Is your company heading to a trade show this summer? If so, it’s a great idea to come equipped with some summertime promotional products, aka “swag”.
Summer swag isn’t just fun, it’s effective marketing. This Global Ad Impressions study shows consumers look very favorably toward swag, and are almost 2.5 times more likely to have positive opinions of promotional products compared to internet advertising.
Personalizing your swag for the summer season provides a nice touch, and will help customers remember you. Try to give them items they’ll put to good use out in the summer heat. Here are five summer swag ideas.
1. Sip Smarter with Reusable Water Bottles
It’s easy to get extra dehydrated over the summer. Quench attendees’ thirst by handing out branded water bottles at your summer trade show.
Not only are these great for summer fun outdoors, they’re also sustainable as they help cut down on unnecessary plastic.
2. Bump, Set, Spike a Beach Ball
Branded beach balls are a fun summer swag idea for attendees. You can also set one to the side to act as an ice breaker game.
Simply blow the beach ball up and then write ice breaker questions on it. If you want to stick with the summer theme, these could be questions about attendees’ favorite summer movies or songs. They can also be trivia questions about your brands.
Then, as attendees approach your booth, engage them in a beachball icebreaker game. Toss them the ball, and wherever their left thumb lands, they read out the question and give an answer. Anyone who plays get to take home a beach ball of their own!
This is a great way to get to know attendees, and for them to get to know your brand in a low-pressure, and totally summery, way.
3. Capture the Action with Disposable Cameras
Lights, camera, trade show action. Consider gifting your attendees a disposable camera as fun summer swag.
Encourage them to use it to photograph the trade show. Add a social and competitive element by creating a hashtag for attendees’ photos. Tell them to post their photos of your exhibit on social media, and the best and most creative photo wins a prize.
This is a great way to stay in attendees' minds after the event and give them a fun challenge to work toward.
4. Keep Things Chill With Mini Coolers
Whether your attendees enjoy picnicking or heading to the beach, a cooler always comes in handy. Help them remember your brand all summer long by offering mini coolers with your brand’s logo.
See if you can team up with a local beer or beverage brand to fill the cooler with a special drink.
5. Have a Camping Swag Bag Raffle
In addition to handing out small swag items throughout the trade show, you can also have a bigger ticket swag bag raffle that people need to enter to win.
Have attendees enter your raffle by providing their names and email addresses. Later you can use these email addresses as leads and ask if they want to opt into your promotional marketing.
For the ultimate summer swag bag, try a camping-themed gift bag. Fill a branded weekend duffle with a tent, canteen for water, and ingredients for s’mores.
We Build Better Brand Experiences in Every Season
At Hamilton, we can help create amazing experiences for your brand this summer and beyond. We’re committed to helping brands deliver incredible and memorable experiences.
Contact us today to learn more.