Top 21 conference giveaway ideas
Most event planners agree that a conference’s success is determined by the number of people who attend it from start to finish. Unfortunately, planning these events is no small feat, and while the organization of the events is important, there is one thing that everyone who’s ever attended a conference wants: conference swag.
Experienced conference planners know that most attendees are motivated to come because they’re expecting a tote bag full of free goods. And if you’ve ever attended a conference, you know how exciting it is to go through a free bag to see what you’ve gotten and how you can use it in your day-to-day life.
If you’re a start-up, setting up a booth in a professional conference and giving away free items is one of the best ways to increase your brand recognition and promote your company. Almost everyone is excited by the idea of free items, and most don’t care that these items either promote a company or product. If you come up with unique conference giveaway ideas, you can easily reap the benefits.
What makes the best conference giveaway idea?
There is no limit to what you can and cannot give at a conference giveaway. This makes a wide variety of options available for you to select from, but how many of them are good? And, how do you decide whether your conference giveaway ideas will be well-loved by the attendees or not? Here are some qualities that will help you make the best tote bag:
- Relevance
How relevant is the item to your product? Instead of randomly choosing a giveaway item, select an item related to your business/products. This will create an organic interaction and promote your company without being loud.
- Cost-effective
While the idea behind a giveaway is to create a lasting impression, you should also keep a fixed budget in mind. Giving away free items that will cause a dent in your company’s financials makes conference giveaways a bad idea.
- Durable
The durability of the item is another important point to consider if you’re giving away items like t-shirts. What is the t-shirt made out of? Remember that these items should create a lasting impression on your customers, and a t-shirt with harmful material will likely hurt your chances.
- Shareable
If you’re offering discount coupons or other similar giveaway gifts, make sure they can be shared. Many customers choose to give away these gifts because they might not use them. This way, your product will likely reach a new customer instead of being thrown in the trash.
- Creative
Instead of giving away a mug with your company logo, why not take a risk? Items that stand out and are creative will create a lasting impression with customers and give the product more value.
If your preferred gift item can fulfill all these criteria, you’ll likely stand out among your competitors and gain new clients during a conference. However, before you start packing your event bag, here are a few tips to help you.
Things to keep in mind before planning your conference giveaway ideas
- Fill your conference event bags with your ideas and values
Your event bag should reflect your company’s values and your company’s products. Adding a mug or a stationary pouch to your bag just because they are the most common is not a good idea. Choose items based on your business vision and products. If your company specialises in planning events, gift your clients with custom-made monthly planners.
- Your conference giveaways should fulfill a practical purpose
Several companies give away items at the conference because they have to. And while the customer gets a free item, they trash it before they get home if it isn’t useful for them. This way, the company has wasted its money and hasn’t made an impression. When planning your conference giveaway ideas or conference gifts, keep the product’s use in mind. Will the customer use it?
- Ensure you share your ideas behind conference giveaway with sponsors and exhibitors
Before setting up your booths at the conference, make sure you help your sponsors and exhibitors understand your reasoning for putting the items together. While you might understand the vision, the exhibitors will share these with the attendees, which means they cannot answer any follow-up questions if they don’t know the reasoning.
Reasons behind conference giveaways
Just like a well-executed marketing campaign, a well-planned conference giveaway bag can draw attention to your brand or products and create an impression.
Given below are a few reasons why you should spend time and come up with unique conference giveaway ideas:
- It will increase interest in your company’s booth and get people talking.
- Your brand recognition will improve.
- The audience/attendees will remember your company in a positive light.
- You can reach more proscriptive customers.
Top 20 conference giveaways ideas of 2021
1. Personalised Pens
Where to get it: Personalised pens
Personalised pens can bear the logo and name of the institute and are extremely usable to all customers. They are an excellent choice for academic conferences. However, if you’re providing personalised pens, make sure these can last long or are refillable.
2. Personalised Mugs
Where to get it: Personalised mugs
Personalised mugs can hold coffee, tea, or any other beverage. These are some of the most common conference giveaway items and are ideal for all types of conferences and events. If you’re giving your customers personalised mugs, make sure these are sturdy and won’t break during traveling.
3. Personalised Mouse Pads
Where to get it: Personalised mouse pads
Personalised mousepads are usable, inexpensive, and popular. You can give away personalised mouse pads if you’re holding a tech conference. If you’re planning to give away mousepads, choose ones that are washable, which means that customers can easily use these for years.
4. Personalised Face Masks
Where to get it: Personalised face masks
Face masks can easily be created in various types, like lavender or aloe vera or your custom idea. Personalised face masks are the best conference gifts if you’re holding a cosmetic conference. You can also use these to promote your other cosmetic products by asking customers to pair the two together..
5. Customised Branded Apparels
Where to get it: Customised Branded Apparels
Branded apparels usually include t-shirts, caps, jackets, gloves, etc. These are some of the most popular conference giveaway ideas or conference gifts because most customers favor this product and can therefore be given at all conferences. They’re extremely versatile, functional and you can easily add your logo to any of these items and still make the product look interesting.
6. Discount Coupons
Discount coupons are the perfect gifts if you’ve launched a new product and want to bring attention to it. You can never go wrong with a voucher. These can easily be sold by all companies and at all conferences. To promote your business at the same time, you can add a discount coupon to the back of your business card.
7. Organic snacks hamper
Where to get it: Organic snacks hamper
An organic snacks hamper is an unusual business idea but can be just as effective. You can promote these types of hampers if you’re at a food & beverages conference. These are ideal gifts if you’re a catering company and want to show you’re adaptable to all types of cuisines and food trends.
