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Free Company Swag

  • 1.  Free Company Swag

    Posted 07-06-2021 01:03 PM

    I'm sure we all have our fair share of FREE pens, water coolers, rulers, and...speakers?
    Here is a picture of some of the swag I have laying around my desk. 

    What's the coolest company swag you received from your company or a company recruiting?

    On the flip side, what is the worst company swag that you have waaaay too much of?
    (This can be a great opportunity for companies to see what stuff people use and what we don't.)



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    Daniel Bressler EIT, A.M.ASCE
    Structural Engineer
    Brooklyn NY
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  • 2.  RE: Free Company Swag

    Posted 07-07-2021 09:47 AM
    Nice collection! 

    Every holiday season, the company I work for gives us Christmas gifts. We have two HR/IT staff members and together they come up with some of the best ideas for gifts people will actually use. Some of the things we have received have included

    Amazon Echo Dot
    JPL clip speaker (amazing quality, eventually my dad began using it more than me)
    The absolute fuzziest pair of winter socks that I have ever owned
    A yeti mug with our initials on it (and not those of the company)
    A device that you can plug into an outlet to let that outlet get turned on/off via your smartphone over wi-fi. 

    In terms of bad gifts, the only thing I would ever say is "don't give out low quality pens". Nobody will want to use them, and they will frustrate you every time you find one in your desk.

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    Christopher Seigel P.E., M.ASCE
    Civil Engineer
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Free Company Swag

    Posted 07-09-2021 08:22 PM
    Two swag items I use a lot - a lazer pointer flashlight and a english to metric converter.  
    Please - no more coffee mugs.

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    Susan Everett P.E., M.ASCE
    Design Manager
    Seattle WA
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Free Company Swag

    Posted 07-10-2021 09:51 AM
    These are the things that I use the most: stress ball, keychain flashlight and a multi tools that has safety hammer, compass, flashlight, whistle, and needle. 
    Oh and many water bottles and coffee mugs :)





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    Tung Nguyen, PhD
    Water Resources Engineer
    Sacramento, CA
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Free Company Swag

    Posted 07-12-2021 09:52 AM
    I use only resins of SPI resin ID code 2 or 4, so I end up discarding most water bottles I receive, and I feel sorry when I have to do that.

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    Tsee Lee S.M.ASCE
    New York NY
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Free Company Swag

    Posted 07-12-2021 08:57 AM
    I have mixed feelings on company swag. A lot of stuff I received - I'm sure all given with good intentions - fell into the category of stuff I really did not need. Also, a lot of was junk. Like Chris's pen comment, no multitool is better than a cheap knock off.   I think swag is best when it's thoughtful, memorable, and useful. I think cheap swag is simply a "sugar high" besides being a drain on the company's bottom line. In my latter years of working I was of the opinion that a donation to one of the charitable organizations the company supported would have been better than giving us more trinkets we did not need.

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    Mitch Winkler P.E., M.ASCE
    Houston, TX
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    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Free Company Swag

    Posted 07-12-2021 09:52 AM
    I agree. So much waste is involved in producing the often useless trinkets. I have used a pen/leveler. I use other than a simple ruler from New York Life that I used back in school. Many swag pens are unwieldy as writing instruments, but those that aren't find a place in my penholders. Now that COVID-19 is known not to transmit via surfaces, I'd pre-judge companies that hand out sanitizers.

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    Tsee Lee S.M.ASCE
    New York NY
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    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Free Company Swag

    Posted 07-20-2021 01:25 PM
    The best swag item I ever received was actually from our college when we were underclassmen. It was a small box with tiny paperclips, sticky notes, sticky tabs, a tiny tape dispenser, a tiny stapler, extra staples, and maybe rubber bands. It had the name of our college printed on the lid. It easily slid into a backpack pocket (or probably men's clothes pockets) and was handy for working on the go. I'd highly recommend something like this for giving to students at career fairs or when visiting ASCE student chapters for talks. Here's a link to a similar product: Small Office Supply Kit

    Another of my most used swag items was a small metal engineer's scale. It is small enough to go in my cup of pens, and is convenient to use on printed plans at my desk. (Below is a photo I found online of a similar one since I don't have mine with me right now). It also makes a really handy straightedge when I'm sketching things.



