So on Saturday, I was tending to my side-hustle, dog-walking (whatever - it pays the bills), when my client (no not the dog but the dog's owner) gifted me a bottle of hand sanitizer with a note attached, "a special gift for my favorite dogwalker to ensure good health." I really don't like hand sanitizer but I thought it was pretty neat. Not only is it shaped like a pen but when you open it, it has a aerosol-like pump for easy dispensing. I returned her gesture of good health with "thank you" note and threw my new find in my purse.
Later in the day, I was playing with the hand sanitizer (because what else are you suppose to do with it?) when I noticed some writing on the bottle. This "gesture" of good health was not my clients alone but also came courtesy of one of the local W.I.C (Women.Infants.Children) organizations here in Philly. Yes, I had just been snookered by my clients attempt to pass-off a gift she probably didn't want or already had too many of, off to me.
Anyway, my clients' re-gifting got me thinking about the enormous amount of giveaways, also known as swag, from government - other government related - agencies I have amassed over the years. As a society, we are drowning in swag. Whether it be at a community festival or a community meeting, there is always a table set up where a person can leave with a bag full of freebies and useless mementos.
Of course, the most obvious forms of government swag are pens, pencils and highlighter markers. I have collected so many pens from government agencies that I will never in my life have to purchase another pen again. However, over the years, government giveaways have essentially begun to rival what could be best describe as low-budget award shows, including: t-shirts and hats, head and wrist bands, key chains, miniature teddy bears and stress-relief squeeze toys, pocket mints, wallets and id holders, coffee mugs, foam cup holders and water bottles, notepads, mousepads, sewing kits, condoms and lubricant, calculators and rulers, Frisbees, footballs and tennis balls, tote bags and reusable shopping bags, lotion, combs, toothbrushes and other toiletries and my personal favorite, bottled water from the city's Water Department.
In some ways, I can sort of understand how giveaways can serve a purpose: If used effectively, little trinkets can aid in the marketing and advertising of an agency's goals and initiatives. For example, the W.I.C. approved small bottles of hand sanitizer, reinforces important messages about hand cleanliness, especially around children. Plus, what better way of attracting your target audience to your booth or table at a festival, workshop or neighborhood meeting than baiting them with the promise of a free "I heart Recycling" non-recyclable plastic wristband?
However, some of these items can be a waste of money and have no practical purpose nor any connection to what it is a particular organization or government agency is trying to promote. Take for instance: the most unique giveaways I'd received was an authentic plaid Kangol hat from the Department of Human Services. While very cute and fashionable (and yes, I did wear it a few times), it didn't even have the agency's logo on it nor did it have any direct relation to its anti-truancy program - the reason why they were giving them out - so what was the point?
Earlier this year, California Governor Jerry Brown's administration directed all state agencies and departments to stop spending taxpayer dollars on free giveaway and gift items as part of continuing efforts to cut costs and tackle the state's enormous budget gap. According to the Brown administration, a statewide audit revealed that from 2007 to 2010 state agencies and departments spent a total of $7.5 million on items including key chains, squeeze toys, pens, hats, trinkets, shirts, cups and other gift items.
It's probably hard to quantify how successful, or even expensive, these small giveaways might be to government agencies, who often have to find creative ways to market themselves as well as get their message out to the community-at-large. As such, it would be foolish to think that just by eliminating the purchase of coffee cups, pens and mousepads, we have reached a solution to the multi-million-dollar budget shortfall many municipals find themselves in. At a time when we are struggling with balance budgets and lay-offs on all levels of government, I think that it is equally important to be good custodians of the public's money too
But to a larger point, most swag is pretty useless, if not junk, which quite honestly, I can do without. The keychains from various city, state and federal departments I have collected over the year? They are mostly in the trash. I mean, I got them because I was there in the right place, at the right time and they were free. And since I don't have that many keys for all those keychains, what's the point in keeping them anyway?
Later in the day, I was playing with the hand sanitizer (because what else are you suppose to do with it?) when I noticed some writing on the bottle. This "gesture" of good health was not my clients alone but also came courtesy of one of the local W.I.C (Women.Infants.Children) organizations here in Philly. Yes, I had just been snookered by my clients attempt to pass-off a gift she probably didn't want or already had too many of, off to me.
Anyway, my clients' re-gifting got me thinking about the enormous amount of giveaways, also known as swag, from government - other government related - agencies I have amassed over the years. As a society, we are drowning in swag. Whether it be at a community festival or a community meeting, there is always a table set up where a person can leave with a bag full of freebies and useless mementos.
Of course, the most obvious forms of government swag are pens, pencils and highlighter markers. I have collected so many pens from government agencies that I will never in my life have to purchase another pen again. However, over the years, government giveaways have essentially begun to rival what could be best describe as low-budget award shows, including: t-shirts and hats, head and wrist bands, key chains, miniature teddy bears and stress-relief squeeze toys, pocket mints, wallets and id holders, coffee mugs, foam cup holders and water bottles, notepads, mousepads, sewing kits, condoms and lubricant, calculators and rulers, Frisbees, footballs and tennis balls, tote bags and reusable shopping bags, lotion, combs, toothbrushes and other toiletries and my personal favorite, bottled water from the city's Water Department.
In some ways, I can sort of understand how giveaways can serve a purpose: If used effectively, little trinkets can aid in the marketing and advertising of an agency's goals and initiatives. For example, the W.I.C. approved small bottles of hand sanitizer, reinforces important messages about hand cleanliness, especially around children. Plus, what better way of attracting your target audience to your booth or table at a festival, workshop or neighborhood meeting than baiting them with the promise of a free "I heart Recycling" non-recyclable plastic wristband?
However, some of these items can be a waste of money and have no practical purpose nor any connection to what it is a particular organization or government agency is trying to promote. Take for instance: the most unique giveaways I'd received was an authentic plaid Kangol hat from the Department of Human Services. While very cute and fashionable (and yes, I did wear it a few times), it didn't even have the agency's logo on it nor did it have any direct relation to its anti-truancy program - the reason why they were giving them out - so what was the point?
Earlier this year, California Governor Jerry Brown's administration directed all state agencies and departments to stop spending taxpayer dollars on free giveaway and gift items as part of continuing efforts to cut costs and tackle the state's enormous budget gap. According to the Brown administration, a statewide audit revealed that from 2007 to 2010 state agencies and departments spent a total of $7.5 million on items including key chains, squeeze toys, pens, hats, trinkets, shirts, cups and other gift items.
It's probably hard to quantify how successful, or even expensive, these small giveaways might be to government agencies, who often have to find creative ways to market themselves as well as get their message out to the community-at-large. As such, it would be foolish to think that just by eliminating the purchase of coffee cups, pens and mousepads, we have reached a solution to the multi-million-dollar budget shortfall many municipals find themselves in. At a time when we are struggling with balance budgets and lay-offs on all levels of government, I think that it is equally important to be good custodians of the public's money too
But to a larger point, most swag is pretty useless, if not junk, which quite honestly, I can do without. The keychains from various city, state and federal departments I have collected over the year? They are mostly in the trash. I mean, I got them because I was there in the right place, at the right time and they were free. And since I don't have that many keys for all those keychains, what's the point in keeping them anyway?
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