Whenever I look for a gift idea I have certain criteria in mind which the gift needs to fulfill.

I am ideally looking for a gift which attendees want; if they don’t want it it has little value but bear in mind, the perceived value of a gift is more important than the actual cost.

I also look for gifts which will be used time and time again by the attendee; it gets my name and contact information noticed repeatedly as I am a adherent of repetition as a sales technique.

Budget is also a factor but this will be different for you as it will be for everyone else.

My top ten promotional gift ideas areas for trade show displays follows:

1. personalized pens – but make sure they are good quality  as you want them to last;
2. seasonal gifts – Christmas is coming, choose something commensurate for the season;
3. annual gifts – calendars are always good but are commonly offered, give something that stands a chance of being the one your prospect uses;
4. yardsticks – for me these just work; a simple yard stick is big and gets noticed at the event plus it has practical utility and is sure to be used repeatedly for years;
5. wine and bottle openers – always a popular giveaway as you can never have to many of them at home, at work or wherever;
6. multi tools – I have found combination pliers/scissors and screwdrivers very popular with attendees, in fact any kind of utility tool is popular;
7. truly novel gifts – I used stress balls when they first came out but not anymore, however I do use gifts that have a real novelty value so I keep an eye on the catologs and what attendees are picking up at shows I attend;
8. key chains- always a favorite but again, you need to be careful because the more common the gift is the better quality it has to be to stand a chance of being picked as the one your recipient is going to choose to use;
9. calculators – again everyone uses them and they are handy to have around the home or office; personally I like to use the big keypad versions rather than the little mini calculators; and
10. drinking mugs – simple, cheap and everyone uses them.