found themselves stuck without power with devices slowly losing their charges? It can a power outage, wandering an airport searching for an open outlet, or at a conference. If you want to give something that people will keep, use, appreciate, and remember you for – try a branded power bank.

“Power banks can be used to charge phones, tablets, laptops, portable speakers, cameras, MP3 players, and more. They’re versatile, useful, and appreciated, and that makes a power bank a great choice for an advertising specialty product. If you’d like to check out a few power banks and their cost go here, Power Banks, I promise you’ll get a charge out of it.” — Power up with Power Banks

Phone it in

A phone accessory kit can be a great piece of SWAG. So, what’s in a phone accessory kit? It varies, it can be as simple as a case, stand, and charger or as complex as smart wallets with LED pens, and a USB car charger. Here are a few ideas.  Your Customers Would Love a Smart Phone Accessory Kit.

Smart Wallet

“The Smart wallet connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth and will send you instant notifications if ever you wander too far away from it. That means you won’t have to worry about leaving your wallet at a restaurant, the airport, or at home — if it’s not on your person (or close to it), the wallet will quite literally call you to come back for it.” — Digital Trends the best smart wallets.

LED Pen

“Designed for anyone who needs to write or take notes in dark or low light conditions, the pen features 2 super-bright white LEDs, a medium point black ballpoint ink cartridge and a unique 4-way top cap switch that alternatively extends and retracts the ink and activates the LED light.” – Amazon.com

It’s All About the Bass

Okay, that subhead has nothing to do with this post. However, it is all about quality and usefulness. If you give away crap at a conference that’s what you’ll receive in return. When you give conference attendees SWAG that’s useful, solves problems, and is quality made, they’ll keep it, use it, and remember you for it, and isn’t that your purpose for sharing SWAG? If we can help let us know, Contact Us.

Photo by Teemu Paananen on Unsplash