What should we give away at our trade show booth?

How inexpensive? It helps to know your final budget for something like this. But without that information, here goes:

When it comes to premium incentives perceived value is critical. The specific items tie in to your product or promotion really is not.

I have in the past given out thousands of pens or caps or t-shirts and even yardsticks. I would give these out at specifically scheduled intervals and my booth would be completely overrun with crowds demanding their item.

To my boss I was a hero, but in fact I was an idiot.

Here's the problem with low cost premium incentives: The only people they motivate are people who are willing to waste their time for a pen. Generally, that isn't your target demographic.

Allot depends on what you are trying to accomplish with your give-aways. Are you trying to drive traffic to your booth? Are you trying to build awareness of your new product / campaign (my guess it that this is your primary objective). Are you trying to put something in peoples hands that will lead them back to your company well after the show is over?

If it is the latter, then I must tell you I have seen very few companies achieve success with this, despite what the premium incentive vendors will tell you. It doesn't matter if I have your company address tattooed to the inside of my eyelids. Your odds of me calling you are really not that much greater.

I would focus on top of mind and complete saturation of awareness at the trade show. I like to call this â€œowning the floorâ€.

To do this, print badges with your campaign message and arrange for them to be distributed at the entrance. On these badges in smaller print note " Ware this badge for a chance to win "XXXXX". One (2,3... what ever you can afford) attendee wearing this badge will be selected at random from the show floor every (half hour - hour again what you can afford) to receive a XXXX. ## Prizes will be awarded.

These badges by the way could be CD's with a demo version of your software on them. What is most important is that your campaign message be big and bold on the badge.

At the very beginning of the show have one or two of your most attractive sales people or product representative waiting at the entrance. The first person they see wearing one of those badges they should approach and QUITE loudly announce that that person has won what ever the prize is because they were wearing the badge. If the incentive you select is fairly attractive (i.e. people want it) you will be pleasantly surprised by what happens next.

In my experience (using mp3 players typically) 1 out of 5 to 1 of 2 people at the tradeshow will be wearing my badge. I have seen my competitorsâ€™ sales associates wearing my badge. The entire show floor looks like a walking billboard for my campaign. And foot traffic? You will have badge wearing stalkers literally hovering around your booth.

Do NOT select prize winners from those near your booth by the way. They should be from random places on the show floor. Literally tell the associates who award the prize go here, and at this time, the first person with the badge you see, loudly award them the prize. If you are feeling truly nasty award them a few times near your competitorâ€™s booth and then the stalkers will hover around them with your badge.

If at all possible, don't pay full price for your incentive product. Give some space on that badge to note "prizes provided by X Company Name" and solicit either free product or discount from your chosen incentive provider to bullet them there.

Don't bother branding the give-away. Get it directly from the manufacturer so that you can get the discount from them for promoting their brand.

Something along the lines of an MP3 player has a perceived value of around $100.00 and can be sourced in volume (say 20)from the actual manufacturer for probably $50 or less, and with the manufacturer giving you a discount or donation for promoting their brand it could go lower. These are loose numbers but you get the idea.

Let's say you spend $1,400 on 28 mp3's (enough to give out one every hour of the show) and another $1000 on badges to hand out at the entrance. You've spent a total of $2400.00 and the show floor reads like your private ad space.

How many semi decent low cost incentives could you get branded for that amount? Maybe 6 to 12 hundred? And most of them would end up in the garbage after the show.

It takes more leg work to arrange something like this. You will have to work out permission (and probably pay) to distribute your badges at the entrance. You will have to find a sexy product to give away (MP3â€™s and MP4â€™s always seem to get the traction) and you will have to petition the manufacturer for promotional contribution. This last item can take time, because the person selling the merchandise usually doesnâ€™t have the authority for this. They have to talk to the promotions department. The big companies actually have departments that do nothing but spend money to cross promote, so donâ€™t be daunted. In selecting an incentive product partner, look to companies your company already does a healthy amount of business with. It makes it easier to get more from them.

Hope this helps.

Best Regards