Marketing
Measuring the gift of event merchandise
Ben Greenock, chief customer officer and co-founder corporate gifting company Go Swag, offers thoughts on why most companies underestimate event merchandise – and how to turn it into a measurable growth channel
onferences and trade
C exhibitions require months of planning and investment. Teams need to refine messaging, secure sponsorships, design spaces, coordinate demonstrations, all to ensure delegates and exhibitors have the conversations that matter.
Merchandise won’ t save a bad event strategy, but in the hands of sharper organisers, it is a serious differentiator. The key is using physical touchpoints to influence customer behaviour across the event journey – securing meeting commitments pre-event, deepening engagement on stand, and sustaining pipeline momentum long after doors close.
It comes down to two things: setting clear goals and thinking about the full delegate journey. Merchandise shouldn’ t just fill a table. When you match what you give to a business objective, physical items stop being passive freebies and start doing a real commercial job.
When to give what The period leading up to an event can determine its ROI. For exhibitors and hosts, success relies on converting target prospects into high-value attendees. A targeted pre-event gift builds brand familiarity and can break through digital noise, turning
a cold meeting invite into a highvalue conversation.
Once the event ends, the challenge flips to follow-up. Standard thank you emails quickly get buried. A post-event gift offers a warmer way back into the conversation and keeps momentum going.
During the show merchandise should enrich the experience, relate to the recipient, and carry utility. Instead, most stands hand the same item to an executive who spent 20 minutes in a demo as to a casual passer-by. Basic audience segmentation ensures your budget goes where it counts.
Not everyone deserves the best gift, but premium gifts recognise strategic customer relationships and meaningful engagement, while
Above: Ben Greenock
“ Merchandise won’ t save a bad event strategy, but in the hands of sharper organisers, it is a serious differentiator” practical items suit wider brand awareness. The investment should reflect the commercial opportunity and suit the recipient.
For ElevenLabs, we built a physical branded store at NY Tech Week. The company’ s AI voice powered the shopping agent at kiosks, allowing attendees to browse, check out and haggle for discounts by voice. Merchandise became a way for attendees to experience the technology, rather than simply a giveaway. The activation generated hundreds of interactions and the company is now planning further pop-ups globally.
Even on a smaller scale, a good gift can solve a problem: travel accessories for frequent travellers or cable organisers for technology professionals. Practicality extends the product’ s life and the brand’ s visibility.
Thinking through impact Event merchandise has escaped the scrutiny applied to other marketing areas because its impact is difficult to measure.
A pre-event gift that increases pre-booked meetings, or segmented on-stand merchandise that yields longer, higher-value conversations are metrics that prove ROI. Businesses need to look beyond distribution numbers and understand how merchandise influences pipeline.
Pressure is growing on organisations to demonstrate return on every marketing investment, and merchandise should be no different. Businesses getting the greatest value apply the same discipline as other commercial channels: define objectives early, consider the attendee journey, tailor experiences and evaluate success against measurable outcomes.
So, stop thinking about what merchandise to bring and start with what you’ re trying to achieve. When planned with purpose and measured accordingly, merchandise can contribute to commercial success. EW
48 Issue 5 2026 www. exhibitionworld. co. uk