Trade Show Giveaways UK: Ideas by Budget and Better Ways to Hand Them Out

This guide covers both halves of the job: you'll find exhibition giveaway ideas at three budget levels, what makes an item worth carrying home, and five ways to hand giveaways out so visitors stop, play and talk to your team. It finishes with how many to order and when to order them.

We've supplied games to exhibition stands since 2009, at venues from the NEC Birmingham to ExCeL London, so the advice below is based on what we see on real stands.

What Makes a Giveaway Worth Having?

A giveaway pays for itself when it leaves the hall in someone's bag and gets used afterwards. Three things decide whether or not that happens.

It's useful after the show

People keep what they'll use at their desk, in the car or at home: a phone stand, a decent pen, a tote bag that survives the weekly shop. A good test is whether you'd use it yourself in a normal working week.

Your brand is visible but not overpowering

Without your logo, the item does nothing for you once the visitor gets home. A logo covering a whole notebook, though, makes people less likely to use it in front of their own clients. A small, neat mark on something used every day will be seen far more often than a large one on something kept in a drawer.

It suits the people you want to meet

Engineers at a manufacturing show, buyers at a retail fair and students at a careers event want different things. Think about who you want to stop, not who will take anything free.

Size and weight matter too. Visitors often walk between halls all day, and some travel home by train, so small items that fit in a pocket or bag are more likely to make it home.

Trade Show Giveaway Ideas by Budget

The prices below are rough per-item guides for branded stock ordered in quantities of a few hundred. Your actual cost depends on the supplier, quantity and print method, so treat them as a starting point for your budget rather than a quote.

Most stands work best with two or three of these levels. A small item for everyone who stops, a better item for people who engage, and a handful of hero prizes gives the whole stand something to aim for. The same approach works for event giveaways at conferences, product launches and open days, so these giveaway ideas for events apply well beyond the exhibition hall.

Your own products can be the hero prize too. When Baylis & Harding showcased their Christmas range to Sainsbury's at the CBS Arena in Coventry, the prizes in their branded crane were products from that range, so every winner left with one.

Once you've chosen your levels, the next question is who gets which item, and that comes down to how you hand them out.

Why the Way You Hand Out Giveaways Matters

Picture two stands with the same branded water bottles. On the first, the bottles sit in a crate at the front. On the second, visitors play a quick game to win one.

The crate stand gives bottles to anyone walking past, including people who never break stride and never find out what the company does. Stock can be gone by mid-afternoon, and the team has no record of who took it.

The game stand gets more from the same stock:

• Visitors stop and spend time on the stand rather than reaching across it
• Your team has an easy opening line: "Fancy a go?"
• People watching form a small crowd, and a crowd draws more people in
• Winners feel they earned the prize, so they're more likely to remember where it came from
• You control the pace, so stock lasts for the whole show
• You can ask for contact details in exchange for a play

Running out early is often a hand-out problem rather than an ordering problem. When nothing sits between the visitor and the item, people take a handful. A game adds a few seconds of effort, which is enough to slow that down.

Prize games add that step for you, and each one suits a different kind of prize.

Five Ways to Hand Out Trade Show Giveaways

All five games below work with giveaways you supply, and all of them can be wrapped in your branding. Our team delivers, sets up and collects each one, so your main job is choosing the prizes. You can see the full range on our Prize Games page.

1. Prize Crane: For Small Items in Capsules

Players use a joystick to steer the claw over a capsule, drop it, then carry the capsule to the chute. Each capsule holds a small item such as a keyring, sticker, pin badge or figurine. You can also put vouchers or tokens in some capsules that match a prize list, so a lucky grab wins one of your hero prizes.

Our exhibition crane runs on a "prize every time" basis, with no coins and no countdown clock. Everyone who plays leaves with something, and players can take their time, which keeps them on your stand for longer. It needs a space of 0.8m x 1.2m.

Baylis & Harding filled theirs with products from their Christmas collection and had the crane wrapped in their branding to match the stand. The Prize Crane page has the full specs and branding options.

2. Prize Wheel: For Tiered Prizes

Visitors spin the wheel, and the arrow stops on a numbered section that matches your prize list. The wheel can be made with 10, 15 or 30 sections, and you decide what each one wins. Most sections can be a small item, with one or two set aside for the hero prize, so every spin has a chance of something better without your best stock going too quickly.

