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edits
Changes
added part about printing certificates to hand out codes
=Raffle tool=
Kyle Bannerjee has a raffle tool here:http://raffle.alptown.com/
=Lessons Learned=
If you have too much stuff to give away, let winners select more than one prize.
Timing is critical. Giveaways immediately after lunch go faster because most attendees come back to the room for the next session. Slots after a poster session or between lightning talks and breakout sessions are much slower, as many people choose to take a break and not return to the room. It is therefore necessary to call lots of names before selecting someone present in the room. Giveaways on the final day are avoided since attendance is lower that day.
If you have software codes or coupon codes as prizes, it can be helpful to print them onto individual certificates that can be handed out to winners.
For fun, have a sound tech add a drum roll.
*Pragmatic Programmers
*Rosenfeld Media
=Boilerplate=
A variation of the following was sent to each company:
I am writing on behalf of the code4lib {year} conference Book Giveaway Committee to request a contribution to give away at our annual conference. All conference attendees are included in the drawing for prizes.
code4lib (http://www.code4lib.org/) is a community of programmers and technologists who largely work for and with libraries. At our annual conference, we like to do multiple drawings for free books and software licenses. We would be grateful to have a few {books or licenses} to giveaway at the conference, which will be in {location} on {date}. {In some cases, it is helpful to suggest titles: A range of our participants would be interested in titles such as x, y, and z.}
We will gladly include the {company} name in our acknowledgement of supporters for the giveaways; please let me know how you would like the name to be written.
If you have any questions or if you need more information, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
[[Category:Conferences]]