8. Log Tracker Notebook
Where to get it: Log Tracker Notebook
Log tracker notebooks are perfect if you want to promote your event planning business and can be given at social conventions like ComicCon. Everyone can use these to track their daily schedule. However, if you are giving away a log tracker notebook, make sure they’re small and can be easily carried in a purse. This is also a great conference giveaway idea for educational conferences and college fairs.
9. Desk Accessory Kit
Where to get it: Desk Accessory Kit
A desk accessory kit usually includes basic stationery items like staplers, stapler pins, tape dispensers, paper clips, etc. If you’re planning a two or three-day conference, you can easily share these with attendees on the first day to make sure they use them. However, if you do give away desk accessory kits, make sure they’re all kept in a reusable bag or pouch.
10. Bluetooth Speaker With Colorful Lights
Where to get it: Bluetooth Speaker With Colorful Lights
Bluetooth speakers are compatible with all phone models and tablets. These can easily be synced up at any time, making them one of the most useful items in any giveaway bag. Bluetooth speakers can be given at tech conferences or corporate conferences. However, if you are giving away Bluetooth speakers, you can easily customise them with lights that reflect your company logo. This will help the speaker stand out and make sure your brand is recognised.
11. Leather Travel Journal With Pockets
Where to get it: Leather Travel Journal With Pockets
Leather travel journals are used by dedicated travel enthusiasts to log their experiences. These nifty items are perfect if you’re setting up a booth at a travel & tourism conference. For attendees who are dedicated travelers, the journal is the perfect way to plan their next trip. The pockets in the journal can be used to store tickets or change. You can easily laser engrave your company logo on a journal to customise it.
12. Portable Juice Blenders
Where to get it: Portable Juice Blenders
Portable Juice blenders are gaining popularity because of their versatility. Portable juice blenders are perfect if you’re holding a weekend corporate conference. These allow your attendees to create their favorite smoothie even when they’re away from their home. However, these are difficult to customise and can be expensive.
13. Wireless Earbuds Bluetooth Headphones
Where to get it: Wireless Earbuds Bluetooth Headphones
Wireless headphones and earbuds are also popular conference giveaway items or gifts. These can be shared at any conference and don’t require a huge budget. These are popular choices for corporate retreats and tech conferences. If you plan on giving away headphones, you can easily customise them with your logo on each earpiece.
14. Personalised Planter Stick
Where to get it: Personalised Planter Stick
Personalised planter sticks are rarely used as conference giveaway ideas. Personalised planter sticks are ideal for customers who are avid gardeners. While it is hard to find customers who are gardeners, these are perfect gifts if you’re attending a food & beverage conference. These can easily be personalised to hold your favorite quote
15. Corporate Wine Box Set Gift
Where to get it: Corporate Wine Box Set Gift
The corporate wine box set is an expensive and classy conference giveaway item. You can easily give these to top-level businessmen at the conference. The box itself can be engraved with your business logo. Invest in a good quality wooden box so that your customers will be impressed.
16. Thank You Candles
Where to get it: Thank you candles
Thank you candles are an unusual gift but can be very popular among women. If you’re holding a cosmetics conference, these items are the perfect addition to your hamper. These can easily be customised with various smells and sizes. In addition to this, you can also provide attendees a pack of 2 or 3 small candles.
17. Customised Business Card Holders
Where to get it: Customised Business Card Holders
Customised business card holders are an ideal conference gift for businessmen. These can be given at all corporate conferences. Instead of investing in a transparent holder, customise it to look like wood and have a small engraving with your company logo.
18. Pop Socket
Where to get it: Pop Socket
Pop sockets were originally a trend but are now extremely handy for all smartphones. They can be attached to all covers and are available in all shapes and sizes. Pop sockets are excellent conference giveaway ideas at any educational conference or college fair. You can easily customise them with an educational quote and a small logo of your institute.
19. Tile Mate
Where to get it: Tile mate
Tile mate is the easiest way of finding your phone, keys or other personal items. All you need to do is attach them to your keychain. Tile mates might be an unusual gift, but everyone needs one. These can be given out to all conferences because of their customisability. You can easily customise these to hold funny and inspirational quotes and then hand these to customers in tote bags.
20. Power bank
Where to get it: Power Bank
Power banks are a must for all smartphone owners. They’re portable and versatile. Power banks are an ideal conference gift if you want to create a lasting impression. While these are expensive to buy individually, getting bulk orders can save money. A good power bank that will last long is the perfect gift for everyone.
You can easily customise the above-given items to reflect your company logos. Making unique conference giveaway ideas is the perfect way to reach out to a wide audience and meet potential customers.
Whether you give away a tote bag or just one item, make sure to keep the item’s functionality in mind. Most people can’t resist a free item which means these are the perfect way to create a lasting impression on all potential customers.
21. Drink Bottles
Where to get it: Drink Bottles
Drink bottles can hold water and other drinks. These are some of the most common conference giveaway items and are ideal for all types of conferences and events. If you’re giving your customers personalised drink bottles, make sure these are sturdy and made up of good material.
FAQ’S
Q: What do you give at the conference?
A: You can give branded t-shirts, gift cards, discount coupons, mugs, coffee holders, Bluetooth headsets, books, stationery, etc., as conference giveaway swag. The most important aspect while choosing conference giveaway ideas is to give something useful so that the client won’t throw it away.
Q: What are the most popular conference giveaways?
A: The most popular items in conference giveaways include t-shirts, mugs, notebooks, stationery, snacks, tote bags, lip balms, etc.
Q: What is the difference between conference giveaways and conference swag?
A: Conference swag is generally company-branded merchandise aimed to improve brand recognition. It has bold logos and company mottos. On the other hand, a conference giveaway does not aim to improve brand recognition and instead just provides the client with a way to remember the conference.
Q: Can I buy conference giveaways in bulk?
A: Yes! If you’re holding a conference giveaway, buying items in bulk is likely to save you some money.
