The New York Bar Show 2008

This past Sunday, I was lucky enough to attend the annual NY Bar Show and it really made me think. The majority of the show was liquor distributors giving out free samples, but there weren't many promotional products to be had. I got a small sampling of them, but you would think that anyone giving out alcohol might give you something other than a card to remember it by. After all, alcohol does impair judgement and far too often people have too much. Plus, with a trade show where every other booth is a different liquor, you would think it might be a good idea to distinguish one from another. Clearly there were some people in attendance who did not remember what they drank, judging by their actions. To be honest, the one thing that I remember most was a magic trick done with promotional cards for Hub International. The unique trick (done by Marco the Magician) stayed with me because who would think that an insurance company would be advertising at the Bar Show? I began to wonder if being unique with your giveaways really matters at bars and clubs. So I simply had to ask...what's the best promotional product for bars and clubs?

While Marco's magic stuck out in my mind, the people have spoken. Promotional t-shirts are by fat the best giveaways for bars and clubs.