Why do companies continue to waste money on useless swag?
They want your attention. Both at the event/when you interact with them first (probably more important), and then later. Swag is a way to get that attention. Useless swag is, as other comments have noted, cheaper than useful swag, but still gets some attention.
What can be done to have companies think about the waste they are producing from swag?
Oh, most are aware. I think the easiest thing to do is:
* Don't take it if offered.
* If delivered, complain about it to customer service.
If enough folks do this, the value for swag will decrease, and fewer will do it. Or if they do, they'll do it well.
Swag can be a differentiator in the latter case. I can't tell you how many hours my current company, FusionAuth, has spent evaluating our swag t-shirts, but it is a big number. And we hear folks at conferences say "ooh, that's nice" (unsolicited).
Comments
They want your attention. Both at the event/when you interact with them first (probably more important), and then later. Swag is a way to get that attention. Useless swag is, as other comments have noted, cheaper than useful swag, but still gets some attention.
Oh, most are aware. I think the easiest thing to do is:
* Don't take it if offered.
* If delivered, complain about it to customer service.
If enough folks do this, the value for swag will decrease, and fewer will do it. Or if they do, they'll do it well.
Swag can be a differentiator in the latter case. I can't tell you how many hours my current company, FusionAuth, has spent evaluating our swag t-shirts, but it is a big number. And we hear folks at conferences say "ooh, that's nice" (unsolicited).