Tchotchke Fun

A good friend of mine, who is in the same business, recently said to me, “It’s like tax season right now for our kind of work.”  Yes, trade show season is upon us again and almost every client, friend, or colleague I know is either preparing or in the middle of some kind of trade show event at this moment. 
 
This is also the time when the ‘tchotchke personalities’ re-emerge.  What are ‘tchotchke personalities’, you ask?  I’ve been to enough trade shows and conferences that I can tell you there about eight different personalities that are pretty commonly found on the floor. 

1. The Tchotchke Taker – These folks are exactly as described!  They will swoop into your booth when you’re not looking because you’re busy talking to a customer, and will take all the tchotchkes off the reception desk or station.   Don’t you dare leave out mid-level giveaways like 32GB flash drives around these folks!  In their mind, if it’s there on the table, it’s free for the taking.
   
   
2. The Collector – The Collector most resembles someone on a scavenger hunt. These folks also love to collect give-aways that are the same but come in a variety of different types of artwork, color, or style.  Many years ago, I had a client who gave away different colored blinky necklaces.  They didn’t think anything of it until they were mobbed by a bunch of eager attendees who needed to have ALL the colors for their collection.  It was mind blowing to my client. Keep in mind thought that The Collectors are great targets for a passport program!  Hey, if they are willing to do the work, they deserve a chance to win a prize.
   
   
3. The Hunter – The Hunter looks for a specific tchotchke with purpose.  To them, it’s that one tchotchke they must have, the one they are willing to get their badge happily scanned for and will walk through multiple halls just to find.  I have to admit, I have taken on this personality once but for good reason - it was a lightsaber!
   
   
4. The Gifter – The Gifter is interesting because they are looking to take tchotchkes home for someone else…like their kids.  Gifters are the most considerate because they truly admire the tchotchke and then are polite enough to ask if they can take two – one for each of their children.
   
   
5. The Newbies – Newbies are like Babes in Toyland.  They are new to the trade show scene and it’s obvious.  If you look into their eyes, it’s almost dilated because it’s a lot for them to take in. Every tchotchke out there is so awesome to them.  I took my cousin to a trade show once and this is exactly how she acted.  She wanted to get every single thing that was available.  It was pretty funny but madness.
   
   
6. The Closet Tchotchke Lover – These folks pretend they have no interest in any sort of tchotchke but in reality, they really do love tchotchkes.   They are pretty slick.  They’ll take a casual glance at the goods but continue to carry on the conversation with you.  You offer them a tchotchke to take and they’ll hesitantly take it but when they open up their bag, it’s filled with other booth goodies.
   
   
7. The Researcher – A lot of my clients and friends who run trade show events are Researchers.  They take tchotchkes because they want to do something similar for the next show.  Their mindset is, “What’s hot? What’s different? What’s new?”  Pretty much in that order.  Often times, I’ll get a real-time text or an email from a client who will ask, “Can you get me this for my next event?”
   
   
8. The No Thank-Yous – The mentality from these folks are:  Been there, done that.  The No Thank-Yous have no interest in any sort of tchotchkes WHAT-SO-EVER.  It doesn’t matter what the give-away is, it’s not tempting enough to take.  Many No Thank-Yous have collected so many tchotchkes in their life that they don’t want to collect any more.

 
So as you prepare to attend your next show, which personality will you take on?  Happy Trade Show season!
 
 

---