TL;DR: Allow attendees to politely decline the conference freebies.
I’ve attended quite a few tech conferences in India over the years, both as a speaker/trainer and attendee.
Conferences can improve execution, meritocratic selection panels, and the ratio of sponsored to overall talks. These are mentioned as part of overall feedback to the event.
But one thing is rarely questioned.
The “swag.”
You know what I mean - the badge, brochure, stickers, probably a t-shirt and a bag to carry everything.
Some conferences are more creative. They have badges with LED lights and possibly a CTF challenge, accessories (like mousepad or screen cleaner), etc.
These are all good, but after the event, most freebies are useless.
They’re too cheap to sell second-hand and too time-consuming to find giveaway recipients. These freebies just hoard in my home until I get frustrated and throw them away.
Think about it.
The value of an object comes from its usefulness, either helping achieve more or solving existing problems. The only exception to this is memorable objects (like the signature of a high agency person, etc) - but most conferences and swags aren’t memorable.
These freebies don’t help. They’re just taking up space in my head (thinking on how to use them) and my home.
Let me explain further:
- Badges: A badge is only useful during an event. There’s a niche category of badge collectors, maybe <3% of total attendees. Talking about hardware badges - not everyone is a hardware hacker. They look cool on pictures and LinkedIn, but it’s just e-waste.
- Accessories & Stickers: It depends on the accessory. What will I do with a mousepad if I’m a keyboard person? What will I do with stickers if I keep my laptop clean?
- Brochure: This is ridiculous. There are standees at most events showing upcoming events. It makes no sense (I feel they make no sense even during the event). Just add a QR code so attendees can see the schedule online.
Why do conferences do this everytime?
It’s due to misaligned interests.
Conferences are businesses that have profit and loss at the end. Attendee ticket prices alone can’t cover venue, food, speaker/trainer stays, and other expenses. Sponsors fill the gap and could make an event profitable. More sponsors mean more revenue.
These sponsors sponsor conferences for advertising and brand visibility. They need “real estate” space for their ~ads~ brands.
Well, here’s the real estate: t-shirt, bag, brochure, book, pen, etc.
More goodies mean more advertising space for sponsors. Hence, attendees receive many free ads on top of these swags.
Then there are people like me who use time and space (in head and home) on what to do with these objects. Most times the answer is throw away than give away.
How About A Win-Win Strategy?
Can there be a win-win situation for both of us?
Not talking about all attendees. Just the conference and people like me.
I think there can be.
Just allow participants to politely say No to what you provide. Not mandatory checkbox to tick when registering but optional when you’re getting into the venue.
This way, if some freebie solves my pain or gives me leverage, I’ll take it. I’m fine if there’s a company logo on it. If that object doesn’t solve pain/give leverage, then I don’t want. Let anyone else who has a real usecase for that take it.
PS: Here’s an idea for conference organizers. How about a buffet of freebies? Each category is sponsored by one company (so you make revenue). Each attendee can pick what they find really useful (so attendees will probably use it than hoarding it). And have 1-2 volunteers to ensure folks are not abusing the buffet. 😜