Search the Archives

  • SWAG with a purpose

    Posted on July 8th, 2009 by Spike and currently 5 commenting.

    Ever run in a 5K (or longer) race? When you register, you almost always get a plastic bag filled with a whole bunch of crap and then your number to pin on your shirt. And that free t-shirt you get is the most gawd-awful thing you’ve ever seen. I don’t even ask for one anymore.

    But I digress.

    I think that most marketers think that consumers want free stuff - no matter what it is. And so what we’re seeing is all this gawd-awful crap when you join a word of mouth campaign or the latest “guerrilla” push. Street teams armed to the nines with bags of, well, useless crap.

    We’re about to pull the trigger on a brand-new movement. And as we’re “gearing up” (pun totally intended), Brains on Fire HQ is being taken over by gear. But each and every piece was thoughtfully created. Thoughtfully desgined. Thoughtfully integrated into the other elements of the movement. In other words, every single t-shirt, palm card, sticker and other things that I can’t mention yet have a specific purpose among a specific group of people. Why do we know this? Becuase we walked a mile (or more in some cases) in their shoes. We talked to them. We witnessed how they communicate with one another online - and more importantly - offline.

    The beautiful part is that even though this gear was created for very specific reasons, those that will be using the gear will figure out new ways to use it. Ways that we would have never thought of in a million years. Movements are organic that way.

    So make sure you gear has purpose. Because, if it doesn’t, then it’s just junk and will end up in the corner with those race day t-shirts.

    Share The Love
    SubscribeBlinklistBloglinesBlogmarksDiggdel.icio.usFacebookFurlMa.gnoliaNewsVineRedditStumbleUponTechnorati
    Tags: , , , , , , ,

5 Responses to “SWAG with a purpose”

  1. Tracy July 8th, 2009 at 11:20 am

    Ha, I have a ton of those shirts! It’s very true though. I take about 45 seconds to go through most of the crap I tend to pick out what I want, a coupon or two, and give the whole dang bag back to them. I don’t need anymore crappy frisbee’s, pens, note holders, paperweights, picture frames, pencil sharpeners, hi-liters, or visors with real estate agents names on them. Companies are actually paying money for stuff that nobody wants and that usually ends up in the trash or the trunk of the car. Thanks for calling attention to the wastefulness in the name of marketing!

  2. Kamran July 8th, 2009 at 3:29 pm

    Hearty amen bro- a pox on the house of the merchants of junky swag. trinkets and trash are the bane of my existance- and most of it is total junk.
    Of course, there is exquisite swag as well- as you so well said-’Thoughtfully integrated into the other elements of the movement. ‘
    I call ‘em trinkets and treasures. And they exist for those willing to dig deep enough. Congrats on scoring some- I hope I get a peek at some of it.

  3. geno July 9th, 2009 at 7:21 am

    Spike, your post takes me back to an early lesson learned. Back in 2001 we orchestrated a month long street marketing tour for RAGE (South Carolina’s Teen Anti-Tobacco Movement).

    Our first batch of T-Shirts were old-fashioned Hanes Beefy-T’s a very good shirt. We couldn’t get kids to take the shirt for FREE we also noticed our RAGE kids on tour weren’t wearing them either. That’s the last time we’ve ever designed a shirt from fabric to graphic without some insight.

    I’ll save the other lesson we learned from that experience… FREE Swag doesn’t create value.

  4. Jackson July 13th, 2009 at 11:42 am

    Wow, we could not agree with this more! If all of our clients thought like you (we encourage them to) we would be a seriously happy crew.

    To add to your thoughts on creating merch/swag/gifts with purpose, sustainability and quality should also be part of the mix. And when the thought/purpose is there, the gifts tend to be higher quality and more sustainable. This makes the recipients happier and keeps the items out of the trash bin.

    Also, @geno - free swag can create value, it just has to be comprised of the right items, for the right audience.

    Good stuff, Brains on Fire!

  5. Spike July 13th, 2009 at 12:12 pm

    Howdy Jackson,

    And thanks for the added words of wisdom. You’re SO right - quality and sustainability are HUGE when it comes to SWAG. Both are great components of SWAG with a purpose.

    Well put and thanks for the 2 cents (more like a nickel!).

Leave a Reply