50 Reasons To Attend SAPPHIRE

http://industryweek.com/images/blog/swagblog_photo.jpg SAP's SAPPHIRE/ASUG show is so big that it's easy for both users and vendors (and journalists) alike to get lost in the shuffle. Therefore, I wasn't surprised to see that many of the vendors were heavily promoting themselves on the show floor, both with free goodies (also known as "swag") and giveaways (there were enough free iPod drawings to choke a horse, provided you could get the horse to eat business cards out of logo-adorned fishbowls). Above is a sampling of just some of the items I brought back—there may not actually be 50 in the picture, but I didn't count the stuff that wouldn’t fit on the table (let’s just say I will never lack for pens or notepads). FYI The stuffed monkey makes a shrieking sound when you throw it -- somewhat ironic that a technology vendor would be giving away something that inspires the same sort of annoying (not to mention, sometimes, shrieking) that they themselves inspire in their clients! Out of curiosity—what's the best promo item you've ever gotten at a tradeshow? For more info on the show itself, read the entire SAPPHIRE recap in my next info tech strategy newsletter, available for free subscription here.