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Am I the only one who thinks lanyards for name badge holders are the dumbest industry idea ever?

By Mr. Steven Hacker CAE, FASAE, CEM posted 11-10-2012 12:29:57 PM

  
The only dumber idea is pinning your name badge to your belt.

If the principal objective of providing attendees and exhibitors with name badges is to facilitate easy identification by both, what sense does it make to furnish lanyards that typically hang two to three inches above belt level making it awkward/difficult or impossible to quickly id the individual? One of the universal and fundamental discussions between organizers and registration companies is always the proper size and composition of the elements of the name badge. The nickname/first name must be twice as large as the subordinate data. Why? Again, to facilitate the easy identification by both parties of the other.

How embarrassing is it when only one party knows the other but because the name badge is out of line of sight the other party doesn't have a clue about who this is (and often should --- a really tough but common situation that plagues paid staff).

Ok, I can hear the replies. "Pin a name badge on to an expensive suit or silk blouse?" "Imprinted lanyards provide the organizer with another sponsorship revenue opportunity." 

Nope, these don't fly. A bulldog/pin clip with optional neck chain is a much more appropriate solution in every case. Organizers just need to think of more creative ways to squeeze out some more sponsorship revenue. Everyone loves badge ribbons why not affix the sponsors name to each badge as the first ribbon, for example? 

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04-03-2013 06:26:02 PM

Hi Steve, I am new to Memberlink and in my checking it out I found your blog post. I realize it was posted some time ago, however the post is really relevant and I thought I would add my two cents.
You have asked and answered all of the reasons people with give you about why lanyards should be used. I for one hate pins that ruin my cloths and I totally agree that lanyards are always in the wrong place and really awkward if you are of the female gender.. There is one solution that I have found, fasten the badge with a magnet holder. You can put the badge anywhere because it loops over and sticks. You can still use a sponsorship insert and you can determine what you want to print on the badge. I am not sure I like the idea of a bulldog/pin :)