At CMI Promotions, our goal is to help every customer find the trade show giveaways that will make their next corporate exhibit or industry event a success. With everything from pens to webkeys, apparel to duffel bags, we can provide the swag that you need to bring people to your booth and keep them engaged. If you’re offering a new product or you’re going through a rebranding phase, then let our team help you create the perfect trade show promotional items that attendees will love taking with them.

What Makes the Best Trade Show Giveaways?

When considering what to make for your next show, it’s important to keep in mind that nearly everyone else who’s exhibiting will have the standard pens, coasters, and other promotional items. You want to stand out among the crowd, and bring people to your booth with unique and useful gifts. A custom webkey with all of your website information can be a great place to start, and as you think about your items, keep a few things in mind — what will bring people to your booth, how can you provide the best swag, and what will people find useful?

What Will Bring People To Your Booth?

As you’re setting up your trade show booth, you make sure that all of the signage is in place and that people know which company or brand you’re representing. You have vibrant colors and an easy-to-access table that’s filled with promotional gifts and other items. If you’re handing things out, then you want to be sure that people can come up, grab an item easily, and speak with someone without having to wait too long. As the word spreads about what type of items you’re giving out, more and more people will visit your booth, which will increase the chances of someone signing up for your email list or registering to win a bigger prize. By generating interest in your booth, your business and your brand will be front-and-center in more people’s minds, which is always good for business.

Have Plenty of People On Hand

One thing that a business can run into is not having enough people at their trade show table or booth. Once the show opens and interest begins to pick up, more attendees will stop by the booth to learn more about a particular product or service. If you only have one employee at your table, then they will only be able to talk to a one or two people at a time. Show attendees may wait in line for a certain piece of swag, but if they’re interested in your business, then they’ll only wait for so long until they walk away, especially if no one has spoken to them yet. Your trade show gifts may grab their attention, but it’s your employees or representatives that will keep a person at the table, talking about the product or service that your company offers.

Providing the Best Trade Show Swag

You want to provide show attendees with the best swag, so that they leave thinking about your business and the great gift they received. Since swag stands for “stuff we all get,” then your first priority will be to make sure that you order enough items for the duration of the show. If the projected attendance is around 1,000 people, then order 2,000 gifts for your booth. You’ll always want to have extras on hand, just in case people take more than one item. If you have extra gifts left when the show ends, you can keep them for your next event!

Create Unique Options

As we said above, every company at a trade show will have pens, coasters, or something similar. In order to stand out, you’ll need unique swag that grabs a person’s attention and immediately conveys a practical use. For example, you could create custom aprons that you give to people (this is great choice, especially if you’re in the home or culinary industry). You could have color-changing tumblers printed with your business name and logo. No matter what you do, you’ll want your swag to stand out and to entice people to visit your booth before they leave the show.

Host a Trade Show Raffle

Another way to get people’s attention and to get them interested in your trade show giveaways is to host a raffle. You can create one or two “big-ticket” items such as a complete BBQ set or a branded duffel bag filled with smaller gifts that you draw for at the end of the show. People who visit your booth can put their name in the bucket, and they’ll come back once you’re ready to draw for a winner. A raffle is a great way to keep your business on people’s minds, especially if the trade show runs for a couple of days or more. You could have multiple rounds of raffle drawings, with each prize being better than the next. People love leaving a trade show feeling like a winner, plus, they’ll be going home with some great gifts!

 

Hand Out Webkeys

Webkeys are an excellent choice for your next trade show, and attendees will find them extremely useful. In simple terms, a web key can “unlock” a certain website that you want to direct a person to, so that they can learn more about your business or a specific product. They connect to a USB port, so if a person has their laptop with them at the trade show, then they can plug in the web key, browse the site, and come back to talk to you about what they saw.

Web keys are much thinner than a custom USB drive, making them ideal for pockets, purses, or however people are carrying their promotional items with them. On top of that, you can track how many people use the encoded key to access the information that you want them to see. Web keys can be a great way to get people to sign up for a free offer or another promotion, making it possible for you to connect with them long after the trade show has ended. By sending them an email or a direct mail piece a few months later, you can refresh their minds about your company, get them to purchase something from you, or continue to do business with you.

