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Using Trade Show Giveaways Effectively   WHAT'S THE RIGHT GIVEAWAY? by Dr. Gary Witt from the March issue of Exhibitor Magazine Giveaways are the most ubiquitous items at any trade show.   Everyone has freebies, ranging from hard candy to expensive CDs. Yet, if you ask many regular exhibitors, they'll be hard pressed tell you if most of it works.   From a Psychological Marketing viewpoint, what are the best types of giveaways? To answer that question, the exhibitor must determine what the giveaway should do.   THE PURPOSE OF GIVEAWAYS   There are several overlapping reasons to give something to a visitor:   * Branding -- the sample or giveaway reinforces the company's name and core benefit, such as a pencil with the phrase "Dinette Warehouse: Home of the Biggest Discounts in Town."   * Image-building -- the giveaway helps to reinforce the company's image and niche.   * Create a positive feeling -- in most situations it is human nature to think well of someone who gives you a gift.   * Reminder -- a traditional and useful reason for giveaways is to help people remember the company's name and benefit after the show is over.   * Build a List: -- giveaways that are exchanged for names and e-mail addresses of prospects offer one of the best values for a company's promotional dollars. It gives the company a low-cost way to contact potential buyers over and over again.   TIPS ON SELECTING THE BEST MARKETING GIVEAWAYS   Based on the psychological marketing analysis of desirable exhibit visitors and the potential benefits of giveaways, we can draw some conclusions about the most and least valuable types of giveaways.   * Giveaways which are consumed will generally have little marketing value, unless the giveaway food is made by the exhibitor, in which case it is actually a sample.   *Giveaways which do not have the company's name on them are useless.   * Giveaways which do not have a branding message are of less value than those which do. That means a coaster with a company's name is of less value than one with a company's name and a slogan which enhances its positioning strategy.   * Giveaways which involve the visitor are superior to those which don't. For example, a cable TV company offered a virtual reality experience -- two fascinating minutes in a virtual reality world of dinosaurs. It was exciting, new and memorable. And it gave visitors a chance to tell friends on the bus about a product most people had heard about, but few had seen.   * Giveaways which offer an immediate benefit are useful. The chiropractor who offers you a thirty-second massage gives you immediate gratification, and creates a stronger positive response than those which give you something you must wait to use. It's important to also give something which will remind visitors of their company, such as a notepad. It is a terrible mistake to make your visitor fall in love with your product or service, then not provide a way to let them call you.   * Giveaways which create involvement are better than those which allow the visitor to remain passive. Involvement can be created by many means. Involvement creates a personal relationship between the visitor and the show personnel and may help reinforce the company's message.   * Giveaways which allow people to feel good about themselves are superior to those which are neutral or negative. Visitors feel good about themselves when they do something which is worthy of praise. This usually involves a contest of some sort, such as guessing the number of items in a bowl or putting a golf ball. The positive feeling is associated with the company and adds to its image in the visitor's mind. However, there are some hidden dangers in this strategy.   THE HIDDEN DANGER IN SOME GIVEAWAY PLANS   Two evergreen trade show classics are putting and shooting baskets. For the giveaway -- putt the golf ball into the cup and win a coffee mug with the company's name on it. People line up for this, even thought they all have plenty of coffee mugs at home. Why? To test their skill, to compete with their friends, to DO SOMETHING, not just passively take in the show.   There is a big problem with skill-related giveaways, like putting or shooting baskets. When a person is standing over that ball looking at the cup four feet away, their ego is on the line. Others are watching. Will they succeed -- and get applause -- or fail and feel like a loser? Most will fail. Many of them miss, try again, and again, feeling more and more like a charity case ("I couldn't sink a ball from just four feet away with three tries!")   In short, this giveaway -- or any other requiring certain skills -- is designed to make a few people feel good about the company, and embarrass the rest. That isn't an appealing marketing strategy. Even worse, there is generally no strong relationships between good putters and the most desirable customers.   The end marketing result is the company often allows a person who has no intention of buying anything to feel like a prince, while making some good prospects feel like a spastic boob. Then the company then compounds the psychological damage by presenting the "loser" with a free charity cup in front of friends and strangers to help them remember this failure, and the company which made it possible.   What alternative would be more marketing-friendly? From a Psychological Marketing standpoint, you want an activity which involves the visitor, looks like fun, and offers them a chance to compete for some prize. But there should be no losers, no one who gets the booby prize. The contest must seem challenging enough to suggest some physical or mental skills is necessary, but which in fact can be done by most people in a try or two.   For example, you might use a tricky-looking miniature golf hole which is actually designed to draw the ball toward the hole. [Remember, you want to give them the positive experience and get them on their way so long lines don't discourage others from stopping.]   Your goal is to help people succeed and feel good about themselves. That's why they play. They don't really want the cup. It is just a symbol of their success, and a reminder of the good feeling your company gave them. Don't make them feel like a loser with a booby prize. Giveaways can be an effective way to enhance a positive corporate image, gather prospective leads, and generate repeated reminders of your company long after the show is over. Or they can be a waste of money, and even create a negative impression. All giveaways are not created equal. For the best results, try to see them through the eyes of your targeted show visitors.      Home * Solve My Problem * About Us * Free Information * Products & Services * * Free Newsletter * Contact Us * Index * Rewards *   NOTICE: All material on this site is Copyrighted, and may not be reproduced without the written consent of the Marketing Psychology Group, Inc., Scottsdale, Arizona. If quoting text, please provide attribution. Thank you. job buyer buyer 2 buyer 3 buyer 4