One of the many things people look forward to while attending any event or conference is conference swag. Many event organizers, especially corporate ones, consider conference swag a way to attract potential customers, build brand recognition, and keep their attendees engaged.
Giving out conference swag is one of the best ways to make a great impression, increase your brand visibility, and make attendees associate your brand with cheerful emotions, even long after your event.
In the rest of this piece, we discuss conference swag, 50 conference swag ideas that your attendees will love, and a list of some of the best swag gifting platforms you can contact if you need extra help.
Let’s get down to business!
What is Conference Swag?
Conference swag is any free complimentary branded item or gift given to attendees before, during, and after a conference or event.
Conference swag can include valuable event items, such as notebooks, bags, and pens, as well as evergreen items like mugs, sunglasses, travel bags, and complementary activities like tours and chef reservations.
Conference swag, done right, can be incredibly powerful. It can make your event (and your brand) unforgettable and increase your attendees’ willingness to do business with you.
50 Conference Swag Ideas For You To Consider This Year
So, what are some of the excellent conference swag ideas? The best conference swag ideas are helpful, unique, and considerate of the needs of your attendees without being too expensive. So, let’s dive right in.
Conference-utility Items
Some of the best conference swag gifts that attendees will find helpful during the conference are:
1. Starter Pack
A conference starter pack will have the welcome kit for the event. It’s the most convenient and useful swag product you can offer to your attendees. Attendees can carry all their belongings in this pack like t-shirts, mugs, journals, etc. Add a logo for your event to inculcate a sense of belonging and identity that will boost your event’s goodwill.
Price: $18-100
2. Journal Sets
Journal sets include a working journal, pen, and often even a carrying case that contains pockets. This makes it easy for attendees to jot important points down and carry their essentials like phones and cards in one place.
Price: $15-20
3. Edibles
Energy-rich edibles like chocolate and granola bars are incredible for keeping your attendees’ bellies from grumbling mid-conference. You can serve these just before the sessions begin or mid-session.
Price: $6-$10
4. Cardholders & wallets
Cardholders and wallets are essential items for just about anyone. Attendees who don’t already have one will appreciate high-quality leather wallets, ideally in black or brown, to match their other accessories.
Price: $6-20
5. Custom Lanyards
Lanyards are a necessity for in-person conferences where people need to learn each other’s names, designations, and other important credentials. It can also be customized to align it with the event theme for clear identification.
Price: $2-20
6. Pens
Pens are one of the most professional event swag ideas. It is useful during the event, as your attendees might want to note down something useful from the event. Provide a reasonable quality ball-point pen that is durable and lasts longer. You can even customize the pen with your event logo to make it stand out.
Price: $5-20
Weather-shielding Items
Hosting your event in summer or the colder months of winter? Check out some weather-shielding conference swag items that your attendees will be grateful for:
7. Hats & sunglasses
You can never go wrong with a hat and an anti-glare sunglasses combo for the warmer summer months or generally hot areas. Your attendees can wear them while exploring the town or getting a nice natural tan.
Price: $10-25
8. Sweaters & Gloves
For the colder months of winter, you can give out wool sweaters and gloves as a pair. Whether it’s to play in the snow or catch the chilly fresh air, these will always come in handy.
Price: Starts at $20
9. Umbrellas
We’ll always need umbrellas all season; many collapsible ones fold into bottle-sized units. Consider branding the umbrellas you’ll be giving out.
Price: $10-25
10. Sunscreens
A broad-spectrum sunscreen that is suitable for all skin types is a great swag item for your B2B event. Attendees are more conscious about their health so providing eco-friendly and appropriate sunscreen will be a good gesture from your side. Moreover, sunscreens can be seen as a thoughtful gesture and in use when some of your event sessions take place outdoors.
Price: $8-32
Travel Items
Will most of your attendees be traveling in from other cities? They’d appreciate travel items like these that make their journeys as comfortable as possible:
11. Sleep Masks
Sleep masks block out artificial light, improve hormonal balance, and allow you to sleep better. Give out these masks to help your attendees improve their sleep-wake cycle and be more energetic at the conference after having a good night’s sleep.
