I was speaking at a conference in New Orleans recently on the topic of how to increase the referrals within an international law firm network. The program had a clever conference gift for the attendees — an open-face oyster shell.

But not just any oyster shell.

I speak at 30+ conferences per year on marketing and CLE issues, so I see a lot of giveaways.  Most are fairly traditional, i.e. logo’d hats, pens, keychains, phone chargers, iPod headphones, and desktop phone holders. But some are a big step up in creativity.

The best giveaways ones are either:

(1) useful, so people keep them on their desks,

(2) memorable, so the firms stay top of mind a bit more often, and/or

(3) connected to their marketing, e.g. the organization’s name, brand message, or geography.

At an international law firm network like Lex Mundi, it can be important to remind the firm’s fellow network members of their geography.  That way, when asked later whether they know a lawyer or firm in X jurisdiction, their identity leaps to mind.

This firm used a relatively iconic item that represents New Orleans, i.e. oysters to remind people of their time at the conference.

But the memorable twist was how they’d turned the oyster shells into a unique piece of art.

Local artist, Stacey Blanchard, had been commissioned to hand-paint each 5-inch shell with a representation of an historic local building, the Old Ursuline Convent.

They also showed the Lex Mundi name and the conference date.  The painted shells were unique, attractive, and clever.  Importantly, they were also small and light enough to fit in your carry-on luggage, so nearly everyone brought them home.

Today, these shells are sitting on office desks in law firms all over the world, collecting coins, paper clips, and other small items.

Giveaways can be difficult.

But this one was a winner.