Small Trade Show Gifts Are Always Good

While web keys are a small and ideal gift for your trade show booth, there are other small items that can be a great choice. People will be carrying all types of swag with them, using bags and backpacks to keep everything organized. If someone comes up to your table with their arms full of stuff they’ve picked up from other booths, then you want to be able to hand them something that doesn’t weigh them down even more. A branded pack of gum or a small case of mints can be the perfect little gifts, and an attendee can easily slip these items into their pocket. When they take the gift out to use it, they’ll be reminded of your brand.

If you’re not interested in candy or mints for your booth, then there are plenty of other small items to choose from in our online catalog. Personal care items such as combs or candles can make ideal gifts for your table, and you’ll know that people will find a practical use for these items. Think about gifts that people can use during the trade show weekend, such as dental floss or hand sanitizer. People will often appreciate small items that they can use immediately.

Have Trade Show Bags on Hand

Many people who attend trade shows have the goal of acquiring as much swag as they can. They visit every booth at least once, and they love getting unique items from each business. As we noted above, people may come up to your table with their arms already full, and by handing them a trade show bag, they can put all of their gifts into it. The bag will feature your company name and logo, and as the person continues through the show, they can add more stuff to their bag. You’ll want to choose a strong, durable material for your custom bags, since it’s very likely that people will overfill them with items. Jute or nylon bags are a great choice, and we can help you pick the best option. If you’re handing out several small gifts, then designing promotional paper bags can be the way to go.

Design Custom Trade Show Apparel

One thing that many trade show attendees look for is custom apparel. They want a t-shirt or hat that they can wear proudly, and you want your brand or logo to be seen across the show floor. At CMI, we have a great selection of custom apparel, and you can print new items for your upcoming shows. You can hand out beanies and visors to everyone who visits your booth, or give out t-shirts or sweatshirts to anyone who signs up for your mailing list or promotional offer. For those who purchase something from you at the show, you can have an apparel bundle for them that includes a hat, a scarf, a shirt, and more!

Keep the Season and Climate in Mind

When designing your custom apparel, it’s important to keep the season and the climate in mind. If you’re at a holiday trade show in the Northeast during December, then you’ll likely want to design scarves, stocking caps, and sweatshirts to hand out, since people will be more likely to use those items right away. If you’re in Florida in the middle of summer, then you’ll want to create branded tanktops and short-sleeve that people can take with them. Having the wrong apparel type and warmth level is a sure way to have a table full of shirts and hats once the show is over.

Make a Lasting Impression

At CMI, we know that trade shows are where you generate the most interest for your company, and where you make the most connections between prospective customers and investors, as well as related businesses and industries. The face-to-face interaction that takes place during a show can generate far greater results than a simple email or a phone call. What you want to do, with every person who visits your booth, is to make a lasting impression. You want people to think of your company one week, two weeks, even a month after the show has ended.

The best way to do that is to create the best trade show promotional items. You have a good idea of what will work for your business, and if you’re looking for something other than pens and coasters, then CMI is here to help. With everything from web keys to mints to custom apparel, you can design branded gifts that bring people to your booth and keep them there as you talk to them about a product or service. The gift is what they’ll take with them when they leave, but the positive experience they had is what will stick in their mind several weeks after the show ended. If a need arises that your company can fill, then you can feel confident that they’ll call you to meet that need.

Find Your Promotional Items Today

Look through our catalog today to find the right promotional items for your next trade show. If you’re unsure where to start, then please feel free to contact us at any time. Our team has the knowledge and expertise to help you pick gifts that will make your booth stand out, and that will provide the most practical use for people who visit you at the show. We can create gifts that match your show displays and signage, and that follow your company’s brand and standards to a T. We offer free mockups and quick turnarounds on all products, so you can see a design before it’s printed, and you can expect your items to arrive before your next trade show begins.

Order your new trade show giveaways today. We look forward to helping you!