We recently attended a large tradeshow as a company for the newest and best products that are on the scene for 2012.  There were alot of great promotional products and we are really excited for the upcoming year.  After a few hours of waiting the show floor my coworker offered me these promotional mints they had recieved earlier in the day.  The mints were delicious and were refreshing.  The slim design fit great in the back pocket for a little treat later.  

 

Well I hope that everyone had a great Holiday last week and for those of us that don't celebrate Christmas I hope that you had a great time getting some much needed rest. With the Corporate Gift season coming to a close, we all know what season is quickly approaching as the New Year is just around the corner yes, tradeshow season. Hopefully those of you that are fortunate enough to be setting up booths this upcoming year had sometime to think about what tradeshow giveaway will best suit your budget, if not don't worry we have a great selection of Tradeshow Giveaways.

In gadget news I came across a new what appears to be a Project Natal Video of someone playing Half-Life 2. Now I'm not sure but if this is actual game play in beta form then this is really something to look into. It seems very intuitive and the fact that it is beta makes it more compelling for me to get one when it does come out if it is in fact actual game play.

 

I don't know how many of you out there live in the city and tend to get dropped calls from your iPhone. Well if you are tired of it and want to voice your opinion about it then this is the App for you "Mark the Spot". The "Mark the Spot" App allows you to accurately pinpoint your exact location of where you get dropped calls, bad data access, or even bad voice data and send it over to AT&T letting them know where trouble spots are. So if you're at an important tradeshow handing out tradeshow giveaways and you happen to get a phone call about stock issues of merchandise and that call fails you better "Mark the Spot".

On the Windows Channel on YouTube I saw this new ad for Windows 7. To tell you the truth if I was offered something from this new spokes person I would not be able to say no, Thank You Microsoft. I little summary posted on the YouTube Channel is, "Kylie takes all the happy words about Windows 7 and makes them happier in her very own slideshow…" Now if we could find a spokes person to sell our Tradeshow Giveaways, I wonder if people would find me just as cute.

 

 

Today is a special day for all you Apple iPod fans, Apple's rock 'n' roll-themed event, will showcase new versions of the iPod, iTouch, Nanos, and so much more. The iTouch is said to come with a camera while current iTouches have dropped in price dramatically on the Apple site. The new Nano will have a new taller screen making it easier to read. Live coverage starts at 10am pacific time over on CNET you might want to check that out, with all this new news hopefully this will send stock prices up or maybe it will be a glimpse of Steve Jobs after his liver transplant that might get everyone hyped up. Apple I hope you got all your tradeshow giveaways in order because the world is watching. P.S. where is my Apple tablet?!!!

 

 

I've been a passenger on many buses in my life. In grade school I'd buckle up and cover the seatbelt with my personalized bags so that the "cool kids" wouldn't make fun of me. To me, wearing a seatbelt was second hand nature and obviously safe. As a teen I remember being confused by those yellow sensors on the public bus to signal that your stop is coming up and hoped that someone else would just press it for me. Then I'd wait to allow anyone in front of me to get out first - it seemed polite. All my life, on all different buses leading to all different places, I've followed certain etiquette.

It wasn't until I became a frequent traveler with the Grey Hound buses, that I realized I may be one of the only people to follow bus etiquette. Cheap-traveling caters to all types but a large majority of bus riders are among the lowest of the low-income block. I mean the kind of people that would stalk out tradeshows and wait in the back alley to collect fallen tradeshow giveaways. There are also some bus travelers that feel that they deserve first class seating and expect a complimentary pillow and blanket- not gonna happen - unless of course you consider the raggedy old promotional blanket the bag woman forgot when she got off the bus usable.  And while I enjoy the company of all people, after my tortuous 10 hour bus journey to Maine this weekend, I feel it necessary to lay out some guidelines for these people.
                                   
1) Wait in line.
We've been taught this since "Single-file!" in grade school, but due to a sewage water spill in Port Authority, my bus travelers forgot the concept. The bus was first come, first served, which made the 100+ people waiting for the last bus of the night (12:15a.m.) nervous. Thankfully, an intimidating "Oh, no you diiiii-eeeeeeemt!" matching-sweat-suit wearing woman assisted me with the line problem. As the sea of people moved towards the bus like the notorious "blob" she walked ahead of the various line-cutters and waved her personalized keychains in their faces. "YOU diiii-ent get here be-fow me. And YOU ain't gettin' on dat bus be-fow me." The shaking-pretty-white-chicks (Cleary visitors to New York) didn't contest. Thank you, crazy woman number one.

2) Don't speak of impending death.
One of the most irritating things I heard while waiting on that wonderful line was this arrogant college guy talking to a bum, "You know," he said in his mono-tone voice, "they say the brain is the strongest muscle in your body." I don't know what he was referencing, but I hoped the flowers he bought for his girlfriend at UMaine were going to wilt away by the time we got there. A few moments later, the bum he was talking to decided to veer away from the political conversation that had formed and said, "Oh you heard about that guy on the Grey Hound? Went out at the rest stop for a cigarette just like we're gonna'. Came back and went crazy and killed the guy by him! Cut off his-" I don't think I need to explain in detail everything he said, but in the midst of boarding a Grey Hound bus it is incredible unnecessary to bring up this story, as “news worthy” as you think it may be.

3) No beer, please.
I tried to get the story of the crazy Grey Hound murder out of my mind, but when the guy in front of me began cursing in random bouts 5 minutes into the ride, I was a bit uneasy. I suppose he was also on edge, which is why cracking a beer seemed normal to him. The cursing stopped but the drinking didn't. I'm pretty sure it was our little secret- he'd place his baseball cap in front of his face every time he took a chug, and burped exclusively in my direction. From the sour watery smell I gathered that he was drinking skunked Budweiser. These three things all occurred before we even got out of the city, which will lead you to believe that the rest of my journey was splendid. I had a nose-blower cuddling up to me for her zzz's and a bus driver that acted like a cheering coach. At 2 am he came over the load speaker, "So how's everyone feeling!?" After only a few people responded he asked again, "I saaaaid how you feeeeeeling!"

As awful as it was, I always feel a bit more cultured after a long bus trip. I wouldn’t say it's "high culture" but I consider any experience valuable. Depending on when my next trip is, I may have to grab my promotiona keychains and bring my own wheels. I need at least a month to recover from that one. Maybe I should write to Grey Hound and suggest some customized stress balls.
                                     

So trade shows have been going on forever and trade show giveaways have always been handed out.  Be different and think outside the box on your next giveaway.  for instance use a luggage tag as a method to pass out your business card and get your company noticed.  Our Buckle-it Luggage Tag comes in some great colors, the large imprint area on the front will be able to showcase your company name and it gives you an opportunity to put your business card in the back of the tag.  When your clients are done with the show and they are going through there bag of goodies, they will definitly notice your item and not be so quik to just file your business card in the rolodex.

Be the talk of the next tradeshow by giving away these delicious Beethoven Truffle candies.  After the first hour or so of investigating the tradeshow floor your clients are defintely going to be looking into there bag for a little treat to power them through the rest of the show.  They will dig into there promo bags for the perfect pick me up.  They will see the mints in the tin, the individual wrapped candies and the bottles of water, standard tradeshow food giveways.  After almost giving up hope, they will find the fancy boxed beethoven truffle candy, that has your company information branded on it, and give it a try.  After the joy it will bring them they are bound to tell there friends or even the random stranger that is passing by.  They will definitly let people know where they got them from and chances are good that they will make a lap past your booth again and that will give you a second opportunity to inform them again of the newest and best that you have for them in 2009. 

As I am sitting at my desk today, I could inquire about the latest mortgage rates, how much it will cost me to get my bathroom done over, order some promotional products or book a day at the local paintball center.    All I have to do is go thru my pen drawer.  The pen is one of the oldest ways to get your message out there which makes it one of the hottest trade show giveaways.  Pens run the gamut in pricing from your $0.47 Bic Clic Stic Retractable for your everyday use to you  $21.12 Parker Frontier Stainless CT Ball Pen when it comes time to sign the important documents.  The collection of pens I have are from some of the most recent tradeshows I have gone to.  Everyone Everyone can use a pen.  My favorite pen today is the Uni-ball Jetstream.  It writes really well and has a stylish sleek black barrel with a blue accent.

5. They're tangible reminders. Rather than just telling someone something, you are giving them an item with your information on it which they will keep (hopefully). Every time they see it, they'll be reminded of you.

4. They're useful. Everyone needs writing utensils, so why not give out some promotional pens? People wear logoed apparel all the time, so supply them with promotional shirts.

3.  They're conversation starters. Trade show giveaways are easy ways to attract attention to your booth. And if someone has a really unique item on their desk, someone else is bound to bring that up in conversation.

2.  They're affordable. There are even several promotional items available for under 1 dollar!

1. Everyone loves freebies. No further explanation needed!