Trade Show Giveaways That Don’t Get Left in the Hotel Trash
Walk a building products show on the last day and look in the hotel trash cans. Stress balls, cheap pens and flimsy bags. Somebody paid for all of it. The giveaways people keep share a few things, and none of them have to cost a fortune.
The short answer
- Give something people use at work or on the weekend. Tumblers, hats and good pens get kept.
- Make it easy to carry home in a carry-on.
- Put your logo where it looks good, not where it is biggest.
- Save the nicer item for real conversations, not everyone who walks by.
What gets kept
- Drinkware. A good tumbler goes to the job site, the truck and the office. Your logo sits on a desk for years.
- Hats. Contractors wear hats. A good trucker or rope hat gets worn long after the show. See our hats.
- Tape measures and job-site tools. Useful, and they live in a tool belt.
- Pens that write well. Cheap pens get tossed. A weighted pen gets kept.
What gets tossed
- Anything with a battery that dies in a week.
- Novelty items nobody needs.
- Big or heavy items that won’t fit in a suitcase.
- Bags that are really just a printed logo.
Use two tiers
Most booths do better with two giveaways. Keep a low-cost item on the table for foot traffic. Keep a nicer item under the table, like a hat or tumbler, for the dealers and contractors you actually want to talk to. It gives your team a reason to start the conversation.
Plan the logistics
- Order early. Decorated items usually take 2 to 3 weeks after the artwork is approved. Add time for freight to the show.
- Ship to the right place. Most shows use an advance warehouse with a cutoff date. Check your exhibitor kit.
- Count carefully. Leftovers are fine if the item works at your office or at the next event.
- Check vendor co-op. Some manufacturers will help pay for show giveaways. See how to spend vendor co-op funds.
Want to see it on your gear first? Send us your logo. We’ll send a free mockup before anything is ordered, and there are no minimums.