I constantly worry that much of my program's swag ends up in the dumpster before the show even ends. How can I tailor my giveaway strategy to meet my audience's needs?

Finding the right promotional products for your booth visitors is just as important as you suggest. This is because nearly 80 percent of giveaways are essentially useless and a miniscule 20 percent helps you reach your goals. So in 2020, the last year there are statistics for, approximately $20 billion worth of swag was handed out, and about $16 billion of that was wasted.

There is a series of steps you can take to ensure your promotions fall into the 20 percent that will help you achieve your goals. First, opt for quality over quantity. That is, avoid a trick-or-treat approach where you hand out free stuff that's often inexpensive and of low quality. Too many exhibitors try to appeal to everybody on the show floor and not their specific audience, thereby significantly diluting their return on investment and return on objective. A better tactic is to focus on gifts of higher perceived value specifically chosen with your target market in mind.

Points of Origin
Next, focus on where attendees are traveling from and how they're getting to the show. If it's a local or regional event that many might drive to, you could opt for larger items that can be easily taken back home, such as drinkware or a bigger duffel bag. If, on the other hand, it's a national show where people are flying in and out, you should consider smaller, more packable items. One giveaway that works well in general is a thin LED or chip-on-board (COB) flashlight. COB lights are extremely bright, simple to pack, and, above all, useful, especially during a power outage, which nowadays is a common worry across the country. Alternatively, for the national shows, if you really wish to give more sizable items away, you can ship them to your recipients rather than force them to lug them home or, even worse, leave them behind in a hotel room. This also sidesteps the issue of TSA compliance. Just think of the potential waste if just one third of recipients have only carry-on luggage and need to surrender your fancy boxed set of knives.

A further consideration is the focus of the show itself. Is it automotive? Food and beverage? Construction? Let's say it's a medical expo. This is one example where the type of show trumps all other factors because of the strict rules that govern promotional products given to health-care professionals and generally limit exhibitors to items that are less than $10 and educational in nature. Given that restriction, I would recommend items such as branded banner pens, which, as the name suggests, have a small banner that you pull out from the side on which you can print educational information. They're practical, lightweight, and can easily fit inside a coat pocket or purse.

Trait Talk
Then, switch your focus to the demo-graphics and psychographics of your target audience. For the former, consider attributes such as gender, age, education, and job title to get a sense of who they are. For the latter, reflect on their psychological criteria, including attitudes, aspirations, values, opinions, and interests. A good rule of thumb is to use three to five demographics and psychographics when choosing the most strategic promotional product possible. Why three to five? Well, maybe you have an audience that's 70 percent female. You could do custom lipsticks, for example, but by singling out one attribute, even a major one – that is, gender – you may be eliminating a substantial portion of your audience. Considering more characteristics should steer you toward a promotional product that's relevant to the majority of your audience.

Let me give you some practical examples from my own experience. Let's say you're exhibiting at a construction show, and the demographics for your target audience skew toward these characteristics: male, 40 to 60 years old, self-employed contractors. Psychographically, they like practical things, are very hands on, and prefer professional-quality tools they can use in their work or personal lives. Because they might be running from one work site to the next, items such as tape measures come to mind as very practical and appealing giveaways. That said, it can't be a cheap $2 plastic tape measure – it has to pass muster. To make an impact with this kind of attendee, select a high-quality version of a workaday tool they likely need, such as a DeWalt Tough Series tape measure. This is an example of how lower quantity and higher quality become key to your giveaway strategy. Another tool that would have considerable appeal to someone at an architecture, design, or construction show would be a drafting scale, a specialized ruler for drawing and measuring blueprints.

Now, if your target market comprises HR directors, who tend to skew female, 25 to 40 years old, and share the goal of creating safe and friendly work environments, then you may want to consider items that are useful in their day-to-day office life. A vacuum-sealed stainless steel travel tumbler would be a constant companion as they take their favorite beverage with them to work knowing it will stay cold or hot for hours. Having that tumbler with them every day would give a sense of comfort and continuity in the office environs.

However, if you're targeting a demographically similar group at a health-care expo for nonmedical professionals, the psychographic profile changes to one that is more family-, child-, and senior-friendly. In this setting, a tote bag with organizing compartments and a zipper would be a good choice and likely be a favorite long after a show is over.

Branding Basics
Once you decide on the appropriate giveaway, there are practical aspects to consider no matter what that gift may be. The first is identifying your company on any item you're giving away. There are several ways to do this, including logos, taglines, URLs, and QR codes. All of these are good possibilities, but there are situations in which one is preferable, or even necessary, over another.

For instance, the amount of space available may dictate which will be the best imprint. Logos sometimes don't print well in small spaces, so if that doesn't work for your item, be prepared to use one of the alternative identifiers mentioned above, such as your URL. Besides being easier to print on most objects than a logo, it offers recipients a reminder of who gave it to them and how to reach you. Similarly, a QR code offers many of the same benefits as a URL, such as taking people directly to a desired part of your website, e.g., a newsletter signup, a specific product page, or a customer testimonial. With most smartphone cameras able to read these codes without needing a separate app, they have become a useful way to brand your giveaways.

Of course, there are a few caveats. First, size matters. Many cameras have difficulty registering codes smaller than .5 by .5 inches. Additionally, curved and glossy surfaces are more prone to ink "spreads," which can render a QR code unreadable. My advice is to test the QR code on a sample before sending it to production.