et cetera...: Swag has become an industry slang term to refer to promotional items, typically given away by vendors at trade shows and events to encourage attendees to visit their booth and to thank guests for their support. Since it is company branded, it also serves as a form of creative promotion in the marketplace.
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Not the beefy article I thought it was going to be, not even a list of all the things they make, but still a cool history of swag for a big company in our industry. I think swag is a fun way to get your brand out there in kind of a sneaky way. I always think its fun when someone has a custom USB or a cool lanyard from somewhere they worked. I feel like t shirts are a little overused, backed up by the fact that Fred can do a whole presentation surrounded by event shirts from over the years. We even got a t-shirt from the chain motor company along with out certification card. I feel like after so many promotions or training events you are just inundated by shirts that you won’t wear unless you’re on the shop floor and maybe people should consider switching over to more useful things like coffee mugs and mouse pads and other desk items like that.
ETC has some really fun swag! What is even cooler, though, is their corporate culture and headquarters in Middleton, WI. Living just outside Chicago, I decided to make a day trip to tour one day (which is free!) with a few of my buddies. Three hours after we piled into my car, we arrived at the ETC headquarters. From the outside, it really just looks like another building in a corporate office park. There are a few outdoor equipment installations and tests, but otherwise, it's just another nondescript building. However, stepping through the door is like hopping inside the Nighthawk painting. Their main lobby is themed after this painting, and looks like a small city square. For something that few non-employees ever see, ETC certainly put in a lot of effort for appearance! This theme of creating atmosphere for the sake of the art, rather than profit, is something that I believe can be flt in every aspect of ETC as a company. Rick Wolff, who wrote this article, also led my tour. He gave me his business card, and I still have it in my wallet! Few companies across the globe seem to care for much beyond profit margins, but ETC goes above and beyond to create a truly exceptional experience.
I am all about swag. I think I am often made fun of for all my shirts from different institutions and I blame the concept of "swag." Yes, it is true that I have very few t-shirts that I have paid money for. Most of my t-shirts came to me in the form of swag, and I can't complain. Swag is an easy way to get stuff that you don't really need, but that is still useful. It was cool to see ETC's first piece of swag and I was hoping that the article might share what is on the horizon. I am now excited for USITT where I hope to grow my swag collection quite a lot. I will be sure to stop by ETC because now I know they are the swag masters, a title I hope to hold one day. People might think swag gathering is a waste of time, but for me, I think swag is wasted if you don't spend time gathering it.
I like those coffee cups and mugs! The rest of the swag that the video showed was cool and useful, especially the small flashlights and stuff. I am super confused by the drawstring bags, though. I know that it is for kids, but I really just do not understand why. I guess they are a company trying to make money like everyone else, but I feel like they could have made other products and swag for kids that still represented the actual essence and purpose of the company. Why a duck. Why a monkey????? I am totally puzzled. They could have made drawstring bags with patterns that replicate the colored bulbs in an LED light, anything like that would be better that animal bags we have all seen everywhere else. Also, side note, their website really needs updating. The site looks pretty old, does not draw me in, and buttons, pictures, and icons are pixelated. Come on, ETC!
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