30 Virtual Swag Ideas That Will Leave an Impression

KEY POINTS

• Skip shipping and save costs, learn how to create a virtual swag bag to thank customers.
• Consider quality eGifts so your swag bag isn’t filled with throw-away items.
• Browse 30 virtual gifts and experiences beyond gift cards.

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Are you planning to host a virtual event for your business? You’re not alone. Thanks to the impact COVID-19 had on in-person conferences, companies and marketers have shifted to virtual events. This includes how businesses handle their branded swag bags.

So how do you get virtual attendees their branded swag bags when you have a virtual event? Well, this is where virtual swag bags come into play.

If you’re thinking about creating your own digital swag bag, then you may be wondering what makes a good virtual gift? So let’s take a closer look at what virtual swag is and how to select what to put in it.

What is Virtual Swag?

Virtual swag is a digital gift bag companies send to customers, prospects, and event attendees. It may consist of items that are virtual, such as video content, eGift cards, etc. Virtual swag comes with a variety of benefits, which makes them appealing to both companies and recipients. For example, they’re eco-friendly since there’s no shipping, and they’re received instantly.

What’s Wrong With Event Swag?

There are many messy pain points when it comes to managing physical swag at events. To name some:

1. Logistics

Let’s say your brand wants to give out t-shirts with a company logo to all attendees— great! Time to design a t-shirt from an online retailer, order eight different shirt sizes and cuts, estimate an order size, arrange to ship to your event location, and physically move and set up the t-shirt booth. All this, before ever interacting with conference attendees. “Swag logistics” are time-consuming at best, and an organizational nightmare at worst. Instead of spending valuable time connecting with leads, brand reps supervise boxes of plastic goodies.

2. Waste

These complicated logistics waste valuable marketing team hours. Not only that, but traditional swag production models can generate a lot of waste.

Unless you have an item that truly delights your target audience, those conference face masks or tote bags will end up in a landfill very soon. 92% of consumers are more likely to trust a company that supports environmental issues. It’s important to take the eco-impact of your swag program into account.

3. Lack of Personalization

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) and big data have become more important than ever for marketing teams in the last few years.

The trend is clear: personalization is key. Consumers are exposed to nearly 10,000 ads every day. Brands should provide swag designed at the individual level to cut through the noise. When focusing on mass-appeal items like t-shirts or chapstick, they miss opportunities for more personal connections.

4. High Risk, Little Reward

What if your conference swag strategy flops? The only thing worse than hundreds of unused merch items at the end of an event is the price tag that goes along with it. Virtual swag stores can offer the same benefits with none of the inventory risks.

What Is a Virtual Swag Store?

A virtual swag store is an e-commerce experience provided by corporate gifting platforms where individuals receive unique gift codes that they can redeem for physical or virtual items. Event attendees can select anything from an Amazon gift card, to a new yoga mat, or a sample tasting from a local chocolatier.

In short, you skip the headaches of managing countless boxes of conference swag.

Marketing teams can now simply send attendees cards with a link to their online swag redemption page. Individuals select from a curated list of swag items and input their information to receive the gift. From there, the gifting platform (such as Sendoso), handles all order and delivery logistics to the recipient. Marketing teams can set up gifting campaigns within the platform, view the success of their swag, and track KPIs.

Marketing teams can send swag codes through email, gift bags, or just about any other medium you can think of. Imagine receiving a personalized swag code at a conference booth, as a giveaway prize, or after attending an online event.

Benefits of Virtual Swag

With virtual gift storefronts, marketing teams can benefit from successful swag campaigns with none of the risks involved. It offers a better attendee experience for everyone.

Digital swag interfaces mimic the ways that consumers prefer to shop. Online shopping metrics are rising quickly, and over 68% of Americans shop online. Virtual swag shops adapt to a growing retail trend that consumers are already comfortable with.