It needs a 1.1m x 1.1m space and no power, so it suits smaller stands. It also needs no strength or speed to play, which makes it easy for every visitor to join in. Lidl UK used a branded wheel across six in-store promotions, with prizes taken from the bakery, fruit and wine ranges it was promoting. Find out more about the Prize Wheel.

3. Giant Gashapon Capsule Machine: For Surprise Items

Players turn the handle and a capsule drops out with a mystery prize inside. It suits small collectible items, and you could add a few capsules holding a voucher for a bigger prize. People want to see what they've got, and so does everyone watching.

The machine needs a 1m square space and stands around 1.8m tall, so it's easy to spot from the aisle. A Branded Capsule Bin can be added so empty capsules don't end up on your stand floor. Branding prices are listed on the Giant Gashapon Capsule Vending Machine page.

4. Plinko: For Prize Levels Everyone Can See

Players drop a disc from the top of a peg board and watch it bounce down into one of the numbered prize sections at the bottom. You can brand those sections with your own prizes, so visitors can see what they're playing for before they start. Onlookers tend to follow the disc all the way down.

Plinko needs 1m x 1m and no power, and players take turns dropping a disc. See Plinko for branding options.

5. Cash Grabber: For Vouchers and Codes

One player at a time steps into an enclosed booth, and a fan blows vouchers or notes around them. They have 30 seconds to catch as many as they can. It's the best fit when your giveaway is paper-based: gift vouchers, discount codes, or branded notes that visitors exchange at your desk for a prize. The number caught can decide which prize level they win.

The booth needs a space of 1.8m x 1.8m, so it suits medium and larger stands, and it's recommended for ages 10 and up. Branded notes are available as a branding option on the Cash Grabber page.

Which Game Suits Your Giveaway?

When you choose, think about everyone who might visit your stand. The Prize Wheel, Plinko and Gashapon need no strength or speed, so almost anyone can play. The Cash Grabber is more physical and suits visitors aged 10 and over, so it works best alongside a gentler option if your audience is mixed.

Linking Giveaways to Lead Capture

A prize game gives visitors a fair reason to share their details: they leave their name and email, then they play. One structure that works on busy stands has three steps:

1. Everyone who plays gets a small item, with no details needed
2. Visitors who scan their badge or fill in a short form get a play for the mid-range or hero prizes
3. Hero prize winners are drawn after the show, which gives you a reason to email every entrant

Only ask for the details you’ll actually follow up on, and tell people clearly how you’ll use them. If you want more on data capture, GDPR and post-show follow-up, it’s covered in how to choose exhibition stand games that generate leads.

How Many Giveaways to Order and When

Work out quantities from your stand, not from the organiser's total visitor figure. Most of those visitors will never pass your stand, so ordering against the show total leaves you with boxes of spare stock.

A simpler method is to multiply the plays your stand can handle in an hour by the hours the show is open. As an example, a game running around 30 plays an hour across a seven-hour day needs about 210 small items per day, or 420 for a two-day show. From there:

• Small items: one per play, plus 10 to 15% extra for your own team, returning visitors and anything damaged
• Mid-range items: roughly one for every four or five plays, or one per completed lead form
• Hero prizes: one to three per day, so there's still something to play for on the final afternoon

If you've exhibited at the same show before, last year's lead count is a better guide than any formula.

For timing, plan around three lead times:

• Branded merchandise: printed items can take a few weeks to produce, and longer in busy periods, so check with your supplier before you commit to a date
• Game hire: we recommend getting in touch four to six weeks before a major show, and a little earlier if you want the game branded. We can often turn bookings round in two to three weeks, so it's still worth asking if your show is close
• Artwork sign-off: allow time to approve proofs for both your merchandise and any game branding

For spring shows, that means ordering in January and February. For the September and October season, aim for June or July. Booking the game at the same time as the giveaways means you can choose prizes that fit it.

Plan Your Giveaways and Prize Game Together

If you're ordering giveaways for next year's shows, it's worth booking the way you'll hand them out at the same time. Browse our Prize Games range, see our wider exhibition games, or contact our friendly team with your show dates, stand size and the giveaways you have in mind.

As a family-run business, we'll suggest the games that suit your prizes and your space, then deliver, set up and collect them at venues across the UK, including the NEC, ExCeL London and the CBS Arena.