What type of gift do employees and clients love to get? Mugs? Pens? Gift cards? Branded swag? All of these could be the right answer. But do you know what's even better than a swanky new T-shirt or a nice tumbler? A combination of all of the things that are sure to put a smile on anyone's face!

This is exactly what swag packs aim to do. But what is a swag pack? What makes it so special? And more importantly, what is a swag pack good for?

Let's find out shall, we?

What Is A Swag Pack?

What is a swag pack, you ask?

These are just like goodie bags, but instead of birthdays, they are given out in a professional setting. A typical swag bag will contain things that you expect companies to give out to clients and/or employees, such as branded items, food & drink, company swag, and gift cards, among many others.

Swag bags often come pre-assembled, but you also have the option to customize your swag bag. Either way, there's nothing better than receiving a free gift except for receiving multiple free gifts, which makes swag bags such a good choice for employee and client gifts.

What Is A Swag Pack Good For?

We already know that a swag bag makes a great corporate gift. But what are the best ways to use it? Here are the top purposes that a swag bag serves:

Employee Appreciation Gifts

Showing appreciation for your employees' hard work is especially more important in today's pandemic workplace where a lot of us are working remotely. Since there are limited opportunities to remind your employees of their value in the company, why not send swag bags instead?

In the absence of free food at the office or end-of-week happy hours, one of the best virtual employee appreciation ideas is to send swag bags to your team. Fill your swag bags with things that can get them through work-from-home days easier, such as personal care items, desk accessories, and maybe even some yummy treats they can enjoy while off-cam.

Onboarding New Employees

Putting more effort into onboarding your new employees goes a long way. Apart from the usual greetings of welcome when they get to the office, give them a swag bag to start off their new days in the company on a positive note.

As for new hire swag bag ideas, you can go with items that are a little more fun (e.g. desk decor, snacks, chocolate, mini planters) or things that they can use for work that your office doesn't already provide (e.g. leatherbound planners, noise-canceling headphones, seat pillows).

Promoting An Event

One of the most effective ways to promote an event is to hand out swag bags full of promotional products to potential event attendees. After all, who doesn't love free stuff? A swag bag is an opportunity to introduce your brand to potential clients and, more importantly, an invitation to your upcoming event.

A good tip is to choose swag bag items that event attendees can actually use during the actual event. For example, if you are holding a seminar, give out branded notepads, pens, reusable water bottles, tote bags, and other things that your event attendees will find useful.

Client Thank You Gifts

In the corporate world, 'thank you' gifts are often not expected, but are always appreciated. So, why not go the extra mile in showing clients your appreciation?

When it comes to giving gifts to clients, however, you have to see it as an opportunity to impress. So, instead of a single gift, surprise your client with a swag bag full of high-quality promotional products and maybe something a little more special, like tickets to the game or a nice bottle of wine.

Can't decide what to get your client? Here are some client gift ideas that should help you out.

Marketing Campaigns

One of the primary goals of any marketing campaign is to increase brand recognition. Now, there are a lot of ways you can do that, but few are more effective than giving out swag bags. Look at it this way: swag bags are free stuff, and even if a recipient doesn't immediately contact your brand, the promotional products will serve as a reminder of your business. And since they got all of this cool stuff for free, they are more likely to remember your brand on a positive note.

There are a lot of swag bag ideas for marketing campaigns, specifically. That said, check out these marketing swag ideas so that you can narrow down your list of items and curate your swag bags easier.

How To Build Your Own Swag Bag

Needless to say, there are lots of things you can put in your swag bags. From promotional products to company samples, there are dozens upon dozens of swag bag items to choose from. With that being said, how do you go about building your own swag bag?

Determine The Theme Of Your Swag

First things first, you have to come up with the right theme for your swag bags. But before you can do that, you must determine the goal of giving out swag bags, as well as focus on the people that will be receiving them.

For example, if your goal is to help employees improve their work-life balance, why not choose a self-care theme? Or if your goal is to promote your business to college-aged adults, a good theme for your swag bags would be something that they can relate to, such as "College Essentials" or "TGIF".

Once you have the theme for your swag bags, you can now start choosing the items to put in them. If we use the "College Essentials" example, a quality swag bag would contain notebooks, pens, energy drinks, snacks, tumblers, desk calendars, toiletries, and maybe even a branded tote bag.

Come Up With A Swag Budget

Now that you have the theme and a tentative list of items for your swag bags, it's time to determine your swag budget. In essence, it's all about figuring out how much you can spend on swag bags and how you can maximize that budget. Furthermore, you also have to factor in expenses other than the cost of the swag bags themselves, such as shipping, warehousing, and fulfillment.

This is also the part where you need to find the right vendor for your swag bags. Once you have a budget in mind, you can start looking for vendors that can fulfill your orders for the right price. As you can probably tell, choosing the right vendor is the most important step--you need to make sure that your budget is going to a business that will deliver. Hence, make it a point to do your research, compare prices, and ask for discounts whenever possible.

Bring Your Swag Pack To Life

After you determine the theme for your swag bags, pick out the right items, and find a great vendor, it's finally time to start building your quality swag bag. Talk to your vendor about the items that you want to be included in your swag bags, the design on the packaging, as well what packaging to use (box, tote bag, basket, etc.).

During this step, you have the option to create your own design or let the swag vendor make it for you. Either way, it is important to be hands-on with the design process so that you can ensure you get the quality you want.

You can also modify your list of promotional products in case you want to take out or add items. However, it is not advisable to make a lot of changes when the order is already in place; doing so can lead to additional charges.

Final Thoughts On What A Swag Pack Is

A high-quality swag pack has great potential to impress clients, convert leads, and, of course, make employees happy. So, instead of the usual fare of corporate gifts, why not bundle up everybody's favorites into one big gift?

If you're ready to wow your clients and employees with some thoughtful swag bags, contact Swag Bar today and let's make your vision a reality! We make the process more simple and affordable than anyone else. No matter what your swag needs are and what the purpose for your swag is, we're here to help.