Why is a Conference Bag still a Good Corporate Gift?

By Kim Vermaak 07 January 2014 The simple conference bag has stood the test of time in the

corporate gifting market. Conference bags are use over and over again giving them an excellent cost per impression rate. With proper thoughts, your firm can still get good mileage out of conference bags. When I started out in the industry, you had the “huge” selection of navy or black conference bags to choose from. Anything else had to be custom made and so this conference bag option was reserved for the best planners as the lead time for custom conference bags was so long. Nowadays there is a much wider selection of stock conference bags in a wide variety of colours. If you get a good and functional design, the conference bags will be used again and again. With many more affordable laptop packages available, through cell phone packages and or though leading banks more and more people are using laptops and tablets. That means mobile offices are now no longer a futuristic visions, they are available now and here. This has greatly increased the use of conference bags and laptop trolley bags. I personally use the ladies laptop handbag. It has a compartment for a tablet, a small pouch for my personal items such as a lipstick, pens, a coin purse, etc. It carries a 17ich screen laptop and I also can fit a 3 presentation folders in it. If I remove the laptop and only use an IPad, I can also fit our rather bulky corporate gifting catalogue inside it, as well as a small cosmetic bag and my hairbrush, making it the ideal mobile office bag for a female executive. When choosing a conference bag or laptop bag, think about the following: Who is person receiving the conference bag? Are they an executive or are they at a managerial level. If it is a top executive, then they will not be reusing a basic document bag. For an executive, you can consider the leather laptop bags or a lower cost yet still executive looking lichee conference bag. What kinds of activities will be at your conference? If it is a long conference with lots of workshops and note taking, then choose a conference bag that has pen compartments, enough space for files and a side pocket for a water bottle. If there are masses of large files at big policy making sessions, then a trolley bag will be a better option for the delegates at this type of conference as no one wants to lug around huge files over the course of a conference using a shoulder strap of a conference bag. Do you want your brand to have repeat viewing? If you are only interested in your bag being used at the event, then you can go for a lower budget. If however, you want this bag to have longevity, then spend more on a functional conference bag that can be used frequently. I personally like trolley bags for this purpose. One with a small branding plaque, which is subtle enough for an executive to be prepared to use again, but still gives your brand presence. The reason that I like laptop trolley bags is that some of them can also be used as overnight bags for a short business trip. I like Europa Laptop Trolley Bag. It has a great stylish look. We have engraved logos onto bags before and this also gives a subtle branding. What is your budget? Balance your budget with the impression that you want to create. Rather spend more on one great item than give out lots of little cheap items. Remember that for the duration of your conference all these delegates are going to be walking billboards advertising your product. If you were a stranger passing by, what would you think of the company whose logo is on those conference bags? For more information about corporate gifts for conferences and exhibitions, contact Belle Regalo on info@belleregalo.co.za or call us on (011) 593 2450 or 082 948 7461.