SwagUp’s Post

Everyone loves SWAG! It’s always exciting to receive a well-designed, useful, or uniquely memorable promotional item. What’s the best piece of promotional swag you’ve ever received? And can you share which company or brand was behind it? Let’s hear about those standout items!

Does your company give away swag? Why? To whom? What swag do you give? I had a nice talk over lunch with a fellow business owner about whether to give away swag, who to give it to, and what swag to give. If I did this, I'd want to do something creative and exceptional. So t-shirts, pens, coffee cups, or tote bags? No, no, no, and no! That's the most predictable and ordinary options. Alcohol? I recently received a bottle of expensive whiskey as swag. I appreciated it, but felt it would be inappropriate for many people, such as teetotallers or recovering alcoholics. I once encountered a software quality consulting company, whose swag was cheap pens that barely worked. It gave the message that they paid little attention to quality, the complete opposite of what they actually do! In our lunchtime conversation we didn't settle on the answer. But we did seem to agree that it must be personal and representative of what your company does.

Did you know that offering freebies can be a game-changer for your business? It's not just about giving away products or services for free; it's about building meaningful connections, understanding customer needs, and providing loyalty. About two weeks ago, I offered freebies to my local community. I've experienced only the positive impact of freebies on my business. Here is how it helped me : 1. It helped me discover customer needs: offering free samples or trials allows customers to experience the value of your product or service firsthand. 2. It helped me understand the demand, customer needs, and preferences, paving the way for tailored solutions. 3. It helped me to create a larger portfolio of my expertise, as many businesses in the past asked for examples of my work. 4. Freebies created a buzz and excitement around my business, attracting new customers and driving engagement. Plus, satisfied recipients are more likely to spread the word, organically expanding your reach. And last but not least I forgot to mention building trust and loyalty: By providing value upfront, you establish trust with your audience and showcase your commitment to their satisfaction. This fosters long-term relationships and encourages repeat business. #Freebie #CustomerAppreciation #BusinessSuccess #Bemybuzz

👑 We’ve crowned our Swag Awards winners from SaaStr 2024! 👑 At Postal, we believe swag should be more than just a giveaway. That’s why we're all about celebrating brands that take the time to design high-quality, thoughtful, and useful swag that attendees actually want to keep. This year at SaaStr, we teamed up with Leslie Barrett to highlight some brands leading the charge in memorable swag! Here’s a shoutout to our winners, based on what we learned from our State of Swag study: 🏆 Alysio: Attendees were raving about their ultra-comfy sweatshirts! The subtle logo and premium feel gave their swag station the look of a high-end boutique. 🏆 ChurnZero: Who doesn’t love swag for themselves, or something they can give to others? Their plush toy monster and bandana were thoughtful, multi-use items for attendees, their furry friends, or children! 🏆 Fidelity Private Shares: A custom cartoonist drew event attendees on the spot—talk about creating an experience! It wasn’t just swag; it was a personalized keepsake that attendees could cherish long after the event. Our takeaway? Quality and utility matter more than ever when it comes to swag! These brands nailed it. 👏

Often think how to manage SWAG budget ? Well, refer below to help set a clear budget for your SWAGS ! 😊 #CorporateGifting #Corporatesupplies #BusinessSolutions

My random thought of the day... Let's talk about swag, because I love me some swag. The cleaning cloth in the picture below is something that Suddath Relocation Systems, Gavin Bosco and Sawsan Shami, GMS-T gave me as a part of a "bag of swag". I use it every single day because it's practical, useful and does what it's supposed to do...clean my glasses. Added bonus it reminds me of my friends at Suddath. My dad worked in sales for big pharma his entire career, which is likely where my love of promotional items started. Big pharma had lots of marketing dollars back then, and my dad worked from home, so we had every mug, notepad, pen, calendar, and notebook with his company's logo shipped to our house. I loved watching him open boxes so my sisters and I could see what kind of new treats were inside. In a previous life, I was in charge of selecting promotional items for various events. I was always looking for unique things we could logo that didn't cost a fortune, was good quality, and would be something that would be useful and practical (and not get thrown in a drawer, never to be seen again). I made some bad choices over the years (next time you see me, ask me about the CD holder that looked like a toilet seat), but lots of good ones, too (like when my invitations to a Cubs game included a full Cubs uniform) . When I used to work in an office, I would peek on people's desks to see what kind of swag they had that they used on a regular basis. Now that I work from home, I will randomly ask people on a group call to hold up promo items that they had in their vicinity that they liked. I've now got a running list of promo items that I think are worth putting a logo on. Not sure when this list will come in handy for me again, but when you love swag like I do, you just never know. Again, it's just my random thought of the day.

