Easy, Effective Trade Show Giveaways (Hint: They're Digital)

If you’re struggling to find good trade show giveaways, you’re not alone. But don't worry: we're about to walk you through a very good, very affordable, very quick-to-implement option.

Planning for trade shows can be a whirlwind. You're there to make connections, generate leads, and boost brand presence. But between juggling badge scans, booth design, and elevator pitches, there’s always one big question to answer: what should we give away?

Swag is the currency of trade shows. And it’s an arms race, too—with the shiniest, most fun booths stealing all the foot traffic.

T-shirts, pens, water bottles—every booth has some version of the same old, same old. And it’s hard to get excited for these standard (and often overpriced) giveaway items.

In this article, we’ll explore a better option: bulk digital gift cards. We’ll explain why they’re the smart, new go-to for trade show giveaways (hint: they’re more practical, more scalable, more affordable, and way more effective 🙌).

We’ll also walk through step-by-step how easy it is to start using digital trade show swag (even if your trade show is next week, or even tomorrow!⏱️)

💬 “Swag might get you a badge scan. A gift card can get you a conversation.”
—Andrew Flaro, Giftbit CX & Self Service Support Manager. 

Why you should consider doing trade show giveaways

First, the basics. If it’s your first time hosting a trade show booth, you might not have put much thought into what you’ll give away. I mean, aren’t all corporate gifts the same?

In a word, no.

When someone attends a trade show, they expect to get some ‘stuff.’

The desirability and functionality of that stuff for the recipients might be up for debate (Are you really going to use that keychain? Are you really going to take that stress ball home with you?).

But for the companies that are giving those incentives away, they’re definitely hoping to make a lasting impression—with good reason. A thoughtful giveaway can attract attendees while also creating brand visibility and making a memorable connection.

And getting down to brass tax, you can also use your promotional giveaways for lead generation, whether that’s for collecting contact info, getting people to sit through a demo, or both.

Not surprisingly, studies show that well-planned giveaways can boost brand recall and improve lead generation (in other words, trade show incentives work).

For example, according to the PPAI, 72.1% of people who receive a gift at a trade show will remember the company that gave it to them.

Ultimately, giveaways are about making every encounter count—whether that’s sparking a conversation or starting a relationship that leads to direct sales.

And when you choose a giveaway that people actually want—like digital gift cards that offer choice and flexibility—it turns a simple trade show interaction into an opportunity for long-term, meaningful engagement.

Bonus: This approach cuts down on waste and helps you better track your ROI, too. 🎉

💬 “There’s an opportunity cost to everything you do at a trade show. Make sure your swag earns its keep." —Giftbit CCO Nat Salvione.

Case study: Success at the HR Tech Show thanks to a simple QR code! 

We’ll explore the ins and outs further below, but our own trade show experiences show how well gift cards actually work. As they say, the proof is indeed in the pudding!

We’re a small team, and we’re judicious with our time and budget. When our Sales team attended the last HR Tech Conference in Toronto, we needed an easy and affordable way to stand out (especially next to the much bigger companies with much bigger booths all around us).

Our approach: offering $25 gift cards to everyone who scanned a QR code displayed on our trade booth banners.

Why we chose our approach:

This was a smart approach for many reasons.

We were already paying for the banners, so adding the QR code wasn’t an added cost. Zoe North (our brilliant Head of Marketing) created the QR easily in Canva.

We didn’t have to worry about having the right amount of swag at the booth, or pay for anything we didn’t use.

Each giveaway cost us exactly $25 and not a penny more, without any overhead.

It only took a few minutes for our marketing team to set this up, using a HubSpot + Zapier gift card integration.

To receive their incentive, an attendee just had to have a quick chat with Matthew Brossard (our brilliant Director of Business Development) or Sofia Baltasar (our brilliant Head of Customer Success).

Then the attendee simply used their phone to scan the QR code.

The QR code took recipients to a landing page where they could claim their reward, and then, 💥 boom:

• recipients got to choose whatever type of gift card they wanted from our global catalog
• we got a list of highly engaged leads and contacts for followup
• we created a memorable touchpoint and a real connection, driving brand awareness

And ... that’s it! All from a simple gift card integration through HubSpot and Zapier.

And the results?

We attracted almost 50% of all participants to our booth—not bad for few hours.

Of those leads, 25% went on to become paying customers, and many more are still in the pipeline.

And the average open rate for all our followup emails was 27.8%, indicating a strong level of continued brand engagement.

The best things to hand out at trade shows

Forget the tote bags, lip balms, bottle openers, and pop sockets. The best trade show giveaway ideas are digital.

