Best Promotional Products for Conferences in 2022

With offices opening up once more, business conferences are in full swing. With so many companies attending events to network, you may find yourself wondering, “How can I craft a message that stays with my potential clients long after they get home from the conference?” The impression you make at conferences sets the stage for your business image within the industry and often generates a baseline of leads serving your sales team for months to come. 

Promotional products for conferences in 2022 are a great way to say, “Welcome back!” to the business world. These materials offer an opportunity to give your customers something of value that serves as an ambassador for your business—long after that first connection. 

Considering the importance of promotional products for your marketing strategy, you must make the right selections to make the most of your investment. The wrong items make a poor impression, such as being cheap or worse, not caring about what you’re offering to your potential customers. It’s a tried and true adage that there’s no sense in throwing good money after bad, so put your best foot forward when selecting custom promotional products and contract with a partner who has the experience to go the extra mile. 

In this article, we outline how to make the right choices about promotional products—starting with identifying the right provider! At Pen Factory, we have the know-how to help you select promotional products that make lasting impressions and further your business’s interests. Read on for information on preparing your promotional materials for conferences in 2022. 

How to Select Promotional Products for Conferences in 2022 

Selecting the right products for conferences is an important consideration for your business’s grand re-entrance to the networking landscape. When you choose promotional products, you’re selecting more than just an item: This product will serve as both your conversation starter and first touchpoint, as well as an ambassador for your brand after the booths have come down and suitcases have been unpacked. 

To that end, you need a product that provides your attendee with convenience for the rest of the conference. T-shirts are both fun and popular promo materials, but do they add value to your customers’ conference experience? Items such as customized promotional pens, sticky notes, hand sanitizers, and more start a conversation by providing for a potentially unforeseen need. 

If a potential client forgot their pen or notebook, they will be drawn to you for a solution to their plight. You not only begin a conversation with this client but provide a strong, positive first impression by anticipating their needs and satisfying them. Potential clients will associate your brand with fulfilling their needs long before you even begin your first sales pitch!

In addition to being useful, your ideal promotional product for conferences should be eye-catching and clever. Why? That strange, multi-colored pen or pop socket may be enough to get eyes on your booth—and draw them in for a chat. Quirky and fun marketing supplies offer an opportunity to stand out ahead of the competition. Memorability is every bit as key as functionality: your potential clients should instantly think of you every time they pull out your branded promotional product.

Top Examples of Promotional Merchandise 

The primary purpose of promotional products for conventions is to start a conversation with your clients and maintain relevance all throughout their day. To that end, not all promotional products are created equal! In terms of usefulness, intrigue, and staying power, you need products that rise above the rest and leave a lasting impact. Below, we outline some of the best promotional products for conferences in 2022. 

Hand Sanitizer 

Anyone who has been around the convention circuit is no stranger to “The Con Crud:” Between shaking hands with people from all over the world, sleeping in hotel rooms, and disrupted schedules, many convention attendees find themselves coming home with a nasty head cold in addition to new connections. Upon stopping to reflect on the recent health crises of recent years,  health being a primary concern on the minds of many people, hand sanitizer is an in-demand commodity. 

Hand sanitizer in any form offers to address concerns about what pathogens may be spreading on each business card they take. Sanitizer gel is a classic and attractive answer to these concerns—you’ll be sure to draw in potential clients who left their bottles in the room. Looking for more printable space and a more pocket-friendly takeaway? Sanitizer gel packets are handy for clients with places to be and no room to stash a bottle. 

Looking to provide for a need while driving interest with a unique, eye-catching conversation starter? A pen with integrated hand sanitizer spray on the back offers a stylish, unique promotional product that will have clients asking others, “What booth was that at?” 

Good hygiene has never been so “in” as this convention season. Shop our selection of these wellness products and more now to delight and protect your clients!

Bags 

There’s an age-old saying: So many promotional products, so little pocket space!

Well, maybe not “age-old,” per se, but certainly relevant to convention-goers equipped with only a tie, and perhaps a purse, if they’ve thought ahead. Between all the notebooks, keychains, drink koozies, mascot plushies, and other branded goodies your clients pick up, they’ll soon find themselves performing a juggling act to hold onto it all. 

You can draw these unfortunate and overburdened clients with a solution to a problem they didn’t anticipate: custom, branded bags! By satisfying this vital need, you’ll spark conversations with surely grateful customers who no longer need to wonder how they’ll shake hands with their arms full. 

Clear stadium totes offer a stylish way to show off your brand, with staying power! An increasing number of venues have taken up a clear bag policy, but they can be tricky to locate. This promising product provides your customer with value long after the convention has ended—and makes your brand a household name. 

Looking to offer a hands-free approach? A classic nylon-string backpack offers your clients a convenient way to haul their haul… while serving as brand ambassadors to anyone they happen to walk in front of. This is a high-visibility way to make convention-goers flock your way. 

Order your bags today—and get a promotional product sure you “carry” your message far! 

Smartphone Wallet 

On the subject of ways to help free your clients’ hands for more merchandise? What about a place to store their essential cards and leave their wallet in the room? There are few things more cumbersome than full pockets, and this is multiplied at conventions, where many businesspeople carry an additional clip full of business cards, ready to distribute.

Smartphone wallets—especially the stick-on types—lowers the number of personal possessions convention-goers have to keep track of. They can fit their cards, ID, and hotel room key in one convenient place without having to haul a bulky wallet or money clip along for the ride. This branded material can be printed in a number of colors, and ensures that your business’s phone number is one never far from a client’s phone.

Check out this unique offering today! Soft silicone is flexible, meaning that your recipients can include as many or as few cards as they need. 

How to Begin Ordering Promotional Products 

When ordering promotional products, there are some vital factors to consider to create visually striking swag with plenty of personality. 

For starters, consider the print area on your desired promotional materials. A tote bag, for example, has a large and versatile printable area. You can fit an entire high-res logo, your business name, and likely some contact information in addition to a brief tagline. Drinkware, such as coffee tumblers, also has a sizable printable area. However, given the shape of these materials, you should consider how your logo and print will look “wrapped.” 

Pens, on the other hand, have a much smaller print area. Be sure to speak with your promotional products partners to ensure that your logo is uploaded in the appropriate format and will provide a clean and legible print. 

Considering your material, as well: Metal and plastic will give a less “interrupted” print than canvas fabric. You should also take into account how your print will look folded or bent by the nature of the product you’re printing onto. 

At Pen Factory, we have the experience and expertise to help you find the perfect promotional product for conferences in 2022. When you order with us through our website, we take the guesswork out of creating a well-designed product—and ensure that your would-be clients turn into sales qualified leads in no time. 

Get Started with Pen Factory 

If you’re ready to take your promotional products to the next level, we’re here to help!

For those who know what they want and are ready to go, we offer an easy ordering process for a variety of products. Upload a high-resolution image of your art, enter your text, and you’re off! Our expert team of designers will provide an art authorization to ensure that your provided images will translate well onto the chosen medium—and then we’re ready to ship!