Attendees prefer virtual swag because it’s more convenient. Carrying around a bulky swag bag all day during a conference or fitting it into your suitcase Tetris-style for the flight home can be annoying. Virtual swag simplifies the gifting process for your leads: it can be as easy as pocketing a card with a QR code.

Reduces wasted budget and unwanted swag

The right amount of inventory, every time. No more estimating inventory, crossing your fingers that you ordered the exact right number of items to maximize profits. With virtual gifting platforms, you only pay for gifts that your prospects accept.

Gifting platforms also eliminate “swag logistics.” No more purchasing, holding, and shipping inventory. Event planners can then focus on delivering a more holistic event experience versus arranging FedEx deliveries.

Fits into a modern demand generation strategy

Virtual swag can automate your event follow-up. Individuals can book a follow-up meeting or ask questions about their experience when redeeming swag! Easily funnel event information into your marketing and sales platforms.

With virtual gifting, you can connect with your target audience twice! At most conferences and events, you’ll be competing with dozens of other brands for your audience’s attention. It can be difficult to stand out. However, when your lead selects a physical swag item from a virtual swag bag, they’ll automatically interact with your brand a second time when their item arrives in the mail. By selecting a gift themselves, your audience will already have a baseline level of engagement. By the time their package arrives in the mail, they’ll be an even warmer lead.

Lastly, marketing teams now have access to crucial data about their swag campaigns. Easily see at-a-glance how your swag campaign boosts KPIs. With B2B gifting platforms like Sendoso, data dashboards are automatically created with any new gifting campaign. Teams can track created gift codes, accepted codes, meetings booked, and other conversion stats in one solution.

Sets your brand apart from the competition

The average event has approximately 14 sponsors. Whoa. With over a dozen other companies competing for your prospect’s attention at each event, virtual swag programs are a way to stand out in a memorable way. Offer leads a unique item they truly want and look forward to using. After all, they picked it out themselves!

Our Revenue Marketing leader Nina Butler shared with Goldcast why it’s crucial to connect with recipients on a deeper level.

“Surprise and delight with moments of unexpected happiness…that’s what’s going to be the sticky factor. That’s what’s going to differentiate the experiences your brand creates from those your competitors create.”

5 Creative Virtual Swag Gift Ideas To Try

To get the wheels turning on possible swag ideas for conference attendees, aim to be a bit unconventional. You could use gift cards (no complaints there!), but the more thoughtful and relevant to your brand or the event, the better.

1. Food delivery gift cards — For those traveling to in-person events, they often skip a meal or two and would appreciate having a bite made possible by you.
2. Office decor — Forget the pens. Help your booth attendees have a conversation starter on their next Zoom meeting (perhaps with your AE?). Plants, art, or just creative gadgets can be a hit.
3. Smart devices — Ask any Google Home or Amazon Alexa user, they can never have enough smart speakers. Let them pick out which smart device for their home while heading back home.
4. Backpacks — Instead of a branded tote bag, opt for a quality backpack or messenger bag for their laptop. Some people have bulky gaming systems and others prefer to pack light. It’s an easy choice for your swag store.
5. Healthy snack crates — Add a themed snack delivery that can be arranged when they get back home rather than just a food gift card. Eating right on the go hasn’t been any easier.

The Sendoso virtual swag store puts recipients first no matter which items you pick. For some, they already have enough “stuff.”  In that case, add a charitable donation to your swag selections and know that you’re connecting with people in a more meaningful, sustainable way.

Conferences Are Just the Start

In-person events are a no-brainer when it comes to offering online swag options. But there are dozens more applications for these customizable gift codes.

The pandemic accelerated the adoption of online events. Looking ahead, 45% of B2B events will be virtual. Easily generate attendee gift codes for virtual conferences, webinars, and other virtual events in a matter of minutes.

Here’s a new idea. Add a “pick anything” gift to a spin-to-win prize wheel to reward visitors to your booth or e-commerce storefront. It’s a modern spin on a classicly enjoyable activity.