Price: $6-15
12. Travel Glass
A high-quality travel glass, that is dishwasher safe, BPA safe, and has enough room to put your event logo is a swag gift that your attendees will appreciate. It is perfect for outdoor picnics, camping adventures, and cheese nights. Travel glasses are the perfect fusion of fancy, classy, and functional.
Price: $9-29
13. Travel Pillows
On long flights or road trips, ergonomic neck pillows keep our necks from swinging and help us maintain proper posture while we sleep. They are cozy and cuddly, and they come in many unique designs.
Price: $9-20
14. Power Banks
Power banks are always handy for keeping phones, tablets, cameras, and other mobile devices juiced up, even when there’s no power outlet in sight. They are absolute must-haves when traveling.
Price: $20
15. Duffel bag
For short weekend trips, you don’t need full-sized heavy-duty luggage. Duffel or weekender bags are a must-have in every business folk’s wardrobe. They are stylish, easy to carry around, and have enough space to contain everything we’d need for a few days.
Price: $15-30
16. Beauty & Grooming Kit
Bathing kits and grooming baskets typically contain all the essentials we tend to forget or believe we’ll find easily once we arrive at our destinations. Save your attendees the trip to the grocery store with care baskets containing soaps, brushes, sponges, lotions, and essences.
Price: $25-50
17. Waterproof Toiletry Case
A waterproof toiletry case will ensure that all the toiletries and other skincare products of your attendees remain waterproof and organized. Your attendees will appreciate this swag item as it can be used even after the event is over.
Price: $17-39
Office Supplies
Most B2B executives spend most of their time in their offices. Some great conference swag ideas are items we use in or on the way to our offices. Check out some of them below:
18. Briefcases & Computer Bags
Everyone has a laptop or notebook, so a computer backpack or multi-purpose briefcase that can hold a PC and other essential office supplies are excellent conference swag items.
Price: $20-50
19. Office Art
Office wall art with inspirational messages is an excellent conference swag choice. It will last for years, keep you in the minds of your attendees long after the event, and even inspire whoever walks in.
Price: $10-30
20. Wireless Charging Pad
Give your attendees wireless chargers to charge any phone, tablet, or accessory that supports wireless charging using the same pad. Fewer cables and sleek designs make a beautiful, clutter-free workspace.
Price: $12-30
21. Cable Organizer
Be it a Tech event or a Marketing event, no one loves tangled cables, especially when you need them immediately. By providing a cable organizer, as a swag item, to your attendees, they can easily organize all their cables without much hassle.
Price: $5-21
22. Tablet Stand
Tablet stands allow you to position your mobile phones, tablets, and even PCs in a comfortable viewing position without needing to hold them. You can go for beautiful wooden accents or articulating collapsible stands.
Price: $10-25
23. Personalized Mugs
Another useful office supplies you can provide to your event attendees is a personalized mug. You can customize the mug by adding your event logo and designing it to match your event theme. This goodie will serve as a memorable reminder of your event and create a lasting impression.
Price: $4-50
Timeless Items
Want to play it safe with conference swag that has stood the test of time and been used repeatedly? Check out some of them below:
24. Tote bags
Tote bags are genuinely timeless and have been around for a long time. They can carry many items simultaneously, be folded into a pocket-sized roll, and are easy to brand. They also come in single-pouch and multi-compartment designs.
Price: $10-25
25. Business books
Business owners, CEOs, and marketing managers read… a lot. As conference swag, you can give out books on business topics, ideas, motivational stories, and personal growth.
Price: $9-20
26. Water bottles
Everyone loves reusable water bottles and beverage flasks. Insulated flasks keep hot beverages warm and cold drinks chilled so you can enjoy your favorite elixirs on the go. They are also great for environmentally conscious people.
Price: $10-30
27. Sticky Notes
Business professionals quickly burn through sticky notes between strategy meetings, memos, and setting reminders. Consider including sticky note sets in different colors that your attendees can use for metrics and notes.
Price: $8 for 24-packs
28. Embroidered Event Patches
Patches are a great way to promote your brand and the event. You can customize it according to design, color, texture, or material. Ensure that the patches are of good quality since they’ll be a signifier of your event.
Price: $1-10
Utility Items
Value-packed cards and passes. These utility items will be helpful when your attendees want to cool off from work.
29. Gift Cards
Gift cards or gift vouchers are cards pre-loaded with a particular amount that can be exchanged for goods and services from a specific business. You can give out Amazon gift cards or pre-loaded discount vouchers for your services.
