Forensic business owners, listen up! If you want to build credibility, expand your reach, and connect with your ideal audience, speaking at a forensic conference is one of the best ways to do it. Even if you’re not getting paid to present, the exposure and networking opportunities can be well worth the effort.
But here’s the challenge—how do you make an impact beyond the time you spend on stage? How do you ensure that people remember you, engage with your brand, and seek you out after your talk? That’s exactly the challenge we faced at the International Association for Identification (IAI) Annual Conference in Reno, Nevada. And we found a powerful solution: free challenge coins.
Here’s how this unconventional giveaway helped us create buzz, spark conversations, and even drive post-conference sales.
The Power of Unique Giveaways
In the bustling environment of a conference, attendees are bombarded with information, sessions, and, of course, swag. While pens and notepads are ubiquitous, they often fail to make a lasting impact. To truly stand out, offering unique and memorable giveaways people actually want is essential. According to SnackNation, the best conference swag items are those that are memorable, practical, and of high quality.
Why We Chose Challenge Coins as a Giveaway
1. Law Enforcement Professionals Love Challenge Coins
If you’ve ever been to a law enforcement or forensic conference, you know that challenge coins are a big deal. Many professionals collect them, trade them, and display them proudly. Some conferences even host dedicated coin trading events. That made them a perfect fit for engaging with forensic professionals at IAI.
Instead of the usual pens, tote bags, or stickers, we wanted to offer something that attendees would genuinely want—something that aligned with their interests and would spark conversation long after the event ended.
2. A Custom Design That Tied Into Our Brand
We didn’t just slap our logo on a coin and call it a day. We designed a coin that merged forensic science elements with pop culture—in this case, Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department album.
Here’s what made our coin stand out:
- Double-sided design featuring “The Tortured Forensics Department” on one side and “All’s Fair in Love & Science” on the other.
- A spinning center with forensic symbols: a skeletal rib cage, fingerprint, crime scene markers, and a DNA double helix.
- High-quality materials and bold colors that made the coin feel like a true collector’s item.
The final product wasn’t just a giveaway—it was an exclusive, conversation-starting piece of forensic swag.
Related: “How We Designed Custom Challenge Coins for Forensic Professionals“
3. A Giveaway Strategy That Encouraged Social Media Engagement
We didn’t just hand these out to anyone who walked by. To get a challenge coin, attendees had to:
- Find us at the conference. This meant tracking us down in the hallways, after our presentations, at networking events, or our conference meetup.
- Take a photo with us.
- Post the photo on social media.
This strategy ensured that our coins weren’t just tossed into a swag bag and forgotten. Instead, they turned into a viral marketing tool—our social media feeds were filled with attendees posting their challenge coin photos and tagging us, which only increased our visibility.
The Results: What We Learned from the Challenge Coin Giveaway
1. Attendees Were Excited to Hunt Us Down
We gave away 75 challenge coins at the conference. By the third day, they were completely gone. Attendees were actively seeking us out, sometimes even waiting after our presentations just to get their hands on one. This level of engagement far exceeded what we’ve seen with traditional conference swag.
2. Social Media Buzz Led to More Conversations
Because part of the giveaway requirement was posting on social media, our challenge coins generated a wave of online visibility. People who hadn’t even attended our presentations were coming up to us, saying, “I saw these coins online—how do I get one?” This created a ripple effect of interest and brand recognition.
3. The Demand Didn’t End After the Conference
The biggest surprise? People wanted to buy the coins.
We had so many attendees asking if we planned to sell them that we decided to do a post-conference preorder. The results:
- 591 challenge coins sold.
- $600 donated to Hurricane Helene relief.
What started as a simple giveaway turned into a successful product launch and a way to give back.
Lessons for Forensic Business Owners
Giveaways Work—But Make Them Meaningful
If you want to stand out at a conference, don’t default to generic swag. Instead, ask yourself:
- What do attendees actually care about?
- How can a giveaway tie into your brand?
- Can you use it to drive social media engagement?
For forensic conferences, challenge coins were a perfect fit. But at other industry events, the best giveaway might be something entirely different. Think outside the box.
Don’t Just Give Stuff Away—Make People Work for It
One reason our challenge coins were such a hit? Attendees had to actively seek them out. This:
- Made them feel exclusive.
- Increased social media engagement.
- Created a built-in conversation starter.
Whether it’s a challenge coin, a book, or another high-value giveaway, consider requiring some form of engagement to receive it.
Should You Try This Strategy?
If you’re a forensic business owner looking to make an impact at a scientific conference, here’s what we recommend:
✅ Yes, if…
- You’re a speaker and want to expand your reach beyond the stage.
- You’re a vendor and want to expand your reach beyond the exhibit hall.
- You have a creative giveaway that resonates with the audience.
- You want to leverage social media to amplify your presence.
❌ Maybe not, if…
- You don’t have the budget for a high-quality giveaway.
- Your audience isn’t the type to engage in collecting or social sharing.
- You’re not willing to put in the effort to make it engaging.
For us, this challenge coin experiment was a massive success. We’re already planning our next themed giveaway for the 2025 IAI Conference in Orlando, Florida!
If you’re speaking at a forensic conference soon, consider how you can creatively engage your audience—whether through a giveaway, a social media challenge, or something entirely new. Stand out, spark conversations, and make a lasting impression!
