Brand Fuel (asi/145025) became the source of other vendors’ booth envy when it had the longest line at High Five, a marketing conference held by the Triangle AMA. The source of curiosity for the attendees? “The World’s Only Swag (Surprising, Wondrous, Audacious Giveaways) Lottery Machine.”

The Swag Lottery Machine (or SLM) was an idea that brought together both digital and analog marketing for an interactive, personalized experience. Created in conjunction with Media Tree (asi/70303), the machine allowed users to insert a “Swag Ticket” with their name and email address and pull a lever. They would then be hand-delivered (literally, thanks to a Media Tree representative working on the inside) a classic vinyl record with a strategically placed Brand Fuel sticker. The sticker offered a reward code for digital music, movies, charitable donations and more. The distributor had a turntable for people to play their newly acquired records, allowing Brand Fuel the opportunity to talk about some of the other services it provides.

Danny Rosin, co-president of Brand Fuel, said that the challenge in this industry and at the conference was that they’re trying to sell to marketers. “Marketers know most of the tricks out there – and they have high expectations,” Rosin explains. “So we thought, how can we create a unique experience around promotional products?”

Brand Fuel promoted the SLM on social media leading up to and during the conference, and it resulted in exceptional visibility: 23,800 Twitter impressions, a Facebook post reach of 5,841 and 4,372 LinkedIn impressions. Scott Monty, ranked by The Economist as a Top 5 social business leader, tweeted that the machine and branded vinyl was the “Best conference swag ever.”

Rosin said the High Five Conference experience was so successful that Brand Fuel was not only able to generate more than $16,000 in new business, but was also able to rent out The Swag Lottery Machine twice for a combined $3,000.