Price: $5-10
30. Pocket hand sanitizers
Pocket hand sanitizers are a super practical swag item to give to your attendees. It helps your attendees maintain hygiene throughout the event, either during lunch or workshop sessions. Your attendees will definitely appreciate this swag item.
Price: $9-25
31. Event tickets
Tickets to concerts, sports matches, movies, parks, and every other jolly activity. Whether going alone or with their friends and families, they’d have one ticket paid for. Life shouldn’t be all work and no play!
Price: This could differ from event to event.
32. Custom Keychains
Another great swag item to offer to your attendees is custom keychains. They are incredibly useful for their personal use and provide convenience by having all the keys in one place. You can add your event logo or design it accordingly so that it becomes a memorable swag item.
Price: $6-19
33. Drawstring Bags
A colored canvas drawstring bag is a pretty common swag item at any B2B event, so your attendees will probably expect this gift. Made with durable materials, it’ll be a memorable token of your event to your attendees.
Price: $8-25
34. Metallic Straw Set
You can encourage eco-friendly habits at your B2B event by offering a portable, reusable, and safe metallic straw. You can also add your event logo to the canvas carrying bag for the straws to promote your event’s support for eco-friendly methods.
Price: $5-10
Complementary Activities
Complementary activities that create a fun escape from all the work will be wholesomely appreciated. People want to make memories, relax, and have a good time, and these activities do just that. Let’s take a look at these activities below.
35. Tours and reservations
Are you holding your event in a city with a rich history, sights worth seeing, or food worth tasting? To give your guests beautiful memories, organize complimentary tours or make a chef reservation in one of the excellent restaurants.
Price: May vary
36. Spa Vouchers
Who doesn’t love a massage? Chiropractors are also the new rave in the therapy industry; many people want to try them out. Book massage sessions and chiropractor appointments for your guests to help them relax and correct their joints with satisfying cracks.
Price: $60 per guest
37. Framed photos
Your attendees will want to take photos with big-name speakers and industry leaders. You can offer personalized, on-the-spot, framed photos to keep these memories alive.
Tech-themed Items
If you are in tech, these tech-themed items are great conference swag for tech-savvy professionals.
38. Mi-Fi
Almost everything we do today is powered by the internet. Mobile Wi-Fi or Mi-Fi devices usually have more robust receivers and will last longer when sharing a hotspot with other devices than when using your mobile phone.
Price: $14-50
39. Smart Speaker
Voice-controlled speakers, that talk back to us? We’re game! Any tech-savvy professional will appreciate voice-assistant-powered devices that do it all—play music, control other smart devices, pick or decline calls, and set reminders—hands-free!
Price: $20-50
40. Smart Writing Sets
Smart notebooks are bridging the gap between old-school analog freehand writing and digitization. These reusable notebooks allow you to write text in your natural handwriting, scan and save them as digital files, and never run out of pages.
Price: $24
41. Bluetooth Finder
Adding Bluetooth Finders to your event kit is an innovative way to provide convenience to your attendees. It can help locate all the electronic devices that are connected to Bluetooth. With two-way finding, you can locate both your tethered devices and the Bluetooth Finder.
Price: $9-59
42. Bluetooth Headphone
Headphones are a useful gadget that your attendees can wear during the event or after. Make sure that the headphones are of good quality and have good battery life. These will be a memorable gift that will remind your attendees of your wonderful B2B event.
Price: $50-100
Work-from-home Items
The work-from-home culture is here to stay. People now have dedicated workspaces at home to make a living and have quality family time. These home-office gadgets are the perfect conference swag for remote workers:
43. Blue-light glasses
Blue light glasses are designed to reduce eye fatigue and strain from staring at a screen for hours. They filter out blue light and give you more productive work hours.
Price: $7-20
44. Ring Light
Ring lights are must-haves for every workspace. They provide excellent illumination for crisp and clear photos and videos. They’d also come in handy when you need to hop on virtual meetings, video calls, or make recordings.
Price: $11-30
45. Wireless buds
Actual wireless earbuds block and cancel out the noise so you can work productively without getting distracted by kids’ noises or machines running at home. They come in a carrying case with a charger and can be connected to any Bluetooth-enabled device.
