After a tricky few years due to the global pandemic, events such as conferences and trade shows are back in action in person and yielding, as before, an excellent marketing opportunity for businesses.
If you really want to make your brand stand out, though, and generate as much interest and potential leads as possible when you exhibit at one of these events, it pays to have some giveaways. Here are some top options to consider.
Water Bottles
We all need to drink water no matter who we are and our age, location, occupation, or gender. These days, there’s much more focus on being sustainable and reducing waste by using reusable rather than single-use water bottles, especially at events like conferences and trade shows.
A quality water bottle is a great option to hand out on such occasions. Such items are both practical and popular and will likely get used a lot, meaning your brand gets seen over and over by the gift recipients and others.
Tote Bags
Another giveaway idea is a tote bag. Again, this is something that people like because they can use it instead of plastic bags, which is perfect if your brand has an earth-friendly ethos. You can buy handy reusable bags in materials such as organic cotton, hemp, jute, bamboo, recycled plastic, and the like. Plus, like water bottles, they’re something highly visible that can help your brand get noticed and thought about repeatedly.
Tote bags are also useful items to hand out at trade shows and the like, where people are given a stack of catalogs, order forms, and other bits and pieces that can become tough to carry. People will appreciate receiving your offerings so they can store everything they collect on the day. Depending on your budget, branding, and the types of customers you target, you could opt for general tote bags or specific library, wine, insulated, market, or other types of totes.
Notebooks
Do you have a client base of writers, entrepreneurs, medical professionals, lawyers, teachers, architects, or anyone else who likely takes notes at meetings regularly or spends time journaling or sketching? The list of people and professions that a notebook suits is long and varied, making a journal of some type another excellent giveaway option.
If you’re exhibiting at an event where there are workshops and general presentations, recipients can even use the notebooks on the day to jot down notes from the talks they hear and the activities they complete. Or, notebooks are handy, too, for those who set up business meetings at conferences and trade shows and need something to write down the outcome of the chats or details about follow-up activities, information gleaned, etc.
Pens
Pens never go astray, either. Handing out quality pens with your branding and website or phone number on them can be a great idea as people will likely use the products on the day and repeatedly after the event. The pens might even change hands multiple times, too. This allows your business name to get seen a lot. Pens are incredibly affordable, too, so if you have a tight budget, these can be the perfect good to invest in for your next event.
Other Stationery Goods
If you like the idea of using stationery as a giveaway, but notebooks and pens don’t hit the mark for you, keep in mind that there are plenty of other office products that might do the trick. For instance, you could purchase stationery sets, rulers, desk organizers, or mousepads. Other options include wall calendars, laptop sleeves, staplers, shopping lists, or paperweights, among other things.
Coffee Mugs
Most people are coffee or tea enthusiasts, meaning that a free, beautifully-designed mug will thrill many and get used repeatedly either at home or in the office. Coffee mugs get used in meetings and often get left at offices even if original recipients leave the workplace, so this type of giveaway item can be seen by a considerable number of people. Mugs never go out of fashion, and they’re not too expensive to buy in bulk, either.
Some other useful gifts you could give people at conferences or tradeshows include smartphone wallets, USBs, power banks, tablet covers, caps, tees, and compact multi-tool devices. You might also buy some bottles of wine and get your own branded labels put on them if you have a high-end customer base and need to wow them with more expensive goods. 
Take your time choosing giveaway items as you need to get the best deal and ensure you purchase quality items that people will appreciate and keep using.
