When it comes to the deeply ingrained societal notion of reciprocity, an oft-cited behavioural psychology experiment demonstrated quite conclusively that the duty one feels to return a favour can and does occur even in cases where the favour may have not been requested in the first place. Marketing freebies rely on this value in order to drive sales and, in some cases, create new loyal customers.
But there is more to the power of freebies than just tapping into this well documented psychological inclination. We’ll discuss what the best freebies to give away at events are and what further benefits this marketing strategy can bring to the table.
Best freebies to giveaway at events:
- Confectionery and branded water
- Promotional bags
- Technology gifts
- Office and desktop items
- Writing gifts
- Children’s promotional products
Things to consider:
A) The type of event
B) The crowd and what appeals to them
A)
The first aspect you should look at is what type of event you plan on having the giveaway at.
Ask yourself:
- Will other companies be giving freebies away at their stands?
- If so, what sort of products do you think they will make use of?
Your strategy will begin to take shape depending on how you answer these two questions. If other companies will most likely be using free promotional products, it would be good to either have different products or items which are somehow better than theirs even if they are of the same type.
B)
Next, think about what your target audience will be for this event. If you’re looking at quite a young bunch, consider:
These are some of the best freebies to give away at events with young attendees. Technology gifts such as USBs or headphones are probably the best of the bunch since they are useful and are the sorts of products which young people tend to use often.
Promotional bags are also practical for obvious reasons and are quite big with lots of space for your logo or company branding to do on to.
Confectionery and branded water can be a good shout but perishable items such as these don’t have much value after they have been eaten and the branded wrappers have been thrown away. However, the delicious taste of a bespoke chocolate bar can leave quite a long lasting impression on customers with a sweet tooth.
If the event will bring together a crowd of older customers, it’s best to go for:
If you’re dealing with a corporate crowd, office and desktop promotional items are a great shout. You should opt for items which people can use in the office on a daily basis and which are quite visible at all times such as mouse mats for example.
On the topic of useful items which can be branded and will be visible on a daily basis, writing gifts such as branded pens or pencils fit the bill perfectly. If you use a trusted supplier who produces a writing utensil which lasts long and offers great quality, customers will come to associate that sort of standard with your brand.
Children’s promotional products are a bit of a gamble, but one that could pay off if you come across many parents at your event. Teddy bears are actually one of the promotional products aimed at children which adults can use as a decorative item as well. A nice branded t-shirt for your teddy bear will ensure that you get the most value out of it in terms of building your brand.
Some Final Tips
Getting your freebies into the hands of customers is a great success in itself. Any person who takes one of these products home with them has the potential to check out what your brand has to offer when they stumble across them at a later date.
If you’re the type of company that can give away small samples, this is definitely the way to go. There’s no better way of creating new customers than through exposing people to the actual product you sell, rather than a promotional freebie which just sports your logo.
Don’t forget to brand every item you giveaway. Don’t think that just because people see your logo and brand name on your event stand they will remember you. Depending on the size of the event, your audience might be exposed to a plethora of different brands over the course of the day. We’ve gone through the importance of branded merchandise in a previous post, and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t reap the full host of benefits branded products can bring.
If you want your event give away to be a marketing success, your logo or company name should feature prominently on the freebies you are using.
As a final tip, keep in mind that the best freebies to give away at events are branded products which are useful and have the potential to remain useful for a long time.
If you’re a small business looking to build a name for itself, check out our other post detailing the best marketing giveaways for small business.
