Giveaways at events

 Something that I have realized that some events will limit the number of items given away and sometimes it is limited to the first 100 people that get the nice item. The only thing that can happen is that one or two people will get to the front of the line and then a bunch of their friends will push themselves up to them even if they are arriving just before the doors opens. We have seen this happen repeatedly and the event needs to manage people pushing ahead in line. Why should I get in line 30minutes only to have someone that arrives 5 minutes before the doors open receive a knapsack and I don't because their friend was at the front of the line, and they pushed their way to stand with them.

The other thing is that when a knapsack is given out as an event giveaway it can make it difficult for people to move around at the event if space is limited. What happens is that people will wear the knapsack on their back after filling it with the various freebies (swag) and then have another bag that they will continue to fill out. What so many people don't think about is when they are moving around the event, they are taking up a lot of room.

Some people will back up from a booth and not think that given they are wearing a knapsack on their back they are backing into other people. It is amazing how many times we can banged by a knapsack and then you say something they just look at you and don't apologize so even say sorry. Some people will also say that you shouldn't have been in their way when you are standing perfectly still when you walk into you.

I am not saying that events shouldn't give out knapsacks, what I am saying is that the people receiving the knapsack need to realize that if they are wearing them on their back, they are taking up a lot of extra space. If you are lucky enough to receive one of these giveaways, please carry them in your hand so that you don't take up the extra space.   

If you have friends at the front of the line and you arrive long after them and there is a long line up, you need to just get in line like everyone does and get in when it's your turn. Why should you be able to push ahead compared to others that may also know someone that is ahead of them in the line?

Conference give aways -- SWAG

Have you noticed at conference how much stuff (SWAG) is given away and grabbed up quickly by some people. I am really wondering what is done with some of this swag that people grab without thinking about if they need or want it.

We have been at some conferences and it is amazing to watch people when they enter a vendor area. Some people will look around and see where the best free items are and immediately head for those vendors. Once they get there, they do not look up at the people are the booth but look at the table and grab what they see as nice but never talking to the people at the booth or even looking at them. In some cases these items may never be used by the person that took them but given away to someone else and in cases to someone that has no clue who the vendor is or what the vendor does.

I really want to know how many pens, canvas bags or even t-shirts do I need with various vendors names or logos on them? I know that vendors want to make sure you remember their name but enough is enough. If I really want to learn about you have some info that I can take away and look at. A pen doesn’t tell me what you do or how you can benefit me.

The other thing that gets me is now many vendors at shows have the prize that they give away at the end of the day. OK, now you expect me to spend the entire day at a show and in some cases I may not have the opportunity as I also need to meet the needs of my clients. The prize normally requires that you drop off your business card to enter the draw. So now what you have done is given all the various vendors your total contact information just because you have a small chance to win a prize. For the vendors it is a great way to get a lot of possible client info without doing anything. Now you are going to be getting a lot of phone calls and/or emails from all the vendors where you dropped off your business card.

OK, I will admit that there is one piece of vendor giveaway that I like and those are the journal books that some give away. Yes, I use these books and normally have at least one of these books with me at all times. The other thing I like that is sometimes given away are the small books from the “Dummies series”.

So when you are at conference next time just watch what some people are grabbing and how full their bags are and think about where some of that stuff will end up.