Creative twists on how to make SWAG unique and our business get noticed. This entry, Stand Out in a Bag Full of SWAG, from Julie Hartwell, is another in our guest blogger series. Read more about Julie in her bio below. If you would like to be a guest blogger for BrandTwist contact Jamie@BrandTwist.com for more information.
Everyone loves free stuff. This idea was reinforced recently when I took my 11 year old nephew to the local county fair. There were carnival rides, games, sheep, pigs, and chickens. My nephew was politely interested in all these things but made it increasingly clear to me that he wanted to make sure we went to the Expo Center. It was full of businesses getting their brand out there. What did he want from this building? In a word: S.W.A.G. (Stuff We All Get). He couldn’t get enough branded business pens.
Often it doesn’t even matter who it’s from or what it is. If someone is giving you something with more utility than a brochure, you’ll most likely accept it and be happy. In this respect, pens are great, but you want to do more. Your SWAG needs to stand out as much as you want your business to.
A Case Study of a Successful SWAG Campaign:
Everyone expects to get T-shirts and beverage koozies from companies at promotional events. So is it any surprise that, when people receive average SWAG, it’s not at all exciting?
An analytics startup called Spinnakr realized this, and wanted to do things differently. When Twitter users tweeted about “Shades of Fame”, they would receive their own pair of branded shades in the mail soon after. This is what Spinnakr did right:
- It required a commitment on behalf of the potential customer to get the SWAG. It’s always better when you have to work for it right?
- Spinnakr used the SWAG to get recognition through social media. If you’re going to give away something for free, make sure you get a return on your investment.
- The SWAG was something their target consumers wanted. No one wants another refrigerator magnet. How about a pair of turquoise hipster shades? Umm, yes please!
Create your own SWAG
You’ve made the decision to create your own SWAG, and to do it differently. Here are some things to keep in mind:
- Make it useful! SWAG does no one any good if it is useless and forgotten.
- Be mindful of the industry you are promoting. A cloud storage promoter probably wouldn’t give away branded thumb drives.
- Be like Spinnakr: make the consumer work for it. You’d be surprised at what people will do for free stuff.
- Go small for a big return. No one wants to carry a spare tire around with them. It will also help your bottom line; small is cheap.
- Make sure your SWAG is in line with the ethics of your business. PETA wouldn’t give away leather bound notebooks.
- Make your brand visible. Even branded underwear will get seen by one person if the brand is prominently displayed.
- Turn your SWAG into SWAGGER! Be confident in your SWAG. Give yourself an outgoing brand personality. Enthusiasm is infectious, and will really transfer through to the consumer.
About guest blogger Julie Hartwell:
Julie Hartwell is a marketing consultant and fashionista who loves a good campaign almost as much as she loves free stuff. On Twitter she’s @JulieHartwell23.
See if your business qualifies for a BRAND HEALTH CHECK STRATEGY SESSION with Brand School founder Julie Cottineau:
