Tag: swag

Between budget restraints, tariffs, shifting trade policies and AI everything, it’s been one hell of a trip around the sun for b-to-b event marketers. But this industry always rises to the occasion, and the meetings, conferences and exhibits delivered in 2025 were no exception. With 2026 just around the corner, we rounded up some of […]

As the event industry embarks on a new season of market volatility, many event marketers are forced to make difficult decisions about what stays and what goes in their event budgets. And what frequently “goes” are the well-intentioned sustainability initiatives that often start strong in the planning or conceptual phase, but lose steam when costs […]

Event marketers are more conscious than ever about excessive waste, and that has led to all-new thinking, and engagement strategies, around a quintessential event and trade show activity: the giveaway. In fact, it’s a conversation that event marketers have been locked in for the better part of a decade—remember Hershey’s Take5 Swag Exchange campaign at […]

The PPAI Expo 2025 brought more than 10,000 suppliers and distributors to the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Jan. 13-16. The largest and longest-running promotional products trade show, it’s a great barometer of the industry as the tide shifts towards more personalization, transparency, and experiential gifting. EM swapped our uncool ankle socks for […]

They call NRF “Retail’s Big Show” for a reason. For one, the sheer amount of market innovation and engineering presented at the New York City-based trade show is vast. And, from an experiential marketing point of view, the expo floor is a feast for the senses. During our spin around the Javits Center this year, […]