Delegate packs are often half rubbish by lunchtime. A checklist of what delegates use during the event, what they keep, and what to drop.
Collect the delegate bags left behind after any conference and you can see exactly which items were wanted. The pen is gone. The notepad has three pages used. The glossy brochure is still in its plastic sleeve. A pack built from that evidence costs less and does more.
What delegates use during the event
Three things get used almost as soon as the first session starts.
A notepad. Branded notepads are KSh 100 each with a minimum of 50, printed and bound in our own workshop, with your logo on every page. Every page someone writes on during a session is a page with your name on it. If the event runs over several days or the delegates are senior, a gift notebook (KSh 550 to 900, minimum 12) is the step up.
A pen. Branded pens are about KSh 15 normal and about KSh 25 executive, minimum 50, confirmed on quote. Put one in every pack and a spare tub on the registration desk, because pens walk.
A name badge. Name badges are KSh 200 each with a minimum of 12. A badge that reads at arm's length is what lets delegates talk to each other, which is half the reason they came.
Delegate pack checklist
- Final, typed registration list with names spelt as delegates want them
- Notepad or gift notebook per delegate, plus ten percent spare
- Pen per delegate, plus a tub for the registration desk
- Name badge per delegate, plus a few blanks and a marker
- One keepsake item, chosen for use after the event
- The programme, with session times and room names
- A bag to carry it all
The one thing they keep
Everything above is used up during the event. One item should outlast it. That is where the budget is better spent on one decent piece than on five forgettable ones. A flask, a good notebook or a mousepad will still be on a desk next year. A plastic keyholder and a sachet of sweets will not.
If you are choosing that keepsake for clients as well as delegates, corporate gifts that still get used sets out which items stay in use longest and how to tier them by recipient.
The bag
The bag is often the most visible item in the whole pack, because delegates carry it in public for days. A printed tote bag is KSh 400 with a minimum of 50, and a good tote gets reused for shopping and campus long after the conference. Non-woven bags cost less and jute bags feel more premium. Whichever you choose, put the event name and date on one face and your logo on the other, so the bag still says something once the event has passed.
Timing the order
Work back from the first morning of the event. Notepads, bags and pens can be ordered as soon as the delegate number is roughly known, because a ten percent spare covers late changes. Badges come last, from the final list. Packing the bags is the step people forget to plan: filling a few hundred bags by hand takes hours, so book the people, the time and the room for it before the day.
The registration list carries a duty of its own. Section 25 of the Data Protection Act, 2019 says personal data must be collected for explicit, specified purposes, kept accurate and held no longer than that purpose needs. In practice: use the list for the badges and the event, correct a name the moment a delegate asks, and ask the delegates before passing their details to a sponsor, because that is a different purpose.
What to leave out
- Loose brochures that repeat your website. Put a QR code or a short link in the programme instead.
- Several sponsor flyers. Delegates sort them into the bin at the first coffee break. One combined sponsor page in the programme does more for each sponsor.
- Fragile or sticky items that leak into the notepad.
Running a stand at the same event rather than organising it? The expo stand checklist is the companion to this one.
Sources: Data Protection Act 2019 (Kenya Law) (read 14 Oct 2026).
Common questions
What should be in a conference delegate pack?
A notepad, a pen, a name badge, the programme and one keepsake item, in a bag delegates will carry. Those are the items used during the event and kept after it. Loose brochures can usually be replaced by a link in the programme.
How many extra badges and packs should I order?
Allow around ten percent extra for packs and pens, and print a few blank badges for late registrations and walk-ins. The cost of spares is small next to a delegate without a badge at the door.
When should name badges be printed?
From the final registration list, as late as possible. Names change and late registrations arrive right up to the event. Keep blank badges and a marker at the desk for anyone who is missed.
Can each notepad or notebook carry the delegate's name?
Gift notebooks can be branded with a name as well as your logo. Notepads are usually ordered with one design for everyone, so a personal name goes on the badge or the notebook instead.
