There is No ‘Away’ in ‘Giveaway’
Hey Newman, there seems to be an awful lot of talk these days about “going green.” Is there a way that can be applied to the trade show industry? –Ellen in Oakland
Ellen, that’s a great question … and I almost went off on a rant about my random thoughts on “greening” your trade show presence. But that’s just what it would have been: random. So, I decided to do a bit of research and reach out to those who really know the answer to your question. Ever since you asked, I’ve been in an ongoing dialogue with Janet Pomeroy from The Good Mix. She’s a Green Marketing expert with one of the first Green MBAs offered. So here’s a real, informed answer to your question:
For starters, take a good, hard look at your trade show giveaways. Products have a lifecycle. You purchase it from a manufacturer, who generates waste in the making of the product. That product is then packaged and travels thousands of miles to get someplace. From there, it’s redistributed, repackaged and sent out again (this time to your company). In the end, that adds up to thousands of pounds of carbon for thousands and thousands of pieces of swag.
And where does that squishy ball or flying guerrilla go after you give it away at the booth? It’s going to go home with that trade show attendee, end up in the hands of his son who plays with it and breaks it … and from there it ends up in a landfill. It really never does go … away.
That’s because most of this stuff is cheaply made. Giveaways have a very short lifespan because they’re not made to last. So, one of the first things Janet asked was: “Do you need so much junky swag? Are there alternative forms of messaging that will last for years instead of just one show? … Especially when all the leftovers are going to be tossed in the trash.”
What Janet’s words made me realize is I’ve always been against wasteful giveaways, but for an entirely different reason: You want the person to hold on to your branded item!
Years ago, I discovered a number of items that could effectively substitute for the typical giveaway—and not end up in a landfill a week later.
In one case, it was a simple card trick. The mechanism is this: One of three cards, a 5 of Clubs is placed into a spectator’s hand. Everyone is sure it’s the 5 of Clubs. When the card is turned over, it has magically turned into the company’s business card. It’s a simple illusion, but one that trade show attendees love to learn and repeat. I was recently at a trade show and an attendee recognized me from a show six months earlier. He asked me if I had any more of those magic business cards. I asked him why, and he said it was because he had been using it over and over as an icebreaker in meetings, and it wore out.
I couldn’t have asked for a better endorsement. Instead of a propeller hat, here’s something fun that keeps branding your company again and again. I guess in this industry, you can equate sustainable with interesting. If it holds their interest, they’ll hold onto it longer.
So, Ellen, giveaways is one place to start. And we’ve got plenty of ideas on giveaways that are practical, useful, interesting and won’t be thrown “away.” Keep an eye on this blog for much more about “greening” your trade show presence. I couldn’t even come close to fitting it all in one post. Thanks to you and Janet Pomeroy from The Good Mix for getting the gears turning on this important topic.
If you’d like more information on eco-business strategies (or anything green), please visit Janet at http://thegoodmix.com.
Do you have an industry-related question you’d like answered on “Hey Newman”? Send him an e-mail and get your inquiry answered on the blog.
Hey Newman… gotta see that card trick one day.
Appreciated your observations on the tradeshow giveaways. Even as a distributor and consultant on promotional products who would like clients to buy more SWAG (of course!), I would rather have them not buy junk that doesn’t align with their marketing objectives. So I always suggest selecting promotional products with care.
As to greener giveaways, I would suggest that tradeshow exhibitors strongly consider degradable/biodegradable giveaways if they are looking at plastic products. That way if they are thrown in the trash, they will degrade in a short period of time (sometimes 1 to 10 years, as opposed to millenia for many standard petroleum-based plastics).
Another option is recyclable products. Make sure you indicate somewhere on the product that it is recyclable (with the arrow triangle symbol and class, i.e. 5) if it is not already identified. Last week I did a reusable and recyclable tradeshow bag order for a client where we imprinted 100% recyclable (which it is) right on the front of the bag.
So to help keep tradeshow giveaways away from the landfills, I would suggest either going with degradable or recyclable promotional products.
Always enjoy your Twitterings!