Posted on June 29, 2010 by

Promotional gifts are widely used by businesses and their use is predicated on their ability to influence and motivate people.  In this post we are going to take a brief look at some of the key factors in motivating and influencing decision makers and key players in a business context, but be aware, this is not restricted to simply using a giveaway at a trade show event but in the wider business context.

Here we will look at different ways in which you can use promotional gifts:

Contingency Fulfillment

The intended recipient receives only part of a promotional gift upfront; the rest of the promotional giveaway is contingent on the recipient performing some course of action.  For instance, you can mail out a baseball but to get the complementary baseball bat the recipient will need to show up in person at your booth.

Generating Peer Approval

Sales teams are frequently motivated by promotional giveaways which are then used as a status symbol.  Mouse mats, coffee mugs or a some form of apparel are frequently used to differentiate top performers from the rest of the sales team as a part reward/recognition for them but at the same time, as something to aspire to for the lesser performing members of the team.

In the context of a trade show, peer approval can be used with attendees however this will typically require a special, highly prized promotional giveaway to be available with a very limited number available.

Curiosity Arousal

Promotional freebies can be used to create curiosity in the recipient, for instance a recent trade show exhibitor handed out mini-garbage cans with the logo on it, “Don’t throw money away!” and their booth number and location.  By visiting the booth, attendees found that they were dealing with an environmental company which specialized in “green” business solutions which also reduced costs involved with waste disposal.

(We would like to acknowledge the work of Richard Ebel of PPAI in the area of promotional product use and this post borrows heavily from his work and the article published in May 1995 issue of Potentials)

Posted in Trade Show Displays, Trade Show Marketing, Trade Show Promotional Giveaways, Trade Show Tips, Trade Shows | Tagged contingency fulfillment, curiosity arousal, freebies, peer approval, Trade Show Displays, trade show giveaways, Trade Shows | Leave a comment