Giveaways: Great Idea or Waste of Time?

We have all been to events where we are given a carrier bag by the organiser and their sponsors. We then proceed to parade round the event collecting all sorts of paperwork and useless items.

When we arrive back at the office the following day and empty the contents onto the desk, we realise that all we have managed to collect is half a tree and some cheap biros. If we are lucky, we have collected a mug or a cap but most of them are cheap and nasty and serve little purpose.

Or do they?

Giveaways are designed to enhance your company's profile by providing the potential customer with a free gift that will serve as a series of reminders. Firstly, your company name, and secondly the nature of business.

The best giveaways are those that are unusual and have some form of business use. My personal favourites are; a pen from a hotel which read stolen from, and a mug where the company logo changed when you added a hot drink.