Unique Trade Show Giveaway
Boosts Booth Traffic

Marketing director Paul Ardoin stumbled onto Branders.com while searching online for foam monkeys as trade show giveaways.

"Branders was the only sourcing company I found that carried foam monkeys," says Paul, who manages marketing and business development at iQurious Corp., an infrastructure automation firm.

Brainstorming for a company mascot, Paul’s team came up with the monkey idea. "There is a famous monkey whose name is similar to iQurious," Paul explains.

Paul ordered 1,250 pieces of the 6.5x12-inch foam monkeys with purple bodies and green arms and legs.

"About 10 days before the show, my account manager Angel Francs called to say the models I wanted weren't available in the quantity we ordered," he says. Angel wanted to know if the rest of the shipment could be all purple (the iQurious corporate color is celery green).

Paul finally decided to get equal quantities of the two varieties: half of the foam monkeys had purple bodies and green arms; the rest had green bodies with purple arms and legs.

Unexpected success

Paul got the surprise of his life when his order arrived. "The shipment arrived safe, sound, and on time, but I had no idea the monkeys were so large, and it's one of the reasons they were such a hit!" Paul relates.

The foam monkeys brought in some good traffic to the iQurious booth. Paul and his staff grabbed each chance to make a pitch and got some good-quality leads. "A lot of people told me it was, by far, the best giveaway," Paul reveals. "The logo-imprinted monkeys were sticking out of everyone's bags, and they helped boost our company's visibility during the show."

While the foam monkeys did their part, Paul acknowledges his account manager's assistance in ironing out the kinks.

"Angel was fantastic! She worked with us through a couple of delivery hiccups and came up with a creative solution to make sure we were completely satisfied," Paul says. "Thanks to Angel's help, we solved a couple of eleventh-hour problems quickly and creatively. The giveaway was a huge success, and I hope to order these for future shows!"