Virtual gifting can also level up your sales and customer success processes. Gifting strategies cut through the noise and offer your target audience something that they truly value, making virtual gifting an ideal fit for effective sales, marketing, and customer loyalty initiatives.

Example: Next time a sales team wants to make a great first impression on a decision-maker, send a code for a gift selection after a meeting. Leverage AI and personalization to make a memorable impact.

6sense, an account engagement program, generated over a 537% ROI through using Sendoso's personal gifting platform. We collaborated with 6sense to offer virtual event swag codes for attendees to choose what they wanted.

For example, 6sense’s customer success team can now instantly send promotional products whenever a customer reaches a new milestone or celebrates a round of funding. Sendoso's personalized gifting functionality helped them strengthen relationships in a genuine way.

Make Your Next B2B Conference the Best One Ever

Gone are the days of event organizers wasting time and budget on thousands of water bottles that are soon forgotten about. Gain flexibility, cost savings, and delight your event attendees by offering a virtual swag storefront.

Virtual conference swag programs are highly customizable and propel your team to the future of corporate gifting. While in-person events are ramping up again, brands frequently interact with target audiences online through webinars, social media, and more. Virtual gifting platforms allow your team to scale and transform swag, gifting, and incentive programs while remaining cost-effective.

What Do You Put in a Swag Bag?

Whether you go with a 100% virtual swag bag or send one to your e-conference attendees, you’ll want to ensure you choose products your guests will enjoy. This is essential, especially when typically most promotional products are thrown away before the guest arrives back home.

Swag bags have received a bad wrap over the years because they tend to contain things people don’t need or want. So as you’re putting together your virtual swag, be sure to keep this in mind.

For instance, let’s say you’re hosting a virtual health event. You can send your guests a branded swag bag filled with items they can use to stay healthy. This may include things like:

• Durable workout/gym bag
• Water bottle with timelines for drinking
• Box of energy bars
• Smoothie recipe book
• Fun, branded t-shirt with a meme or workout saying on the front

The idea is to find things that are relevant to your audience, so they’re more inclined to keep them.

What is a Good Virtual Gift?

Now, if you decide to go 100% virtual with your gift, then you may be wondering what type of things you can send your guests. Well, you can base it on things like your audience, the event topic, your industry, and so on.

Here’s a look at several virtual swag ideas to get your creativity flowing:

• Virtual fitness classes
• eGift cards
• Virtual wine tastings
• Online courses
• eBooks
• App subscriptions

Think of things you can send via email that would appeal to your target audience. If you’re worried about driving more people to your event, then check out 17 best practices on virtual events.

Next, let’s take a look at some digital swag bag ideas you can use for your upcoming virtual event.

30 Virtual Swag Ideas to Send Your Virtual Event Guests

What’s great about virtual swag is that you can use a mix of physical swag bags and digital swag. So we put together a list you can use to spur your own virtual swag ideas.

1. Virtual Fitness Class eGift

Send with Sendoso via: Dryft Live

Being stuck at home can be frustrating and lead to inactivity. Help your virtual event guests get into and stay in shape with a virtual fitness class with Dryft Live.

2. Cookies in a Jar

Send with Sendoso via: Bonjour Bakehouse

Choose between a variety of cookies for your event guests to pop into the oven. Each jar comes with the cookie mix inside, just follow the recipe card, and they’ll have a delicious snack to eat while watching your event.

3. 4-Pack Wine Kit

Send with Sendoso via: In Good Taste

Here’s a great gift for wine lovers. It comes with some of the highest-rated wines, including Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Rose, and Pinot Noir. Each one is 187 ml and ready to pop open and drink.

4. Whoopie Pie Baking Kit

Send with Sendoso via: Baketivity

This is an excellent gift for guests who have children. Or who just enjoy baking and snacking on sugary treats. The kit comes with eight Whoopie pies, a children’s activity book, and all the ingredients you need.

