Are Stickers a Waste? What Makes Good Tradeshow Swag in the Space Industry

As a senior marketing leader for small businesses, we handle everything from marketing strategy to investor messaging to buying ice at the last minute to yes, making decisions about stickers and swag.

Last year, I walked around Small Sat and collected many a sticker, but honestly only ended up with like 1/1300 of what was available.

Not because I particularly needed 20+ space stickers, but because I wanted to understand why every company was giving them away, plus it gave me a good excuse to strike up a conversation.

When you're working with a limited tradeshow budget, swag is one of those expenses that's easy to question. Do people really need another sticker? Another pen? Another tote bag? Would that money be better spent somewhere else?

So I started asking.

Why Does Every Space Company Have Stickers?

One answer immediately made sense: mission patches.

Patches and mission badges have always been part of space culture. A sticker is essentially the inexpensive, modern version. It can represent a mission, program, spacecraft, company or inside joke, and people actually collect them.

Then I met a university professor who was making her own rounds collecting stickers. She planned to bring them back to her students.

That changed how I looked at the pile.

Those stickers weren't necessarily destined for a hotel trash can. Some were going onto laptops and water bottles. Some were going back to universities and into the hands of the next generation of aerospace engineers. And some probably were going in the trash.

Which gets to the real question: What makes tradeshow swag worth the money?

Good Swag Has to Earn Its Place

I'm not anti-swag. I'm anti-spending-money-because-everyone-else-is-doing-it-for-something-that-will-go-in-the trash.

A $1 giveaway can be valuable if someone keeps it, uses it, talks about it or gives it to someone else. A $50 giveaway can be a complete waste if it has no connection to your audience or brand.

When I'm evaluating tradeshow giveaways, I'd ask a few questions:

• Is it relevant to the audience? Space stickers work partly because they're already embedded in the culture.

• Will someone actually keep it? The longer it stays out of the trash, the longer your brand stays with them.

• Does it say something about your company? (my personal favorite) The best swag creates a connection to your product, personality or story.

• Is it appropriate for the recipient? A $3 item for everyone walking past your booth and a $75 item for a qualified prospect serve very different purposes.

• Could the money accomplish something more valuable? This is the question companies don't ask enough (and I’d ask the same of a booth).

If Your Budget Is Limited, Swag Shouldn't Come First

If you have $5,000 to spend around a tradeshow, I wouldn't start by asking, What should we give away?

I'd start with: What will help us get us the information we need to get the ROI we want from this event?

That might mean investing in pre-show outreach, better booth messaging, a customer dinner, a small event, paid promotion, meeting space, content or simply getting the right people from your company to the show.

Then figure out whether swag has a role.

And you don't necessarily need one giveaway strategy. Keep inexpensive items like stickers available for anyone who stops by, while reserving higher-value items for customers, prospects or meetings you actually want to recognize.

I've seen some incredibly smart high-value giveaways events and plenty of expensive things I can't imagine anyone wanted to take home.

But my takeaway from my sticker experiment?

A. Some stickers are far superior than others

B. Stickers aren't a waste just because they're cheap. And expensive swag isn't valuable just because it's expensive.

The best tradeshow giveaway is something your audience actually wants with a reason for your brand to be the one giving it to them.

What’s your favorite sticker above?