My love for race merch might (๐ข๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต) supersede my hate for junk swag.
Which leads me to ask: is there ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ a good time for junk swag?ย My answer might surprise you. ๐ค
My husband finished theย GFNY Franceย Grand Fondo yesterday, an 85-mile bike race in the hills of northern NJ. At the expo, he was handed the following bright green branded things:
๐ข drawstring bag
๐ข a mini pouch bag
๐ข luggage tag
๐ข eye mask
๐ข pen
This part is key: he was also given a pretty bomb neon riding Jersey that everyone in the race has to wear to compete.
In general, I love the bright green branding and the “Be a Pro for a Day” slogan.ย The eye mask is pretty clever (though junky) and I can see people using the luggage tag when they’re traveling to races. The pen and the two bags are semi-useful trash. ๐คทโโ๏ธ๐๏ธ
I’ve never had any use — not one — for a drawstring bag. Why do we still make these?
๐๐๐๐ค ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ง ๐ฉ๐จ๐ข๐ง๐ญ, ๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐ ๐ ๐จ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ง๐ค ๐ฌ๐ฐ๐๐ ?ย ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐๐ฌ ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฌ๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ:
๐ข the junk items are strongly branded (like these) and have clever uses that are appropriate for your audience
๐ข โจyou also give out a high-quality itemโจ that includes some choice (in this case, size)
๐ข there are options to buy high quality merch of your choosing (in this case, these were at the expo)
So in the end, yes, you can sometimes (rarely) give out junk swag with my blessing, as long as you meet these three criteria.
What do you think? Do you enjoy swag bags like this? And most importantly, have you ever (ever!) used a drawstring bag??