The Identity Source, a distributor based in the Greater Detroit area, has been doing some incredibly cool and effective swag kits as part of its “Event in a Box” program. Many distributors have had success in kitting (especially over the last year), but The Identity Source is doing a few things that take its kits to another level.
Patrick Wyant, business development manager for the company, recently joined the Promo Marketing Podcast to share some examples and explain the clever twists The Identity Source is bringing to the event kit game. The distributor has partnered with a local A/V studio to provide professional video production services for customers hosting events. It’s also using clever decoration to turn the exterior of the boxes into key marketing components and finding ways to incorporate local flavor into kits.
Even as in-person events return, some companies will likely still hold virtual events now that they have the capabilities and know-how to host them. Beyond that, swag kits are extremely popular with recipients. Wyant believes these two factors will combine to make event kits a permanent fixture in promo, so it will be up to distributors to find creative ways to curate and deliver them for clients.
“While we agree and hope that in-person events come back and come back even stronger—cause I think people are going to be clamoring for it, right?—we also recognize that many companies have found there’s a huge expense in events and event-based marketing,” Wyant said on the podcast. “For a fraction of the cost of a trade show and displays and uniforms and staffing and travel, lodging, all that kinds of stuff, you can do a very targeted and effective virtual event with a custom curated box and one of these kind of video sessions. It can be very economical. So I think that’s something that as we become more budget-conscious moving forward, this is something I think more and more companies are going to be using.”
If you’re looking for some ideas and inspiration, check out the below examples of kits The Identity Source produced for its Event in a Box program (including two that Wyant described on the podcast):
Caterpillar
Motor Trend
Nain Rouge ‘Folktellers’
