I’ve been speaking at a lot of events lately and my staff are constantly going to networking and learning events. More often than not there are goody bags given out at these occasions… which is very generous … until you realise that there are in-fact very few “goodies” in them.
The way I see it, goody bags are a great opportunity two fold. Firstly it’s a great opportunity for sponsors, supporters and speakers to have their brand noticed and give something away of value as a teaser for their bigger offering. It’s also great for attendees to walk away from an event feeling like they got real value for money with a little something extra.
If you’re going to give something away, make it count. Make sure it’s on brand. Make sure it’s something you’re proud of. Ask yourself would I be surprised and delighted if I received this. Same can be applied in a number of situations. Think of the environment when producing inanimate meaningless (quite frankly) crap. And think about value / relevance for the customer and positioning / branding for you.
Not one to focus on the negative and not wanting to sound ungrateful, here are a few things that my team and I have received lately in goody bags:-
• Napkins with logo on wrapper from a mortgage broker (Relevance? On special? Bulk deal?)
• Balloons ready for inflation (for the kids? Again relevance?)
• Vouchers 10% off (something we wouldn’t use anyway)
• Mouse-pad – (fair to say more mouse pads in circulation than computers?)
• Stress carrot – now this one got me thinking so I googled it. Apparently it is highly economical, high quality and meets your corporate needs. I’m sorry if a squidgy carrot is the answer to good business, then I’ve just wasted ten years.
I recently attended an event where the MC by their own admission said that the umbrellas they had just given us were cheap and didn’t work at all… could I suggest perhaps when they realised this, they withdrew them from the event rather than aligning “cheap garbage” (their words) with their brand.
Whenever I buy property (and we know that’s not an inexpensive exercise) I am always flabbergasted by what the agent gives me. Last time I received a daggy old key-ring emblazoned with their logo which had fallen out of a beaten up old cardboard box. Along with that was a bottle of nasty champagne (I don’t drink) and a book on the Eastern Suburbs (from the 80’s) with their logo stuck crookedly on the front – I bought in the inner West!
My point to all of this, and if you’ve been following any of my rants, articles, BLOGs, strategies over the past seven or so years, is that I am a little biased towards producing books and giving them away (freemium). They don’t have to cost a lot more than these largely irrelevant promotional products. They provide real tangible and high perceived value. They have longevity. They inspire, teach and educate. They can be customised (professionally) to include your company logo embossed or foil stamped on the front; you can include a tip in page (additional customised page) with a message from your CEO. You can do customised bookmarks, ribbons, cover flaps and a number of other creative applications which makes a beautiful book really intrinsically linked to your brand and values. Again, as I always say, don’t think $30 book – think $30,000 client (see my previous article on Freemium). This applies of course not just to books but also any item of relevance and value that gives people a real taste of the bigger ticket item.
So next time you are thinking of giving something away ask yourselves a few questions. Is this something of value and relevance to the audience? Is it something that is on brand for me and my company and will it act as a lead generator for bigger things. Has it been produced in an environmentally sustainable way (FSC papers etc) or is it some inanimate meaningless object that will just be tossed in the bin? Just some food for thought…x L