Shoutout to Demandbase & Trainual for sending me some swag that truly hits the mark! 🎁 🧡 👕 & 🧣: Did you know 38% of Americans and 37% of Europeans love clever, design-driven swag? Trainual nailed it with their "Trust the Process" shirt - it's also a soft blend shirt (& those are the best). Demandbase's "Believe in your data again" scarf from their Ted Lasso campaign? Loveeee the show & the scarf. Can't wait to go visit my mom in NM for the holidays & get some use out of it! 👒 & ☕: Premium swag is a keeper for 29% of Americans and 33% of Europeans. This Trainual hat? Instant favorite. And Demandbase’s Corkcicle mug? It’s my new go-to. Finally, with 65% of North Americans and 55% of Europeans preferring useful swag, I’m thrilled to report: no fidget spinners here! Just high-quality, practical items I’ll actually use. Learn more about swag that stays & ditching forgettable freebies? Check out Sendoso's recent swag survey results here: bit.ly/3WV59NL

These notepad/pen combos are our go-to SWAG at Momentum. I wanted to share why... A combo of LinkedIn posts yesterday (Chris Savage, Anthony Carlton and Casey Rickey) spurred some thinking about why, in this era of tech and AI, these little notebooks are so effective. Many in my circle know the name Andrew Rudnick. For 30 years, Andrew was President & CEO of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, and I had the great opportunity of working directly with him on a daily basis for the last eight, before he retired. He was the mentor who had the biggest impact on my career, and the most influence on the business philosophies that we use at Momentum - The Business Growth Agency, without question. In all the years we worked together, I never saw Andrew bring a pad and pen to a meeting. Which I understood - he was the boss, the influencer, the strategic thinker... It was OUR jobs to take notes. What Andrew did bring with him, though, was a small notebook, that he kept in his suit coat pocket. If something was said in the meeting that met a certain level of criticality, I would catch him taking out the notepad and jotting it down. Over time, I found that getting him to take out the notebook because of something I said became a goal, and making it happen, an achievement. When I needed SWAG for Momentum, I spent considerable time not only strategizing what it should be, to provide value for anyone who took it, but what the story was behind it. I talked with a number of promotional items experts (I ALWAYS stop at their booths and ask what the "next big thing" is), and got their input. Two concepts led me to the pocket notebook/pen combo: (1) As a fiction author, I am a firm believer that you MUST always be ready for when inspiration strikes... If you look closely at the covers, I added a tagline: "portable sandbox". My hope is that someone who grabs a notebook understands its power, and uses it. (2) My admiration for Andrew's practice of brandishing his own notebook when someone struck gold in a meeting - something that continues to resonate with me. Obviously, there are many options for trade show SWAG. I know for us, and our clients, we pine over our order to make sure that we're creating as memorable an interaction as we can get. We continue to talk to the pros in promotional products, to find items that differentiate us from the other vendors at any conference. And, we build a story around why we chose certain things. (Notwithstanding, if you have the personality to pull it off, we've had considerable success throwing impulseGUIDE.com-branded squishy balls at people... You'd think people would be annoyed, but it works!!! Credit to trade show maestro Damon Piatek for having the guts to try it!!! 🤣) How strategically do YOU choose your SWAG? Do you have a story to go along with your choice? Tagging some colleagues who might appreciate this throwback - Alfred (AJ) Wright, Nadine Minter Powell, Sara Schumacher, Jody (Vohwinkel) Lazzaro

Yesterday’s group call was 🔥! ✅ First, we recapped on client wins: 👉 40 individuals on a waitlist for a brand new high, value, high-ticket program that she’s announcing NEXT WEEK (btw, she joined less than a month ago…you don’t need to wait months to bring clients in!) 👉 Finalizing 2024 goals and schedule (there’s an emphasis in the program on not just business building, but also creating the LIFE you want- I challenge clients to intentionally choose their schedules) 👉 Putting the final touches on a high-ticket program that is a direct reflection of what her dream clients have been telling her they need 👉 Welcoming our brand new group member! ✅ Next, I trained my clients on marketing “must-haves” for 2024- yes, things are CHANGING! As business owners, we need to constantly look at what our consumers are responding to; it’s a noisy market, and only those who adapt and evolve continue to stand out. 👉 Here’s just ONE of the marketing “musts” we discussed: bringing your audience closer to your client experience. Talk about what your clients are doing, learning, overcoming, etc.! (This is exactly what I’m doing in this post 😉) ✅ Then, we wrapped up with client questions and feedback. My groups are intimate, so everyone has a chance to get exactly what they need on the call. A few examples of what we discussed: 👉 Email marketing/Newsletter strategy 👉 Program elements (program timeline, key takeaways/results) 👉 Program pricing 👉 Sales strategy for a new program launch next week (i.e. how to nurture and convert her waitlist) Learning, brainstorming, and collaboration- this is why I love Tuesdays! P.S. If you want to get into the room with us and experience these wins, DM me "Academy" and we can chat to see if what we're doing with clients is a possible solution for you.

Are you still giving away branded pens? I made that mistake too. I call them “can fillers” because as soon as people walk away from booths they throw them in the garbage can. How do I know? When other exhibitors have downtime they go on their phones. I spend my time learning what works/what doesn’t by looking at booths, writing down their copy, generating ideas, and… looking into trash cans. There’s no better way to know if people like your swag or not than seeing how quickly they throw it away. If this was technology, this is the equivalent of a “bounce”. Meaning they came to your website, and bounced right off. Typically, bounces are a very, very bad thing. In the event industry, the feedback loop for promotional items are overlooked by almost every exhibitor I meet. They typically judge their swag success rate by how many people take the item but that’s only half the picture. “If 100% of people take our swag and 100% of them throw it away, indirectly throwing 100% of our promotional marketing money in the garbage” I realized. Now we follow a checklist of requirements a swag item aka promotional item should follow. More will all be in our course (free if you download the Backtrack app) to help Exhbitors finally turn a ROI on their booths.