I remember back to school time when Clinque would have their free gift with purchase time. And the purchase needed to be over $100 and the gift was a new cosmetic bag filled with samples of products they wanted to get you hooked on.
Those days were also the days when I didn’t know that I was being marketed to- but GD that was such genius marketing and the type of marketing that has been around for hundreds of years.
Which got me thinking about all of the trade shows and in person events that I’ve been to with vendors and how many SWAG bags I’ve received at conferences and how many can koozies, stress balls and tote bags I’ve thrown away.
Then it got me thinking about where actually is the “away”. Because the away is an actual place… and it’s the landfill.
(If you haven’t already watched "Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy” on Netflix I encourage you to on some rainy summer evening.)
Just thinking about how many Canva created logos are on some kind of discarded merch soaking up the sun next to rotting food makes me die a little inside.
This is all coming at me right now because I’m gearing up to go to the annual 4th of July parade, and in Colorado they take their 4th of July parades very seriously. There are so many businesses in the parades that are handing out not just candy but also SWAG. Last year I left with a branded real estate tote bag filled with candy, koozies, flags and glow sticks. And I was sweating so bad. The thing I really could have used was some kind of branded fan.
Fast forward to this year and I must’ve manifested that because I went to an outdoor concert on a 98 degree night and the sponsor of the concert had branded fans! And guess what- they were gone before the concert even began. All you saw were red fans waving in attempts to keep cute outfits unsweaty. Along with the fans they also had coolers full of branded water bottles! All marketing materials I was definitely a fan of.
As we enter Q3 I see you all thinking about what branded SWAG to order before the end of the year marketing budget runs out for your in-person events.
And before you order more tote bags, koozies, stickers, pens and stress balls let's consider things the people won't throw in the landfill immediately upon returning home.
Use the bank is an example of a biz who understood the assignment.
A fan at a 98 degree Colorado afternoon concert in late June?
Chef's kiss
This is my friend is how you do branded swag that doesn't immediately become landfill.
Take notes, marketing teams – your audience will remember you when your giveaway saves them from sweating through their cute outfit on a 98 degree day.
Also one of the greatest pieces of SWAG I’ve ever gotten from spinning one of those prize wheels is compression socks from a medical company. They too have racked up many an air mile.
Does SWAG that is useful cost more per piecee?
Most Definitely.
Let's be real – quality costs money, and useful promotional items are no exception. That branded fan that actually kept concert-goers cool? It probably cost 3-4 times more than those flimsy keychains gathering dust in junk drawers everywhere.
But here's where most marketing teams get it backwards: they're optimizing for the wrong metric. They see "cost per unit" and immediately reach for the cheapest option, thinking they're being budget-conscious. What they're actually doing is throwing money away on items that provide zero lasting brand impression.
A $0.50 stress ball that gets tossed within a week provides exactly $0.50 worth of brand exposure – if that. Meanwhile, a $3.00 portable phone charger that someone uses multiple times per week for months? That's generating ongoing brand touchpoints that compound over time.
Think about it: would you rather have 1,000 people immediately forget your brand, or 300 people think of you every time they solve a real problem? The math isn't even close.
Useful SWAG creates what marketers call "positive brand associations." Every time someone uses your practical giveaway, they're having a micro-moment of gratitude toward your brand. That water bottle with your logo isn't just hydrating them – it's building brand affinity one sip at a time.
The key is shifting from quantity thinking to quality thinking. Better to have fewer pieces that actually work than a warehouse full of items destined for the trash.
What I wouldn’t give right now for a Clinque free cosmetic bag to hold all the things I need in pool/beach bag.
Your logo deserves better than the bottom of a competitors tote bag and eventually someones trash can.
It’s time to do better.