People’s Choice: the best trade show giveaways for beginners

If you’re preparing to make your trade show debut, one of the first things you’ll need to do is to make a plan for your trade show giveaways It’s a given—attendees expect swag, but with thousands of promotional products out there, how do you know which ones to choose?

The key is to pick the most popular, affordable, and easy-to-order giveaways. Use this guide as a great reference if you want to go into your first trade show with a big splash!

Not sure where to begin? Here are a few quick tips to get you started when ordering your handouts:

• According to Promotional Products Association International (PPAI), the top three reasons people keep promotional products are because they’re fun, functional, and trendy. Keep this in mind when ordering your promotional giveaways.
• First-timers should avoid branded apparel for big events. The ordering process can be complex since you have to have multiple sizes and fits, and it can be difficult to predict how many of what size to buy.
• Try to order a few months early, especially if you are particular about the items and colors you want, but know that Pinnacle Promotions can help you if you’re in a last-minute bind with our .

Bearing in mind that show-goers want goods that are fun, functional, and trendy, let’s break down the best trade show products into categories that hit all of those marks.

• Branded Toys – Who doesn’t love a giveaway that also entertains? We love the idea of handing out promotional toys, like branded fidget spinners, promotional plushes, and yo-yos featuring your company’s name or logo. You can even have some of your favorite name brand toys personalized with your logo, like Silly Putty and Rubik’s Cubes. Don’t reserve the promo toys just for kids—grown-ups love them, too!

• Charging Essentials – If there’s one thing most of us don’t have enough of, it’s power for our phones and other devices. Promotional chargers and power banks are some of our most popular trade show giveaways for a simple reason: people use them! And when people are constantly reaching for items that just so happen to promote your product or service, then you know your swag is doing its job.
• Earbuds or Headphones – Add headphones to the list of Things that Constantly Get Lost alongside your charging cables, adapters, and that other sock. Branded headphones and earbuds are some of our most popular tech giveaways; again, because they tend to get a lot more use than say, a T-shirt, a tote bag or even a promotional pen. Many of our customers are surprised to find that promo headphones can be relatively affordable, too.

• PopSockets – Offering promotional PopSockets is one surefire way to get all the convention-goers talking about your booth. If you’re not familiar with the PopSocket craze, they're round, rubbery plastic things that stick to the back of your smartphone, acting as a device grip (for the picture-perfect selfie and streaming scenario), a car mount, and a phone stand all in one.
• Fidget Spinners – Trendy? Still. Fun? Yup. Useful? Sure. Fidget spinners are the trendiest way to help you focus, relieve nervous energy and simply enjoy the sensation of spinning stimulation! We always recommend custom fidget spinners and cubes for companies who want to stay on the cutting edge without taking themselves too seriously. These babies are guaranteed convention hits.

The last thing you want to do when entering the trade show circuit is to make a drip rather than a splash, and these fantastic promotional giveaways will ensure that everyone's talking about your exhibit, leading to more stop-bys, sign-ups, sales leads, and personal connections. Taking the time to think about your trade show swag is an important aspect of the planning process and one that will help ensure success for first-time exhibitors and convention pros alike.