OK, so you may be a miser (sorry, careful with the cash), but you have splashed out on your trade show display and need to make the most of the opportunity – how do you get people to come to your display when you are competing left, righ and center with a lot of other stands?

Promotional items can help you maximize the impact of your display and can assist in the generation of business and do this very cost-effectively.

Spending a fortune is not what the game is about but targeted spend after careful planning is.

Research the demographics of your chosen venue, and you can usually get these easily from the venue management for past shows as well as a breakdown of the upcoming events and what is anticipated.  Use these to help you select a freebie that suits the occasion; you want to talk to the decision maker but it may be wise to work through their children so choose something the executive is going to take home for their kids – helium balloons have long been used for this kind of thing but think laterally as well and see what the kids are doing but don’t lose sight of what the giveaway is being used for – getting your name to stand out when it counts.

Keep a close eye on the catalogues as new ideas are being generated continually and it is wise to keep up with what is happening. What you really do not want is for your giveaways to end up in the trash can, you want them to work for you.  It can also be a good idea to make your audience work a little for the pleasure of receiving one of your items. You could reward your audience for listening to a presentation of your products, for example.

It is wise to maximize the longevity of the free advertising by making your giveaways items that your clients will find useful for more than a few minutes, thus creating more bang for your buck. The usual suspects come in to this category (which of course is why they are the usual suspects), which are pens, coffee mugs, mouse mats and calculators, these are all useful items that people will hold on to for a while.