5. Afternoon Tea Gift Set

Send with Sendoso via: KHYVA

Some people like coffee, and others like tea. Here’s a wonderful gift set for tea time lovers. It comes with a mix of tea flavors, including Ginger biscuits, chocolate drop shortbread, Demerara shortbread, and salted caramel biscuits.

6. Braided Money Tree

Send with Sendoso via: Leon & George

Wish the guests that attended your event good luck and prosperity with this Money Tree gift. It comes with a gorgeous braided trunk and a beautiful canopy of leaves that grow and expand over time. It starts as a miniature, making it perfect as a desktop plant.

7. Branded Oreos

Send with Sendoso via: Veronica’s Treats

Turn your branded virtual swag into a tasty treat with this oreo box. It comes with 24 hand-dipped handcrafted oreo cookies. You can have just your logo or yours alongside a sponsor’s.

8. Spiked Hard Seltzer Bucker

Send with Sendoso via: Gourmet Gift Basket

Turn your virtual event into a virtual party with this hard seltzer bucket. It comes with two truly hard seltzers, four white claw hard seltzers, lime cookies, Chichester mix, cranberry pomegranate clusters, roasted and salted almonds, and trail mix.

9. Seasonal Fruit Staples

Send with Sendoso via: The Fruit Guys

Give your virtual event attendees a healthy treat to snack on. This comes with a mix of apples, citrus, bananas, and other seasonal fruit. There are 16 servings, enough to enjoy with a group or over time.

10. The Weekend Kit

Send with Sendoso via: Present Day

The Weekend Kit comes with a variety of items you’ll enjoy after a long week of work. It comes with coffee, playing cards, chocolate, soap, a candle, hand cream, and a Turkish towel.

11. 4 Assorted Brownies

Send with Sendoso via: Fairytale Brownies

When you want quality brownies, this is where you turn to get them. They’re all handcrafted using small batches, and only all-natural ingredients are used. It’s also certified kosher and individually wrapped to keep them fresh. There’s the option to include an individualized gift message card too.

12. Meditation Subscription

Send with Sendoso via: Headspace

Want to give virtual swag your attendees can enjoy for a lifetime? Then buy a meditation subscription from Headspace to teach them how to destress, focus, and be happier.

13. Charitable Scratch-Off Cards

Send with Sendoso via: Lotto Love

Give your virtual event guests a feel-good gift where they get the opportunity to give back. These lotto scratch-off cards guarantee a win, awarding those in need with nutritious meals, clean water, literacy tools, and solar energy. It’s an excellent way to engage your audience in a charitable event.

14. Pinata filled with candy

Send with Sendoso via: Pintagram

Here’s a fun way to spend an afternoon following a virtual event. Fill your pinata with treats and a unique message on the gift to make it personalized.

15. Branded Box of Cookies

Send with Sendoso via: The Cravory

Turn your virtual event into a memorable one filled with delicious cookies by The Cravory. It’ll arrive in a branded box so they know exactly where it came from and who to thank for the tasty treats.

16. Mug Warmer

Send with Sendoso via: Amazon

Here’s a mug warmer, perfect for coffee, hot cocoa, and tea lovers. It plugs into the wall and fits nicely atop a desk. There are three temperature settings to choose from and an auto-shutoff mode after four hours.

17. Cat is Good

Send with Sendoso via: Amazon

Conduct a survey among attendees to see who are cat owners and then send them this cat gift basket. It comes with all sorts of fun toys for cats and kittens to play with.

18. Bark Box Monthly Subscription

Send with Sendoso via: Amazon

Give a survey of your attendees to see who are dog owners and then subscribe them to Bark Box. This comes with items to keep pups entertained, including dog chew toys, natural god treats, dental chews, and more.

19. Healthy Snack Haul

Send with Sendoso via: Knack Shops

Promote healthy snacking for your virtual event with this health snack basket. It comes with plantain chips, chai nut butter bar, beef jerky, crispy fruit slices, mango tango salsa, and pistachio cherry mix.

