This month we continue our series of 50th anniversary blog posts with a look into the history of ETC SWAG. From the first pen that mocked ETC’s relaxed view on business in the 70s, to the current stock of 50th anniversary gear, ETC has been selling and giving out SWAG for decades.
For those of you who have attended conferences, meetings, or tradeshows in the past, the concept of SWAG is probably not foreign. Some say SWAG stands for “stuff we all get,” and others say its an acronym for souvenirs, wearables, and gifts. But no matter what you think the word actually stands for, there’s no denying that ETC embraces the concept wholeheartedly.
Instigated by Fred Foster in 1979, the first-ever ETC swag item was a pen emblazoned with “We’d Rather Be Sailing.” While that is a longer story (that you can listen to around the 10:00 minute mark of this video), it’s a good example of our deep and vivid history of unique and fun items for our customers.
As ETC employees, SWAG is one of our favorite topics of conversation, too! Here are a couple of blog articles on SWAG that we’ve done in the past:
Of course, when we launch new products, we often have specific swag to go with them! For example…
The CueSpider Spiders were a big hit!
The yo-yos for the Prodigy Balance launch earlier this year were a kitschy nod to ETC rigging systems.
While the Eos Apex pillow was never actually given away – it was created for an April Fool’s Day gag - you can find one at the headquarters building if you look hard enough.
The Source Four pillow, however, is something you can purchase from the online SWAG Store!
“At first when I had this product in development, it did not get a lot of acceptance and love from anyone but me. However, I took it to Fred in his office and hit him over the head with it… and then he stole it from me and we had an epic pillow fight that led to this product taking off. A post I did on the Eos Forum introducing the pillow with Sasha (who was the TS Eos expert at the time) asking how the best way to program it (as a joke) went viral and sales took off. Customers went nuts! As of today, we’ve sold 1,314 pillows globally and there is a Source 4 pillow on every continent of the world except Antarctica.”
The Layers of Light vacuum-packed t-shirts were also popular because they were a safe-ish and easy thing to throw into crowds at tradeshows and conferences.
Before tablets, phones, and laptops, ETC offered a leather notepad portfolio. It featured slots for business cards, an open notebook to write notes, and a large pouch to carry data sheets and a product catalog. “All of that is now obsolete, but at the time, it was really something. It was important to keep up with trends in the market and engage with customers and employees to make sure we provided tools in the market that were relevant,” says Rick.
The Town Square deck of cards was such a hit back in the day that we recently created a new design!
While SWAG may seem like such a small thing, or maybe a little frivolous at times, it really is something that folks all around the world truly appreciate and love. We are lucky to have high school students, college students, sales partners, end users, technicians, designers, and so many others repping ETC through our SWAG. That’s not something that happens very often, especially for a lighting manufacturer based out of southern Wisconsin. A big thank you to each of you who buy, wear, and collect the ETC SWAG that we create just for you!
Looking for limited edition 50th Anniversary SWAG? Check out our online swag store!
Or, sign up to attend the summer CUE Conference in Madison, WI, and grab your free ETC SWAG, or buy gifts for others from the Haberdashery while you’re in town. Yup, we have a permanent swag store located in Town Square at the headquarters building because you all love our SWAG that much!