How Purple Dot turned event swag into a high-converting growth channel

Purple Dot enables brands to sell before inventory arrives, boosting growth and delivering an exceptional customer experience.

As the team expanded its presence at events and conferences, in-person activations became a key part of how they drove awareness, engagement, and meeting bookings.

The challenge: High-cost swag, low conversion, and heavy execution

As events became a core growth channel, Purple Dot leaned on high-demand but expensive swag to attract people to their booth. Early on, this meant ordering big-ticket  items like Stanley cups and Labubus directly from sites like Amazon at MSRP. 

These activations worked well at the surface level, driving strong interest and foot traffic. But the impact didn’t carry through. As Suzannah Merritt, Event and Marketing Lead at Purple Dot, shared, the results ultimately didn’t justify the cost at scale.

Furthermore, while these items attracted attendees to the booth, many of the products didn’t meaningfully tie back to the Purple Dot brand or drive continued engagement.

To add to the challenge, Purple Dot’s approach to event swag was operationally heavy. Everything had to be sourced, transported, and managed manually – a process that often involved carrying dozens of items across events, with real risk of loss and damage.

For a lean team, this approach wasn’t sustainable.

Why Purple Dot chose Wayo for their merch

What Purple Dot wanted wasn’t a different swag vendor, but a merch partner that could help them be more strategic, while also reducing the operational burden of running events.

Wayo delivered on both fronts.

On the strategy side, Wayo enabled a more intentional approach to swag. Instead of relying on generic or weakly branded giveaways, Purple Dot could choose products that people genuinely wanted while ensuring each item still reinforced the brand and extended engagement beyond the event.

Wayo also made it possible for the Purple Dot team to move away from a single high-cost giveaway item. By ordering premium and cost-effective items within the same platform, the team could better manage cost while still offering products that attendees wanted. With Wayo’s low MOQs, the team could also avoid overcommitting on inventory.

On the execution side, the difference was immediate. Rather than dealing with the logistics themselves, Wayo delivered the custom products directly to Suzannah’s hotel, giving her the flexibility to pre-assemble materials ahead of time.

“[Wayo] really made everything so easy, and they took so much of my mental load… they’re truly a game changer.

All together, Wayo empowered Purple Dot to shift swag from a logistical headache into a reliable, repeatable part of their growth engine.

The result: Impactful giveaways that drove real conversion

On the day of the event, Purple Dot implemented a spin-the-wheel game, where attendees had the chance to win a range of prizes. 

For the event, the team produced:

• Branded AirPods
• Branded mints that doubled as a business card
• Luggage tags 
• Socks

The AirPods were the main draw, while lower-cost items made it possible to scale engagement without driving up the costs. “People want to win something that they genuinely want, but it can’t just be like a branded pen or random water bottle.”

Some items also created unexpected moments of connection. The socks became a hit – many attendees traveling to the event  had forgotten them – and the mints ensured every interaction stayed tied to the brand. By including a QR code with a link to book a meeting, Purple Dot could ensure that their prospects would always have their brand (and info) in hand whenever they needed a mint. 

By the end of the event, Purple Dot successfully booked 50+ meetings through event activations. Their swag had become more than just a way to attract attention and instead a meaningful strategy for driving brand awareness and conversion.

The AirPods were the main draw, while lower-cost items made it possible to scale engagement without driving up the costs. “People want to win something that they genuinely want, but it can’t just be like a branded pen or random water bottle.”

Some items also created unexpected moments of connection. The socks became a hit – many attendees traveling to the event  had forgotten them – and the mints ensured every interaction stayed tied to the brand. By including a QR code with a link to book a meeting, Purple Dot could ensure that their prospects would always have their brand (and info) in hand whenever they needed a mint. 

By the end of the event, Purple Dot successfully booked 50+ meetings through event activations. Their swag had become more than just a way to attract attention and instead a meaningful strategy for driving brand awareness and conversion.

What’s next

As Purple Dot continues investing in events and conferences, swag will remain a key part of their growth strategy, now with a more cost-effective and seamless approach.

With Wayo handling sourcing and logistics, including shipping items directly to the booth, hotel, or event venue, the team can focus on refining their growth strategy. That means balancing desirability with cost and ensuring each item delivers value to the company.

They plan to keep experimenting with different products and formats, building on what they’ve learned to create experiences that not only attract attention, but drive more meaningful interactions.

With Wayo supporting execution behind the scenes, Purple Dot can treat swag as a structured, scalable channel that consistently drives pipeline across events.