Swag and giveaways for a DrupalCamp

Swag: T-shirts, etc.

As a method to spread the word about the local community - as well as a nice takeaway for attendees - many Drupal events are providing t-shirts to attendees. While some events charge a nominal fee, many events bake the cost of t-shirts in the registration fee or recover the costs from sponsorships.

Also, it can feel like every event gives out t-shirts, so make yours distinct by providing something different. Example include re-useable shopping bag with camp logo, knit winter hat with logo, compact notebook with logo, bottle-opener keychain with camp logo, etc.

When t-shirts or other swag are added as an event offering, it is usually convenient to assign a volunteer to handle the various tasks associated with it. Finding a vendor, coordinating with the other organizers on a design and the (possible) inclusion of sponsor logos, determining the number (and size breakdown) to order, payment, and pickup/delivery can make this a good-sized task.

Keep in mind that printing T-shirts or other swag items can take 2 weeks, so plan this in advance.

Design

As a way for a local community to create an identity, many events have custom designs for their t-shirts. Usually, the design is tied into the overall graphic design for other event materials (web site, bags, badges, posters, etc...) Keeping a consistent design across all types of materials aids in branding the event as well as projecting a sense of professionalism.

Some events order a limited number of shirts of a slightly different design (usually a different shirt color) that are only available to event volunteers. This encourages people to volunteer and gives them a sense of ownership of the event - something that cannot be underestimated.

Sizes

Once the design is set, determining the size of the order and the breakdown of the various t-shirt sizes is often very challenging. Some events ask for a t-shirt size during the registration process - which can obviously help when ordering specific sizes. Depending on the registration deadline (for most events, there usually isn't one) there is usually still some guesswork involved.

Consider offering different styles, but not using gender-specific language (men's and women's) when describing the styles (alternative might be: loose-fit with crew neck vs. fitted with scoop neck).

Giveaways

Everybody likes free stuff. Finding sponsors who are willing to provide free (or discounted) products or services is a great way to add some fun and excitement to your event. Once the financial aspects of fundraising are met, make it a point to ask sponsors for items that organizers can giveaway during the event.

Some common methods of giving away items includes raffles, quizzes, and random giveaways. Examples include:

• Florida DrupalCamp 2009, 2010, 2011 - books and DVDs were given away by session presenters. At the beginning of the camp, we asked all session presenters to pick a book or DVD from those provided by our sponsors to giveaway during their session. The presenters were allowed to give the item away in any way they desired, many gave the item away to someone who asked a really good question during their session. - Drupal Camp Asheville 2010 & 2011 did this as well.
• Colorado DrupalCamp 2011 - there were books, ebooks, free hosting, and learning DVDs given away at the Saturday night party (conference was Saturday and Sunday), free hosting was also randomly given at the closing session to a couple people who had filled out a session evaluation survey
• Chattanooga TN: Raffle for PHPStorm licenses
• Others? (please add!)