Conference Merch That Clinicians Actually Keep

This weekend I attended SLEEP 2026 in Baltimore, the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies. Before moving into sleep, I spent two years at another diagnostic device company that would attend Neurology, PT,Chiropractic, Sports Medicine conference and planning booths and ordering merch for clinicians was part of the gig. This was my first SLEEP conference, so I paid attention to what vendors handed out, which booths people stopped at, and what attendees responded to.

Check the rules before you order anything

Many medical device companies in the United States follow the AdvaMed Code of Ethics. Under the code, a company may not give clinicians branded promotional items that have no educational purpose, even cheap ones like pens, notepads and mugs. A company may occasionally give modest items that serve a real educational purpose or help patients, and it may not raffle anything it couldn't give directly. Each conference also sets its own rules for exhibitors.

The items below are ones I have used or would consider. Your compliance team decides which of them your company can give, so ask them before you place an order.

The merch that worked

Customers came back to us talking about the BIC Intensity Clic Gel Pen. I sent it to customers as a thank you, and it became the thing they remembered us by. A good pen gets used every day, and a cheap one gets thrown away.
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The sugar free mint card is the size of a business card, so it fits in a pocket and won't spill in a bag. It was a hit at every show.

Sleep technologists responded to a clear view tape measure more than to anything else. Techs measure patients' heads, and they lose tape measures all the time, so a spare one gets used. I chose the clear case on purpose, so people could see what was inside. A small round case can look like a mint or a candy, and nobody should have to guess what you just handed them.

Branded M&M's in sealed packslook clean and carry your logo.

What I'd skip

Loose candy. I don't put out a bowl of loose candy. It looks messy, and sealed packs do the same job better.

Scents. In sleep, I've seen companies hand out items like a lavender essential oil roller. It fits the sleep theme, but I think it's too risky. Smell is very personal, and a scent someone loves can put the next person off.

Less paper, better follow up

I bring a few paper flyers for the people who really want one. Everyone else signs up on a tablet at the booth and chooses what they want sent to them.

That sign up should start an automated email sequence that sends the materials. It should also create a task for the sales rep who owns that conference, so the rep moves the lead into the sales process. If nobody owns the follow up, you lose the lead. This is very simple to set up on Hubspot or Marketing Cloud.

The best giveaway is a good report

The most useful thing I can hand a clinician is a sample report. It doesn't need every result on it. It needs one finding that catches their eye and shows why your report is different. By the second day of a conference, people are tired of reading the same thing at every booth, and a report that stands out gives them a reason to stop.

A sample report also fits the rules better than most merch, because it serves an educational purpose.

Real demos of the real device

I want people to hold the actual device and see its actual output. A live demo shows clinicians what they would be getting, and it starts a real conversation. A video or a mockup can't do that.

In a 2017 study of how attendees spend their time on the exhibit floor, 78 percent engaged with interactive product displays, but only 46 percent of exhibitors offered one.

Spend before the show, not on prizes

Some exhibitors participate in raffling off a car, bring in an author to sign books, or fill a fishbowl with business cards for a big prize. I would avoid all of these. A big prize brings a long line of people who want the prize, and most of them have no interest in your product. Those leads look good in a spreadsheet, but very few of them turn into customers. Trust me I‘ve ruffled off an all expenses paid trip to Iceland.

I would rather spend that money before the show. Attendees plan their visits ahead of time, and many of them come looking for new products. In one study at a medical supply show, an invitation alone brought 23 percent of registered attendees to the booth. An invitation that came with a reason to visit brought up to 41 percent.

Before the show, I would put the budget into four things:

1. Ads made for that show. Ads aimed at the people attending, with the show's name and your booth number, work better than general brand ads.
2. Location based ads around the venue and the nearby hotels. Check the privacy rules first, some states restrict ads that use location data near health settings.
3. An email to registered attendees, if the organizer shares the list, with a reason to visit and a link to book a demo. Don’t email blast, please. Only focus on your ICP. It’s better ROI that way.
4. A trackable link or QR code for each channel, so you know what actually brought people to the booth.

More ideas for a sleep booth

These ideas cost little, work within most compliance rules, and give people a reason to stop.

1. A patient instruction card. If you can have a brief introduction to the patient experience on a palm-sized card, you’ll win the engagement game, because you can stop people in their tracks by handing them a small collateral, not an overwhelming 2 pager. It could look like something handed to patients who take a home sleep test.
2. A 30 second report challenge. If you have a TV screen in your booth, you can really gamify this experience. Show a sample report and figure out a way to draw attention to what’s your advantage. ‍
3. A place to sit. Sleep conferences are long, and people stand all day. Two comfortable chairs for demos give people a reason to stay and talk.
4. Phone charging. A charging station at the booth isn't a gift, but it keeps people at your booth for ten minutes.

How to judge the return

I like to judge conference ROI as a funnel. How many people attended the conference, how many converted as leads, how many booked a meeting, etc.

My merch and engagement checklist

• What’s the inventory? Do we really need more?
• Read the conference's rules for exhibitors (it’s crazy how different they are).
• Pick one or two items that people use at work, or could use on the spot.
• Choose packaging that makes it obvious what the item is.
• Skip loose candy 🤐
• Bring a few paper flyers and set up a tablet for sign ups.
• Build the email sequence and the sales rep tasks before the show.
• Prepare a sample report with one finding that stands out.
• Bring the real device and agree on the demo activity before the doors open.
• Track spending and ROI for leads.
• Put the prize budget into show specific ads and outreach before the show.