Tradeshow Giveaways
What makes a good tradeshow giveaway?
A tradeshow giveaway is an item or prize an exhibitor offers at a booth to draw visitors in, start a conversation and be remembered afterwards. A good one does a job: it stops people walking past, it is useful enough to keep, or it gives you a reason to capture a lead. A bad one is a pile of items that visitors take without talking to anyone.
This guide helps you choose, by goal, how to hand giveaways out so they produce leads rather than waste, and how to plan quantities. It sits inside your wider trade show plan, covered in the trade show marketing guide.
Updated by the Eventdex team
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Start with the goal, not the item
Decide what the giveaway is for, then choose. The same budget can buy very different results:
| Goal | Giveaway type | How to hand it out | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Draw foot traffic | A low-cost, eye-catching item or a game | Visible at the booth edge, offered when people stop | People who take it and leave |
| Capture qualified leads | A better item or a prize draw | In exchange for a badge scan and a short conversation | Collecting contacts who are not buyers |
| Be remembered after the show | A useful item people keep on a desk or in a bag | After a conversation, with your name and a way to reach you | Items that are cheap enough to throw away |
| Reward a booth demo | A small item or voucher | Only after the demo | Giving it away before the demo |
| Reach decision makers | A personal gift or a meeting offer | Sent or offered before the show to a short list | Anything that looks like a bribe; check the show and company rules |
Tradeshow giveaway ideas
These are common categories, not recommendations of any product. Choose what fits your audience and your budget.
Useful desk and travel items
Pens, notebooks, chargers, cable organizers, bag tags and similar items that attendees can use during and after the show.
Food and drink
Coffee, snacks or a drink voucher. Cheap, welcome in a long day, and it brings people to the booth.
Experiences and prizes
A prize draw for a bigger item, a voucher or a one-to-one session, entered by scanning a badge at the booth.
Games with a reward
A quiz, a spin or a skill game at the booth, with a small item for everyone who plays and a bigger prize for the winner.
Digital giveaways
A checklist, report or template sent by email, which needs no shipping and no booth space, and gives you a reason to follow up.
Sustainable and local items
Reusable or locally made items suit audiences that care about waste. Check what the show's venue allows.
How to give items out so they produce leads
The way you give an item matters more than the item. These steps turn a giveaway into a lead source:
Open with a question, not an item
Ask what brought the visitor to the show or what they are looking for. The item is a thank-you for the conversation.
Scan before you hand over
Capture the lead with a badge scan, a rating and a note about what they need, then give the item.
Tier your giveaways
A small item for everyone who stops, a better one for those who book a demo or meeting, and a prize draw for qualified leads.
Put the follow-up in the item
Add your name, website or a QR code to the item, and mention the follow-up you will send.
Record what each person received
Note the giveaway in the lead record so the follow-up email can refer to it.
Plan quantities and rules before the show
Over-ordering wastes budget, and running out on day one wastes the show. Work from your own numbers, not a rule of thumb: how many leads you aim to capture, how many demos you can run and how many days the show lasts.
Tradeshow giveaway planning sheet
TRADESHOW GIVEAWAY PLANNING SHEET Show: [Name], [Dates], Booth [Number] Booth goal: [For example, 150 qualified leads] GIVEAWAY TIERS Tier 1 - for everyone who stops and talks Item: [Item] Unit cost: [Cost] Quantity: [Number] Per day: [Number] Tier 2 - for a demo or a booked meeting Item: [Item] Unit cost: [Cost] Quantity: [Number] Tier 3 - prize draw for qualified leads Prize: [Prize] Draw time: [Time and date] Winner contacted by: [Date] RULES [ ] Badge scan taken before items are handed out [ ] Prize draw terms written and posted at the booth: who can enter, how the winner is chosen and contacted [ ] Show rules and local rules on giveaways and prize draws checked [ ] Company gift and anti-bribery policy checked for gifts to individuals [ ] Items shipped to arrive before the show, with a spare box carried BUDGET Total giveaway budget: [Amount] Cost per qualified lead (afterwards): [Total spend / qualified leads] AFTER THE SHOW [ ] Winner announced and prize sent [ ] Follow-up email sent to every lead within [number] days, mentioning the item or the conversation [ ] Leftover items counted; record what worked for next time
Capturing leads from giveaways with Eventdex
Eventdex does not make, sell or ship giveaways. What it does is capture the lead that the giveaway is meant to bring in, and, for organizers, run games that reward participation.
Scan, rate and qualify
Exhibitors scan badges on their own phones, rate leads, add notes and ask up to 10 lead qualifier questions, then export the leads.
Lead retrieval appBusiness cards when there is no badge
Capture contacts from business cards when there is no badge to scan.
Business card scanner appGames and prizes for organizers
Trivia and leaderboards in the app, with sponsor-branded prizes, awarded manually or automatically by leaderboard rank.
Trivia and leaderboard
The Eventdex platform
Turn booth giveaways into qualified leads
- Lead retrievalScan, rate and qualify leads on any phone.Learn more about Lead retrieval
- Lead capture appLead scoring, notes and offline capture.Learn more about Lead capture app
- Business card scannerCapture contacts when there is no badge to scan.Learn more about Business card scanner
- Exhibitor managementTools for exhibitors and the organizers who serve them.Learn more about Exhibitor management
“It's easy to use and interfaces very well with our needs. The scheduling function is awesome. It allows our companies and partners to schedule their meetings with no assistance thus reducing time and resources. In addition, if there are any snags in scheduling, the Eventdex staff takes care of your needs immediately.”
University at Buffalo
Eversource Energy
Georgia Tech
Influence Communications
FAQ
Tradeshow Giveaways: common questions
What are the best tradeshow giveaways?
The best giveaway is the one that fits your goal and audience: a useful item people keep, a prize draw that brings qualified leads, or a digital item that costs nothing to ship. Choose by what you want the giveaway to do, not by price alone.
Should giveaways be free or in exchange for a scan?
A small item can be free to everyone who stops and talks. Keep better items and prize draws for people you have scanned or who have booked a demo, so the giveaway pays for itself in leads.
How many giveaways should you bring?
Work from your lead goal, the number of demos you can run and the length of the show, and add a small reserve. There is no universal number; track what you use at each show and adjust.
How do you know if giveaways worked?
Compare leads captured, qualified leads and meetings booked with the cost of the giveaway, and note which tier each lead received. Divide spend by qualified leads to get a cost per lead.
Are there rules for giveaways at trade shows?
Often. Shows can restrict what exhibitors give away or how prize draws run, and your own company may have a gift policy. Check the exhibitor manual and local requirements before you order.
Capture every booth lead with Eventdex
Start with a free interactive floor plan, or talk to an event specialist on +1 (866) 434-5088.