By Rachel Petkewich
No candy, pens, or pencils. No literature or periodic tables. And I wasn't stopping my stroll through the vast hall to visit a booth unless something caught my eye from the aisle. Those were my rules for scoping out the best exposition giveaways in Halls B & C of the Moscone Center.
(Photos by Rachel Petkewich)
Although I thought more exhibitors had something beyond business cards than at previous meetings, I didn't find one clear, unique, and ultimate runaway winner this time. Here's my breakdown:
Notable raffles: Some companies lured attendees with "Win this!" signs. The standout prizes (beyond a gift certificate, laptop, or iPod) included a working telescope, a big chemistry set, a two-foot robot, and a snazzy jukebox.
Honorable mentions: Collapsible Frisbees (Bruker-AXS and Amgen); rubber frogs (Julabo); corkscrew wine opener (ACS Web Presence); plush barnyard animals (Lab Manager magazine); temporary tattoos (Made With Molecules’ Raven Hanna); and squooshy chile peppers, tomatoes, corn cobs, and bell peppers (USDA’s Agricultural Research Service). For the best T-shirt, I chose Norac Pharma’s popular "Bonds…Chemical Bonds," which appeared with a spy-type graphic. Attendees clearly liked the "wall walker" from Sinova, as I saw several people throwing them against the wall outside the exhibit hall and giggling as the semisticky toys tumbled down.
[SKUNKS Known for their characteristic thiol-containing scent.]
Big winners: Two booths really caught my attention. Not only were the giveaways fun, but these tchotchkes actually related (if loosely) to their products. Asemblon deals with thiol chemistry, and they gave away full- and mini-sized skunk puppets. (Thiols are behind a skunk's signature stink.) Pharma Algorithms, a software engineering company, gave away the Whomp It!, an inflatable mallet specifically designed for smacking those uncooperative computers. And I can tell you from just a brief test on my misbehaving laptop, it provides a satisfying thwack, bop, and a bonus squeak, but no actual destruction.
[WHOMP, WHOMP, WHOMP How software engineers take out their frustrations.]
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