That Means "Giveaways Galore"

By Rose Dorcey

The 16th Annual International Women in Aviation Conference in Dallas has broken all previous year's records as far as the number of exhibiting companies and booth spaces sold.

Peggy Chabrian, Founder and President of Women in Aviation, International announced the numbers at a Cessna Aircraft Company and General Aviation Manufacturer's Association sponsored media breakfast March 11. One-hundred-eighteen companies exhibited in 184 booths, which is up 2% from last year.

That means lots of gadgets and giveaways for the near record number of conference attendees. You will find lots more than the typical pens, pencils and post cards. Let's take a look…

Riding down the escalator to the Adam's Mark Hotel and Conference Center's packed exhibit hall, you can't help but notice an air of enthusiasm. Broad smiles, laughter, women in uniform and the sound of cowbells ringing. Cowbells? That's right. Cowbells. In the roomy Fed Ex booth, attendees try their luck at throwing two rubber horseshoes for a chance at prizes. When some lucky cowgirl gets a ringer, the cowbells jangle. Judging by the constant sound of clanging bells, it is safe to say that women in aviation know how to a horseshoe.

A few aisles over, there's another contest going on… the Southwest Airlines Peanut Toss. Contestants receive two snack packages of Southwest Airlines peanuts and try their skill at throwing them into holes on a map that depict Southwest destinations. Make a "basket" and you win a cute, stuffed Southwest Airlines airplane. The peanut-toss is an attention-grabber, but a word of warning if you're dawdling on the backside of Southwest -- I saw peanut packages flying high over the top of the display booth. 

I went to Continental Airlines, where they gave me and nearly 2,800 attendees like me a pedometer. It's 2300 as I write this. A quick check shows that I've walked 7,344 steps today.

Next, I went to Telex, where booth attendants convinced me to try their putting green. Actually, they convinced me to smack the ball while aiming for a dustpan several feet down the aisle. (I can't even get dust balls to go into my own dustpan back home.) I tried, and lucky for me, the golf ball bounced off another woman's heel and landed right in the cup, err… the pan. No cowbells for me, but I did win a nifty Telex CD holder and a bottle opener that is shaped like a maraca. It sounds like a baby rattle when you shake it (let's not go there). I don't know whose idea the maracas were, but conference attendees loved them.

The Telex booth attendants and I talked about the variety of promotional items that draw people into show booths. They said, compared to many other aviation conferences they attend, the Women in Aviation event is more "festive." The promotional items and contests reflect that atmosphere. "We find that the companies that exhibit at Women in Aviation are more inventive, more creative and not-so-traditional with their giveaways. Many booth visitors are moms who want take home things for their kids," the said.

Some items are hot, and are gone if you don't get there in time. I missed out on the Boeing Company reading lights. They went fast. I did score on the Rolls Royce t-shirt, the Air Force Reserve baseball cap, the Delta Airlines travel mug, and the JetBlue Airways blue potato chips.

Wings Financial gave tropical-scented lip balm and pencils with magically appearing clouds when warmed by your hands. Mouse pads from Independence Air, jar openers from Express Jet, luggage tags from America West Airlines and a really nice zippered leather travel portfolio from Northwest Airlines. I had to pick the right key and open a locked treasure chest to score that item.

Lint brushes, band-aid holders, telephone cord extenders, tape measurer, drink coasters, inflatable balloons, flashlights, compact mirrors, Airbus airplane pins, Electro-Blast fizz tabs, and finally, a bag clip -- to keep my blue potato chips fresh. Oh, how will I ever get all this stuff home?

FMI: http://www.wai.org