    Another one I use a lot is metal water bottles. I have one from our company and one from an organization where I volunteer. I keep them at my desk since they are handy for taking to the field or to meetings.

    One thing that I got that I've never used was a pen that doubled as a multi-tool. The problem is that it is too bulky to be an effective pen and not useful enough to be better than the tools individually. I'd rather have a keychain flashlight, a highlighter, and a good pen rather than a combination of all 3. I honestly can't remember if those were the only 3 features because it was so heavy it went straight into my drawer and didn't come back out.

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    Heidi C. Wallace, P.E., M.ASCE
    Tulsa, OK
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    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: Free Company Swag

    Posted 07-21-2021 08:58 AM
    it seems like we're all in agreement that "no swag is better than cheap swag"

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    Christopher Seigel P.E., M.ASCE
    Civil Engineer
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    Original Message


  • 10.  RE: Free Company Swag

    Posted 07-21-2021 07:37 PM
    I'd be curious to hear from a marketing perspective the difference between "cheap" swag vs. "quality" swag vs. no swag at all.

    Do you think that it's a matter of getting the name out regardless of the quality of the marketing product? For example, if a company's name is on a cheap pen, and you have that pen in your drawer (or infinite pen cup) and often glance at the company logo you are achieving the intended promotional effect.  

    My opinion is that from a psychological perspective people like free things and will hold on to the free items as many of us mentioned our somewhat redundant collections. Therefore, although we would like to have quality items I doubt there is much incentive for companies to provide them. 


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    Daniel Bressler EIT, A.M.ASCE
    Structural Engineer
    Brooklyn NY
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    Original Message


  • 11.  RE: Free Company Swag

    Posted 07-28-2021 09:39 AM
    "Any publicity is good publicity" might be the role that a cheap pen fills. Still, personally, I tend to recall "oh you're the company with the cheap pen".

    Taking your question a step further, does it even matter what my opinion is about a company if I am not interviewing for one of their roles and am not in a position to partner with them?

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    Christopher Seigel P.E., M.ASCE
    Civil Engineer
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    Original Message


  • 12.  RE: Free Company Swag

    Posted 07-27-2021 12:23 PM
    I love this topic! My favorite ASCE swag I have gotten is a cloth I use to clean my glasses with as shown in the photo below. In general, my favorite swag items has been sustainable items like this metal straw kit and carrying container.

    Not pictured because they typically reside in the trunk of my car so that I don't forget them: reusable grocery bags! Most of my reusable grocery bags have come from past conferences and career fairs (some of which are even the insulated type which is great for frozen and refrigerated items). 

    I think pens are probably the company swag/conference swag item I do not need more of. 



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    Danielle Schroeder EIT, A.M.ASCE (She/her)
    Associate Engineer
    Pennoni
    Philadelphia PA
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    Original Message


  • 13.  RE: Free Company Swag

    Posted 07-28-2021 08:09 AM
    Didn't even think about my glasses cloth from our company until you mentioned them, @Danielle Schroeder! I use it at least once a day, and it's also nice for cleaning off phone screens and camera lenses​

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    Heidi C. Wallace, P.E., M.ASCE
    Tulsa, OK
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    Original Message


  • 14.  RE: Free Company Swag

    Posted 11-28-2021 06:58 PM
    Because of how many career fairs I have been going to over the years, I have put some limits on what I take from the booths.

    Cool swag I have received over a year include a mug from SHPE, a big clip that goes on refrigerators and various food I would go through over the next few days.

    Cliched swag was mostly all the pens with a company name on them and the flyers that I did not take a picture of. My whole family has far more pens laying around than pencils now and I have to keep going back to the flyers to recycle them.

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    Alexander Granato S.M.ASCE
    Student
    Bexley OH
    granato.3@...
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    Original Message


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