Sample article. Five hundred attendees sounds like a big number until you divide the budget by it. Most conference swag lands between $8 and $18 a head once you include decoration and shipping, and the items that survive the flight home are rarely the most expensive ones.
Start with the two items people keep
A well-made tote and an insulated bottle get used for years. Everything else — pens, stress balls, lanyards — is thrown away in the hotel room. Put two thirds of the budget into those two items and treat the rest as optional.
Where to spend less
Order the tote in one color of print, not three. Skip the individual polybags unless the kit is shipped to homes. Choose a bottle in one colorway so you hit the higher quantity break instead of splitting the run.
Count backwards from the date
Proof approval, ten business days of production and up to four days of ground transit means the order should be placed three weeks out. Rush is available on select items, but it costs more than a well-timed order.