Digital rewards offer flexibility and a range of benefits that physical swag simply can’t match. There's no need to pack and ship physical items, and you’re not stuck with 200 leftover t-shirts in the wrong size.

"There’s nothing worse than bringing 500 t-shirts and realizing no one wears extra smalls," says Nat. 😅

TL;DR: If your goal is to draw people in quickly and reward them without logistics headaches, digital is the way to go.

So if you’re debating between physical freebies or electronic rewards, here’s some factors you might not have considered.

Why digital gift cards make the best promotional products at trade shows

💬 “Gift cards are broadly appealing. They're immediately useful, lightweight, and easy to carry around. And if they're digital, you can also offer incredible variety and beat the usual swag bag." —Matt Brossard, Giftbit Director of Business Development.

Here are some other reasons why you might go digital for your next trade show promos:

• They’re budget-friendly.

Eliminate overhead. No need to manage printing, shipping, sizing, and leftovers. No need to anticipate the amount of quantities you need, risking either wasting money or running out too soon.

"You're only ever going to send exactly what you need," Andrew reminds us. "That's the beauty of virtual rewards."

Bonus: Giftbit doesn’t charge any markup beyond the face value of the cards you give. A $25 giveaway only ever costs you $25 (with bulk discounts available).

• They’re easy.

Say goodbye to surpluses, shortages, or cramming BPA-free water bottles into your luggage. Forget about packing extra suitcases or scrambling to adjust your order on the fly.

Sit back and enjoy a hassle-free, operationally-sound experience that lets your team focus on building connections rather than juggling logistics.

• They’re sustainable.

Digital options reduce waste and are eco-friendly. What’s better for the planet: branded gadgets that end up in the trash, or a digital gift card someone can use to buy something they’ll truly enjoy and value?

• They support branding efforts.

With access to a comprehensive global rewards catalog, you can offer gift cards from brands that your prospects already know and love, creating an immediate positive connection to your company.

Trying to impress a tech savvy audience? Offer Apple and Razer Gold gift cards. Or a sporty crowd? Align your brand with Adidas, Nike, Under Armour, or other wellness-related brands instead.

• They capture critical information.

Like Nat says, "digital gift cards let you collect more than just contact info—you can collect real insights."

Unlike physical giveaways that are handed out with no strings attached, digital gift cards require an email address (or other contact info) for delivery. This creates a natural opportunity to capture accurate contact details without seeming pushy.

• They’re flexible and customizable.

Use a gift card platform to tailor your giveaway value to the level of engagement. For example, you might use a quick $10 Starbucks gift card as a small token for a quick interaction (‘have a coffee on us!’). But you might think about upping that amount for demos or booking followup calls.

• They’re trackable.

Gift card email delivery is so easy to track. See when rewards are opened and redeemed, and use this info to better track ROI and inform followup outreach campaigns or to

• They work well across in-person, hybrid, and virtual events.

As trade shows increasingly incorporate virtual elements, digital gift cards are uniquely positioned to work across both in-person and online environments. Give the same high-quality incentive rewards to everyone, no matter how they’re engaging with you.

• They’re very popular.

Everyone loves swag they can actually use. Digital gift cards have dominated consumer wish lists for over 15 years, because people simply love ‘em. ❤️

Indeed, studies consistently show that non-cash incentives are more memorable than even straight cash. And we know that two out of three people who receive a gift card will always remember the company that gave it to them fondly.

Plus, trade show attendees already have bags crammed with full color brochures and branded swag. Gift cards are the perfect way to stand out at your next expo.

Better align your trade show incentives with your goals

Trade shows represent a significant investment for most companies. When you're dedicating time, money, and energy to an event, you want to make sure it’s worth it.

And that typically means having the right goals, and the right tools to meet those goals.

Of course, different departments are going to have slightly different goals.

Namely, Sales wants leads. Marketing wants brand awareness.

The good news? Digital swag works for both.

Great swag for marketing goals

Ask a marketer, and they’ll say trade shows are about presence, legitimacy, and memorability—and being seen as a key player in your industry.

Of course, you’re going to want to have a beautifully branded booth at your next event, and marketing might still insist on having a small branded token to give away (pens and stickers can fit the bill—not too expensive or unwieldy).

But don’t think that digital gift cards can also be part of this branded experience.

Of course, assuming you work with the right gift card company, you should be able to add your logo and create customized templates for your gift cards.

And don’t forget about that ‘branded currency’ (i.e., aligning yourself with the brands of the gift cards you’re offering).

