Conference swag is the collection of objects an event hands out: a bag, a T-shirt, stickers, a pen, a water bottle, and whatever sponsors have brought. It is paid for out of sponsorship, it is one of the first things attendees notice, and a substantial share of it is thrown away within a week of the event by people who felt obliged to take it.
What it is actually for
Two things, and it is worth being clear which one an item is doing. Some of it is useful on the day: a bag to carry things in, a bottle so the room is not full of disposable cups, a lanyard. The rest is a gift, and a gift is judged by whether the person wanted it.
The sponsor’s purpose is different again. A company paying for swag is buying a reminder that outlives the day. Reading the chart, only the top two items do that, which is why a sponsor who wants value should be steered towards stickers and a good shirt rather than towards a branded pen.
The case against most of it
Most swag is bought because events have always bought it. The bag nobody carries twice, the pen that stops working, the flyer that goes straight into the bin by the door: none of it was chosen because somebody wanted it, and all of it costs money that was raised by asking sponsors.
Nobody has ever wanted a second tote bag.
There is a second cost that does not appear in a budget. Attendees who travelled have limited luggage, and an event that hands everybody a rigid box of objects has handed them a problem. The common outcome is a hotel bin, which is worse for everybody than not printing the thing.
What is worth doing
Stickers. The best value in the whole category by a distance. Cheap, weightless, kept, and displayed for years on a laptop lid where other developers see them.
A shirt somebody would have chosen. Which means a design that works without being an advertisement, sizes that actually fit the range of people attending, and a fabric that survives washing. A good shirt is worn for years; a bad one is a dust cloth.
Making it optional. A table where people take what they want, rather than a bag handed over at registration. It reduces waste immediately and it tells the event which items were worth buying.
Asking sizes at registration and ordering to them. Running out of the sizes most people wear while a box of the others goes home is the commonest and most annoying failure.
Sponsor items, and who decides
Sponsors bring their own things, and an event that has not said what it will accept will end up distributing whatever arrives. A short line in the prospectus setting out what goes in the bag, what can be put on a table, and what will not be distributed at all saves an awkward conversation on the morning.
The item most worth refusing is anything that collects data in exchange for a gift, because the attendee generally does not realise that is the trade. What belongs in a sponsorship package instead is on what sponsors get.
What it is confused with
The badge. Not swag: it has a function on the day and is covered on conference badge.
A goodie bag. The same thing under a trade-show name, usually with more sponsor material in it and less produced by the event.
The rest is in the glossary, and where the money for all of it comes from is on conference sponsorship.
Questions
What is conference swag?
The objects an event hands out: a bag, a shirt, stickers, a pen, a bottle, and whatever sponsors bring. Some has a function on the day and the rest is a gift, which is judged by whether the person actually wanted it.
What is the best value item?
Stickers, by a distance. Cheap, weightless, kept, and displayed for years on a laptop lid where other developers see them. A well-made shirt is second and is worn for years; almost everything else is discarded within days.
Should swag be handed out or laid on a table?
Laid out, so people take what they want. It reduces waste immediately and it tells the event which items were worth buying, which a bag handed over at registration never does.
Why is a tote bag a poor choice?
Because nobody has ever wanted a second one, and attendees who travelled have limited luggage. An event that hands everybody a bulky object has handed them a problem, and the usual outcome is a hotel bin.
Can sponsors put anything they like in the bag?
Only if the event never said otherwise. A line in the prospectus stating what goes in the bag, what may sit on a table and what will not be distributed saves an awkward conversation on the morning. Anything trading a gift for personal data is worth refusing.