Price: Starts at $20
46. Webcam cover
Security experts recommend using webcam covers to cover PC webcams when not in use. In today’s world, where cyber attacks are more frequent than ever, should your PC be hacked, the attacker won’t be able to spy on you through video.
Price: $6-20
Sports-themed Items
You’d be amazed how many business folks are die-hard sports fans. Others are also wellness-conscious individuals who work out from home. Check out some conference swag ideas for these personas:
47. Jerseys
If your attendees are into sports, you can offer jerseys from famous clubs and customize their names. Few things bond people, like sports and jerseys, and allow people to show love for their favorite teams.
Price: $15-40
48. Yoga Mats
Yoga mats are synonymous with relaxation, higher energies, and wellness. Give out yoga mats to help your attendees live healthier lives, improve their postures, and stay fit from home. These mats roll up quickly and can be carried along for future events.
Price: $10-20
Relaxation Items
Business professionals live hectic lives and get stressed easily. Check out these stress-relief items that help us relax:
49. Stress ball/Rubik’s cube
Squeezing the life out of these stress balls or solving Rubik’s puzzles can help take the edge off and improve our hand-eye coordination, muscle memory, and reflexes.
Price: $5-10
50. Massage chair
If you don’t want to book separate massage sessions for your guests, you can rent a couple of massage chairs. After sitting for several hours and getting stiff bones, your attendees will appreciate gentle mechanized hands easing off all that stress.
Price: $500 per week.
Different Swag Gifting Platforms
Enterprise gifting platforms are businesses that specialize in everything corporate gifting.
If you don’t want to choose the right conference swag, package it, track it, and deliver branded items to your attendees, you need the services of a swag gifting platform.
These platforms also provide analytics and insights to help you measure your gifts’ ROI and customer satisfaction and improve your campaigns.
To save you the hassle, we have compiled a list of the best seven corporate gifting platforms you should consider for your gifting needs in your next event:
1. Sendoso
Sendoso is an AI-powered corporate gifting platform specializing in helping B2B businesses boost their response rates with gifting strategies and providing the tech stack to measure marketing results.
2. Giftpack
Giftpack is an award-winning gifting platform that delivers gifts for businesses worldwide. Pick the gifts you want, and they’ll handle packaging and delivery. They’d also collect customer feedback for you.
3. Swagup
Swagup is your go-to for everything corporate swag. They specialize in delivering branded items to remote employees and customers. Swagup automates every step of the swag gifting process—sourcing, design, packaging, storing, and shipping—for you.
4. Corporate gift
Corporate Gift is a unique corporate gifting platform that allows your customers and attendees to choose the gifts they want, while within your budget. Choose your budget, and your attendees will choose what they want. Meanwhile, Corporate Gift will handle the rest.
5. Caroo
Caroo focuses on making swag and holiday season gift items as personalized as possible. They offer brand swag, edibles, gift cards, and gifting automation. Plus, you don’t need to provide the addresses of your recipients. They do address verification for you.
6. Alyce
Alyce is another swag gifting platform specialized in helping B2B businesses grow meaningful relationships through gifts. Its unique Power of Choice allows recipients to choose the gifts they want, enabling you to drive action and book more appointments with conversion triggers.
7. Snappy
Snappy makes the gifting process quick and easy for B2C and B2B businesses. You can create budgets, select swag collections from a single dashboard, and let your recipients choose what they want.
Key takeaway
Giving gifts or swag taps into the power of reciprocity. So give your event attendees swag items that they appreciate, and they’d want to return the favor by attending your events in the future, preaching your brand via word of mouth, and doing business with you.
Below are a few reviews on conference swag gifts attendees have shared with us on Eventible after attending an event. This shows how attendees look forward to swag at conferences.
For DASH 2021
Eventible is the first-of-its-kind event review/listing platform that allows attendees, speakers, and sponsors to leave reviews after an event has concluded.
These reviews act as social proof and help sponsors decide whether their event has received the brand exposure needed or if the event ROI is as expected. Furthermore, they help attendees decide whether or not they wish to return the following year based on their present experience.
At Eventible, we list the best events worth attending based on authentic reviews and ratings from informed professionals. We also provide you and relevant stakeholders with all the essential information required for your upcoming conference. So register today!
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