20. Bluetooth Selfie Stick Tripod

Send with Sendoso via: Amazon

Give your attendees an easy way to record themselves using a selfie stick that turns into a tripod stand. It’s compatible with iPhone and Samsung smartphones.

21. Fitbit Inspire 2 Health

Send with Sendoso via: Amazon

Hosting a virtual event that promotes health and well-being? Then consider getting your attendees a Fitbit watch to track their health. This one comes with a black band, all-day activity tracking, and tools for better sleep.

22. Branded Golf Balls

Send with Sendoso via: Amazon

Does your target audience enjoy teeing off at the golf course (or their backyard)? Then send them branded golf balls from the leading manufacturer of golf balls — Titleist Pro V1.

23. Dozen Branded Cupcakes

Send with Sendoso via: Georgetown Cupcakes

This cupcake box comes with 12 treats, which you can brand with your logo on top. You can also personalize your gift with seasonal decorations and gift notes to recipients.

24. Wine Crate

Send with Sendoso via: Yorkville’s

This wine bottle comes with a gorgeous create box, fig preserve, and olives. It’s a great way to celebrate your attendees for showing up to your virtual event.

25. 4″ Mini Glass Geometric Terrarium

Send with Sendoso via: Amazon

Add your logo these terrariums to help your event guests remember your brand. This kit comes with three tabletop planter centerpieces for succulent plants (plants aren’t included).

26. Men’s Beard Grooming Kit

Send with Sendoso via: Amazon

Give your male attendees a grooming kit so they’re always ready and looking their best. This kit comes with beard wax, growth oil, beard balm, beard shampoo, beard brush and comb, a storage bag, and an e-book.

27. Luxury Spa Gift Set

Send with Sendoso via: Amazon

Here’s the perfect gift for your female attendees. This handcrafted spa kit comes with organic shea butter soap, natural oils, and Epsom salt bath bombs.

28. Bean Box with Chocolate and Coffee

Send with Sendoso via: Amazon

This kit comes with four varieties of whole coffee beans, including Zoka Coffee, Drip Blend, Roaster’s Choice, and El Salvador coffee. It also has chocolate from white to dark.

29. Mini Corn Hole Board

Send with Sendoso via: Amazon

Allow your event guests to enjoy a game of corn hole wherever they are — at home, the office, or a small gathering. It comes with a collapsible board and a carrying bag.

30. Amazon Echo Dot

Send with Sendoso via: Amazon

Turn your guests homes into smart homes with an Echo Dot. It allows you to control music, timers, search for information, find news, and act as an intercom.

Send the Best Virtual Swag to Your Online Event Guests

We hope these 30 virtual swag bag ideas will help you with planning your next virtual field marketing event.

Is there an easy way to send virtual swag bags to event attendees?

Whether you’re trying to increase your virtual event attendance numbers, or you’re trying to book follow-up meetings after your event, Sendoso can help.

We offer a platform to corporations that takes on all the leg work of creating and sending virtual swag bags.

Here’s how our process works:

1. First, we’ll help you create your sending strategy. We’ve helped clients increase event attendance and book follow-up meetings. Whatever your goals are, let’s talk about your specific campaign.
2. Next, let’s create your virtual or digital swag bag. You get to choose from limitless unique gift and sending options. If you want to personalize the swag bag and packaging with your logo, we can do that as well.
3. Simply click to send from tools you’re already using, like Salesforce and Marketo to name a few. Our professionals will then handpick your swag bag gifts from our warehouse, pack them and ship them out.
4. Send Tracker shows you the progress of your virtual swag bag in every step, so you can time your event registration follow-up or post-meeting follow-up perfectly.
5. Finally, measure the effectiveness of your offline and online marketing efforts with our Analytics Dashboard.

Ready to start on your virtual or digital swag bags? Request a demo today to learn more about designing and sending your virtual event bags with the click of a button!