But beyond this, think about other creative ways you might use gift cards to create memorable experiences, whether it’s through interactive booths or fun challenges. You might have a spin-the-wheel with varying gift card amounts, or create a branded landing page that hosted videos, sponsor shoutouts, and a “gift reveal” mechanic at the end. With a little planning, your digital gifts can be on-brand, interactive, and unforgettable.

Trust us: give your marketing team a little room to get creative, and they’re going to find lots of ways to use gift cards at your next trade show (and for other marketing incentives, too).

Great swag for lead gen

Ask your sales team, and they’ll likely tell you that attending trade shows is all about expanding their contact database and boosting sales. And here’s where digital trade show giveaways can really shine.

Like moths to a flame, people are drawn to gift cards. We all want or need ‘stuff.’ Free stuff that we get to pick for ourselves, in the comfort of our own homes? Priceless.

But of course, you don’t want just a bunch of looky-loos, or an unworkable list of unmotivated leads. Thankfully, if you come in with a smart plan, your digital gift cards can help you with very targeted lead gen.

Namely, with digital rewards, you can tier your incentives. A quick badge scan might earn a $5 card. An in-depth conversation? Maybe $25 or even $100. That level of customization just isn’t possible with traditional swag.

And it gets better—sending a digital reward creates an opportunity to gather more data. Before receiving a card, you might require attendees to fill out a short form: What interested you about our booth? What challenges are you trying to solve? That’s gold for follow-up conversations.🤩

How to use digital gift cards as promotional items at your next trade show

Let’s assume you’re sold on the potential and practicality of gift cards, and you’re going to use them at your next event. How are you going to do that?

You might think the best and/or only way to do this is to bulk order a bunch of cards, and then manually track distribution using spreadsheets.

Of course, this approach can work, and you might use it to test the waters.

But you’ll quickly find that it’s also a time-consuming and error-prone approach that creates extra work for your team members.

For example, tracking which cards have been claimed quickly becomes a headache, potentially leading to duplicate gifts or missed opportunities. It also complicates follow-up marketing efforts by creating disconnected data silos.

The better, scalable, long-term solution is to work with a trusted gift card distributor with transparent pricing and an incredible user experience.

That’s because a modern digital rewards platform allows you to automate reward distribution using pre-set triggers tied to specific prospect actions, such as watching a product demo or submitting a qualification form. This ensures timely, consistent delivery while allowing your team to stay focused on the conversations that matter.

Equally important is the ability to monitor reward activity in real time. Knowing exactly who received and redeemed a reward helps sales teams prioritize their outreach and identify signals of strong buying intent. Plus, with simple CRM integration, that data doesn’t sit in isolation—it becomes part of a lead’s overall profile, enabling more relevant and responsive follow-up.

And better still—the same platform you use to give out trade show incentives can be used for a variety of use cases, ranging from sales incentives to employee rewards to payouts and survey incentives and a whole lot more.

How to automate trade show incentives

Setting up automated digital gift cards for your trade show is probably easier than you’re thinking.

For example, with Giftbit, it’s free to set up an account, and our onboarding team is here to support even the smallest of clients.

Here’s how to get started:

1. Create your account & campaign:
   Create a free Giftbit account, then set up a campaign specifically for your trade show. Instead of managing a bulk order on Excel, you can easily design and launch your promotional campaign through Giftbit’s user-friendly dashboard. This centralizes everything from gift card selection to tracking redemptions, saving you from manual data entry and reducing errors.
2. Choose your gift cards :
   Decide on whether you want to give recipients access to the full gift card catalog, if you’d like to offer just one or a few specific brands.
3. Head off to the races:
   From there, you can decide if you want to upload a list of contacts through CSV. If you’re using gift cards for a dynamic purpose like lead capture, you might consider using a Zapier integration to automatically send gift cards as soon as a trade show interaction qualifies. To do this, you might:
   • Integrate your campaign with your CRM or email marketing software, ensuring that every lead is captured and followed up with promptly.
   • Set up rules and triggers for delivery so that you can focus on engaging with attendees rather than worrying about logistics.

If this last step sounds like a lot, trust us: it’s not. Most of our clients can set up an effective Zapier trigger in ten minutes or so. 🙌

We’ve also got lots of help resources on the website, plus hands-on, reliable support for all clients.

If you've got any questions before you get started, be sure to book a call with Matt and his team. 

Use better swag for your next trade show

Digital gift cards are flexible, easy to distribute, and scalable—but their real power comes when they're deployed with purpose. Whether your trade show goals are lead generation or brand recognition, they offer unique advantages that traditional swag will never match match.

All you need is a free Giftbit account to start sending effective trade show giveaways. Create one now.