If your event budget allows it, it's best to give your guests the best experiences possible. This isn't only for the sake of your enjoyment. Making a great event means that people will find another reason to make a positive association with your brand!
With event giveaways, you can do exactly that. That is, if you employ the right strategies. While the usual giveaway methods can do the trick, there are plenty of other ways to make a giveaway eventful. So keep reading to learn more! We'll explain why giveaways are important, what makes a good giveaway, and a few ideas you can use for your next event.
Why the Best Event Giveaways Are Good for Business
Having merchandise at your business is great for brand imaging. First impressions are important, and those including conference swag are no exception. This can improve the visual impression of your brand, which can translate to better overall recognition of your business.
Including this merchandise in a giveaway can also increase event turnout. Even people who aren't usually keen on exhibitions and brand promotions usually love free stuff!
For this reason, they might show up to take advantage of the opportunity if they like what they see in the prize mix. If they didn't have the intention to take an interest in your brand at first, they might end up doing so once they take your merchandise home.
This way, people will even be excited to show the contents of the giveaway to other people. These people might even become converted to loyal clientele.
What Makes a Giveaway Great
As you probably already know, giveaways are great to cement your brand's image and build a relationship with your audience. This way, they'll remember your brand next time they need a product or service similar to the one your brand provides.
But this can only work if your giveaway attracts enough people. To do this, you need to ensure that your giveaway is memorable, consists of high-quality products, and is shareable. The products from the giveaway should also be something that many people would use, at least people in your targeted demographic.
Giveaway Item Ideas
What's the point of a giveaway if the products aren't very enticing? To get people to sign up and participate in your giveaway, you'll have to make sure they think the end result is worth it. We'll list a few of these crowd-pleasing goodie ideas below.
Premium Food Items
Whether you're brainstorming for corporate event giveaways or generally cool conference giveaways, there are not many people who'd pass up culinary delights. This is great if you've already got plenty of other opportunities in your event to sell or give away brand merchandise.
Caffeine BasketEven if your event isn't strictly corporate, plenty of people appreciate a good cup of caffeine. Whether that includes tea, coffee, or cocoa, many people rely on a caffeinated cup to start their day.
You might separate this giveaway into smaller and bigger winnings. For smaller winnings, a bag of quality coffee beans will appeal to a broader audience since there are three times as many coffee drinkers as there are tea drinkers in the US.
But for bigger winnings, it's great to provide an assortment. It's a smart choice to bulk up the assortment with coffee. But including premium tea leaves and even some caffeine paraphernalia such as tea steepers and French press coffee makers will diversify and amp up the winnings' appeal.
Cookie/Cracker BasketWhat else is good with a cup of joe? With some delicious cookies and crackers in tow, people are bound to happily munch through their winnings with gusto.
While a lavish array of premium fruits and bread are bound to excite many, these items are best to transport and expect to enjoy a long shelf life. Otherwise, hauling it back through an airport or trying to refrigerate the remainder can be a hassle.
Just make sure that there are options for those with food intolerances within the selection. Once again, catering to the dominant consumer is smart. But throwing in gluten-free, vegan, or dairy-free options could incentivize many people to look forward to the giveaway.
Eco-Friendly Merchandise
Putting up an eco-friendly front is important for any modern business. Of course, it shouldn't just be a front. But the point is, demonstrating your business's eco-friendly efforts can do wonders for its image.
After all, nearly 8 out of 10 consumers state that sustainability is important for them. Showing them that your business cares by giving away eco-friendly merchandise can entice them to pay attention to your brand, especially if they like what's inside the bag.
Of course, if you go down this route, make sure your display is consistent on all fronts. Don't use single-use plastic, use as many recyclable materials possible, and make sure they were manufactured sustainably. There are many merchandise items that can tick these boxes, such as:
Bags in particular are a great option to carry all of the other swag that eventgoers will carry during the event.
Personal Hygiene
Personal hygiene items are great conference giveaway ideas when it comes to gifts. This is especially true if your event requires people to travel by plane. It's possible that quite a few people at your event are feeling rough from plane travel, which might help them perk up at the sound of a personal hygiene basket.
From sunscreen to hand sanitizers, there are many practical gift ideas that guests will gladly use. You can even cater to incoming guests' unfamiliarity with the locale! If the event's local climate is subtropical, even something like insect repellent can help provide some much-needed relief without requiring departure from the event.
Giveaway Event Ideas
Raffle giveaways and drawing a name out of a hat are tried-and-true event giveaway ideas. But unique conference giveaways can really energize the event itself while encouraging more people to participate. If the giveaway process is fun enough, they might play along for the sake of it and not even for the prize itself!
So make sure that you plan creative event giveaways to encourage participation. Even participating without winning can help customers positively familiarize themselves with your brand.
Virtual Events
This idea is especially helpful if you're planning an event with social distancing in mind. While traditional giveaways may crowd many people into one room, virtual event giveaways allow people to scatter themselves across an event's area. Not only that, but it mitigates the need for events to be held in very large rooms that can rack up event-planning funds.
Your audience will also experience added convenience, which will motivate them even more to participate. While jostling around a crowd to write their name down on a sign-up sheet might deter some from even signing up, this method will increase accessibility.
Arcade/Casino Games
Many people have fond childhood memories of playing arcade/casino games for the illustrious prize of raffle tickets, which could buy stuffed animals, candy, and much more! For this reason, arcade/casino games are fantastic for adults. They can channel the nostalgia from playing these games as a child for prizes that are much more useful and age-appropriate.
There are two ways you can go about this. First, you can provide a limited amount of prizes reserved for those who obtained the highest scores. You can announce the winners at the end of the giveaway event night, providing people with plenty of chances to secure first place!
Second, you can go for a raffle system. While this can be quite difficult to organize, this can bring back the fun eventgoers might remember having at pizza parlors and the arcades they loved going to as a child. With a small fee or none at all, you can provide an array of great merchandise for them to vie for.
The Best Ideas for Event Giveaways for Brand Visibility
Conferences and gifts may not seem like they go hand in hand. But in reality, they're integral for networking, gaining customers, and getting the word out there about your brand!
At Bagmasters, we understand how integral event giveaways can be for your corporate event. That's why we offer a vast selection of wholesale-priced products so that you can provide plenty of fantastic conference swag at a great value. If you're looking for something specific, feel free to contact us to get your event started!
