gimmee | Agile' Marketing Services

I'm against the use of gimmees (freebies, give-aways, junk, etc) in trade show booths. If you don't start doing it, you'll never have to stop. Just like smoking cigarettes. Both can be bad for your health.

I've had a dozen conversations like this one, but it serves as a good example. I'd had a booth at several B2B trade shows where I was near the same printing company. During this one, they were giving away pads that looked like melon slices. At the top was printed "Honeydew List." They had stacks of other pads out on display, but this was the most popular by far. People were coming by and literally taking away half a dozen at a time, without asking or even being talked to by the booth staff. Word was getting around, apparently, as I heard people coming up the aisle saying, "Those honeydew lists are around here someplace." By the middle of the afternoon, those pads were all gone.

My wife and I just returned from St Martin in the Caribbean. We were staying on the French side (there's also a Dutch side to the island) in the town of Grand Case. Yes, it was a vacation, but I'm always on the lookout for new and unique marketing ideas. Sometimes, like on this trip, I get whacked over the head with how effective "the basics" are, and how time-tested techniques can – and should – be used.

Grand Case is the culinary capitol of the Caribbean. I don't know who first bestowed that sobriquet, but I'd say it fits. The Boulevard is narrow, with cars parked haphazardly on either side of the street, tourists walking along it and other cars and motorbikes zipping between them. The Boulevard, at less than a mile long, is also home to 20 or more restaurants. While some of these are barbecue joints, serving things like pork ribs, chicken and other "home cooked" specialties, most of the restaurants serve fancy French cuisine, mostly in open-air establishments. Half of these. the ones on the north side of the Boulevard, are right on the beach, and offer spectacular views.