Welcome to the future: digital swag bags

A traditional swag is a bag you take home after you’ve attended an event. Kind of like a party bag your seven year old gets after attending their friend’s birthday party.  However their goodie bag is filled with yummy stuff to remind them what a great time they had, while most event swag is filled with boring stuff you rummage through hoping for something good, or at the very least a packet of Mentos.

 As with everything in event planning, there is a purpose behind handing out event swag.

1) To share partner promotions, brand messages and important event-specific or company-specific information.

2) To make guests happy. However, brands hand out swag that will increase brand awareness and create a good lasting impression to their potential customers. 

By handing out something of value, people will have a favourable opinion of your company. If you hand out cheap, unusable swag, people will associate you with that as well. You are what you hand out.  No more filling an ugly bag with 95% junk. Sure, we’ve seen some beautiful totes with useful items, mostly at very expensive or very exclusive events that we normal folk don’t attend. Take the Oscars swag, $100,000 worth of hotel stays, technology, beauty, jewellery and holidays (not for normal folk).

Common swag items include t-shirts, pens, postcards, flyers and discounts to shops you’ve never heard of and other company information (yawn). Just because an item is free doesn’t make it worth keeping.

One of the biggest problems with today’s event swag bags; they’re bulky and not eco-friendly. Hundreds of flyers, postcards and promotional items are created and many of them are left behind in hotel rooms, events or even binned before they leave the event.

Enter the digital sway bag

A digital swag bag is an interactive, virtual gift bag featuring all sorts of online gifts. Normally event participants will receive access to a customised bag via an email invitation from the event. Event Managers are moving away from the physical items (that are crap, let’s be honest) and instead creating digital swag bags with flexible gift options.

What you could find in a virtual swag?

1. Netflix movie subscription

2. Online ITunes voucher

3. Gift codes

4. Engaging games

5. Free apps

6. Free online subscriptions

7. eBooks

The Digital Swag is an emerging trend and a great way to save money , reduce work and waste, increase engagement and sponsorship opportunities and improve data tracking – done deal!

For any enquires on Event Management Gold Coast, Corporate Events Gold Coast, and Conference and Incentives Days please call Jo. Jo can bring all her experience, passion and skill to the table to create a fresh and innovative partnership with you. Click here to get our ebrochure & download our PDF.

Jo Kane

Events Gold Coast

Photo credit: julian- via Visual Hunt / CC BY-NC-ND