Dealing with the Bag Man!

Submitted by: Brian Keobke CME

I was at a trade show last week and discovered a whole new type of exhibitor competition. What I once just took for granted is the humble plastic bag distributed by so many exhibitors.
For you see, I was given a small bag when I registered and picked up my credentials. I was only two or three booths into the exhibit hall when the first salesman jumped in to my path to offer me a slightly larger plastic bag – “I’m sure you will need it”. Not wanting to disappoint him I took the larger bag.

It was a short distance after that when yet another exhibitor offered me a cotton fabric bag! Wanting to appear “environmentally friendly” I instantly cast a look of disdain on my plastic bag and gladly accepted his fabric bag.

Now I thought for sure I could continue through the rest of the exhibit hall and focus my attention on the exhibitors themselves. Unfortunately, it was much like running a gauntlet with several more exhibitors offering me their version of a bag.

I almost made it out of the exhibit hall unscathed until I entered the last row of exhibitors. There lurking for me was an extremely gleeful salesperson who proudly exclaimed to me that “he knew” I would definitely want their bag as it was “larger than any other bag at the show”. Clearly he had done his research as he deftly slipped my bag into his and exclaimed “not only is it bigger than any of the other bags at the show, we have a shoulder strap!”

The irony is that this particular salesman was so excited about his bag he didn’t even take the time to tell me about their products! I don’t know, perhaps his job at the show was to make sure that they did not return home with any bags left over.
The moral of this whole story? When you send your staff to a trade show with boxes full of promotional items you need to make sure that they know how to use them effectively and in each situation.

Have you received anything of a trade show that you didn’t expect to get? If you have, please let the rest of the exhibit industry know by responding in the comment box below.

PS: If anyone would like a free bag I now have quite a selection to choose from!