Loot bags at TIFF 2006 ...

As an industry insider, I always find it amusing to read about the outsider's view of this business. Most people express (rightly so, in some cases) snide and snarky comments that this business is all about cheap plastic, swag, chachkas, crap, doo-das, etc etc. This business is unfortunately populated by many uneducated "professionals" who service uneducated buyers. [I won't get into what these people are called in our industry] The result is a bad product that people just don't need, let alone want.

I find it interesting that TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) distributes promotional giveaways to celebs who yawn at yet another pair Fendi sunglasses, iPod or the latest swanky cell phone. Read more in the Globe about this. Ratchet it down a notch or two for the regular folk and this is the same as a corporate buyer ordering cheap plastic pens for a high end corporate executive conference (and it happens ALL THE TIME). Cheap plastic pens for a high end corporate executive conference? You have to be kidding!

This is where this business gets its ugly reputation from. Poor purchasing decisions and poor market research - why spend the money at all?

Many promo companies squander the opportunity to make their clients look like heroes when it can be so easy! Why? People LOVE free stuff, however people REALLY LOVE free stuff that appeals to them. See more in my previous post on Starbucks where I say that people REALLY LOVE free stuff (even if it's cheap) when they perceive the value to be high to them. This is why this is an $18 Billion industry in North America alone.

So back to TIFF - why give a celeb something they have 10 of already (that they'll now get taxed for)? Why not think outside the box and get them something they really want (which may be nothing at all) ...