When your guests arrive at your event, full of excitement and anticipation you want to impress them with every aspect of your hard work and that includes the gift bags for them to take home.
You want your guests to feel special and know how grateful you are that they have made the effort to attend your event. That every detail was meticulously planned with them in mind. After all your guests, and perhaps even your VIP guests should leave feeling inspired and energetic about your brand and that will only be made possible by the amount of effort and consideration you put in.
Over the years I have put together many events and I know what works and what doesn’t when it comes to the perfect gift bag. Here is a short guide to creating a bag that will really wow your guests!
Budget
Even if your budget isn’t huge there is no need to worry, you don’t need to make your gift bags over the top and too lavish to show you care, just spend some time really thinking about how you can tie in your event message, theme or even just include things that you know will be of use to your guests.
How many events have you attended where the bag is just dumped in a closet or in your office for months, untouched as it wasn’t really of use? If you are going to spend money you should spend it well!
Unique Speaks!
The more interesting you can make your goody bag the better! By including items that are fun or unique you will have your attendees talking about the effort that you went to in providing such an exceptional experience down to the smallest detail.
Your gift bags, if done right, will subtly remind guests of your brand and so picking the right items to include is the difference between it being used over and over or thrown away on the way out of the venue.
For example If your event is a mastermind for entrepreneurs think about what items would be of use to your group, whether that’s attractively branded notebooks, re-usable water bottles or branded earphones…all things that can be re-used time and time again and will be a lovely reminder to your guests of the fantastic event they attended.
Think about the bag itself too, if you can make it re-usable then all the better, it’s pretty much free advertising for you every time someone uses it.
“re-usable bottles of water and maybe some mints are welcomed in most gift bags, those events can be long days / nights!”
Plan Well In Advance
Putting together your dream event takes a lot of time and prepping and so sometimes it can be easy to overlook the minor details. Something like a goody bag should not be left until the last week to put together. Orders take time to be produced and shipped to you, you want to make sure you give your suppliers ample time to get everything together, there would be nothing worse than a fabulous event that was let down in some areas by lack of planning.
Make a note on your to do list to research suppliers once you have your theme and message finalized, even if you don’t need to place your order just yet you will have a good idea of when in the planning process will be the right time to put those calls in.
The practical side
Think about the practicality of the items you are including too. Large items are usually a no-no especially if your attendees have flights to catch home. Just as some food based items that are likely to melt over the course of the day should be avoided.
Also take some time to get to know the audience that will be attending your event. What are their likes and dislikes? It’s wonderful that you want to throw in a free back pack but will they actually appreciate this more over something else?
The gifts you choose should also inspire your audience, so maybe offering a book that you know will be of interest or a discounted membership that will be appreciated will help to show them that you care and have not just thrown together some items at the last minute.
Don’t forget to include your business card or business literature within the bag, you want to make it as easy as possible for your guests to reach out to you whether that’s for feedback or to make an enquiry.
If you are planning your own event why not download my free guide – Planning Your Event For Success. It is packed with tips to help you create the ultimate event!
