Tote bags
What we did in 2008
- David suggested we get larger tote bags than last year, in order to maximize post-conference usefulness. We were able to find totes that were 20"x16"x6" with a 5.5"x7" imprint area on both sides. The python "+" logo was on one side ( we used PMS colors 298 blue and 122 yellow) with the diamond sponsors in monochrome on the other. They were purchased from Minerva Sportswear in Bloomington, IL. I got the impression they were well received by the attendees. Minerva mentioned that if we wanted, they could produce our T-Shirts for us as well. I let them know of our excellent working relationship with Elegant Stitches, and how we have no intentions of switching. Should the Lindstrom's ever tire of doing this conference (and the devil be wearing a snowsuit), combining the shirt/tote order is an option to explore.
Ideas for 2009
- Shoulder strap instead of/in addition to handles
- Find bags made from post-consumer recyclables
- Have the tote's zipper fully close the bag (2008's had a small hole at one end of the zipper)
T-Shirts
What we did in 2008 . Elegant Stitches provided the conference T-Shirt with the [javascript:void(0);/*1220558110735*/ xkcd cartoon] on the back. They arrived prefolded (a nice touch). Graphics for the conference shirt were a big unknown until that comic came along. Canonical provided Bazaar-branded shirts solely in men's size Large. Google provided "Google/pycon 2008"-branded shirts in a variety of men's and women's sizes. Many people wanted shirt sizes that were different than what they requested at registration. From Thursday until midday Friday, we told them to come back later and check if we had extra in their desired size. Many did, and overall, I think most people ended up with the shirt size they wanted. Ideas for 2009
- If community artwork is hard to come by, don't be afraid to hire someone to do graphic design
- Let sponsors know that we can give them shirt size estimates before they order
Only give people the shirt size they registered for or hold a shirt-size-swap BoF or over-order all sizes by a bit more.
Stickers
What we did in 2008
- We ordered 10,000 python-branded stickers (approximately 2.5x3") from Minerva. Half of them were white, the other half were black. We stuffed at least one of each color in every bag and handed them out liberally to people who were interested in more.
Ideas for 2009
- ???
Bag Stuffing
What we did in 2008
- Bag stuffing suffered from some unfortunate missed communications. We didn't have a good handle on where all the sponsor stuff was until Thursday afternoon. By that time almost all of the tutorial attendees had incomplete bags with no shirts and only half of the sponsor handouts. We spent the rest of Thursday re-stuffing the remaining bags, and made complementary bundles for attendees who already had their bags. Once they were re-stuffed, handing out full bags wasn't too painful, thanks to some excellent volunteers who stayed with me well into the main registration rush Thursday night and Friday morning. All the bags were size-neutral, containing the Bazaar t-shirt only. Attendees were asked to pick up their badge holders, a bag, and give us their size so we could hand them shirts.
Ideas for 2009
- Ask all sponsors if they will be inserting something
- Ask sponsors if they are planning on inserting a T-Shirt
- Give sponsors an insert arrival deadline at least two days prior to tutorial day
- Give sponsors a single ship-to address for bag inserts (CTE would be a logical choice)
- Get tracking numbers for insert shipments
- Signage for the different steps involved in registration would be helpful if the venue doesn't present a logical traffic flow on its own
- Pre-assembled badge holders