We have absolutely no clue how much we need to bring in terms of pins/giveables. It seems that teams run out pretty quickly, how much have you brought and still run out? How much do you need to not run out?
We did an order of an extra 500 pins one year just for champs. Probably gave away 350-400. That was in an open “take one” box.
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I never feel like we have enough buttons for events. Usually we bring 300 or so and are out by early on Friday at regionals. At Champs, they go even faster. I ordered 1000 for this year just for Champs - we’ll see if that’s enough.
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Is it possible to extend this thread into “what is a cool button” (champs specific too) as well? We mad some we thought were pretty cool but…they were very unpopular.
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I think some of it also has to with the popularity of your team and robot. Most powerhouse’s pins fly out of their pits in an hour LOL. It also has to with the pin being flashy and colorful. We have a pride variation of our classic 599 doctor logo that always runs out way before the classic ones do.
I think what makes a good pin is something that is slick and unique. The 1678 pin has always been my favorite because its plain as can be and unique, while also being able to be altered (Citrus Pride variation and Citrus Ukraine variation to name a few).
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The year you guys did matte pins, those were so so so cool.
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my team is bringing 1,000 buttons to champs, we have 2 designs. we printed and made about 500 of each. however, a team we know is bringing 500 buttons and 3 designs
For the 3 teams I’ve been a student on or mentored, all of them have taken buttons pretty seriously with either multiple unique designs or a single very desirable design.
On 246, ~1300 was just about enough for us this year. We had 4 different designs (1 of them was vastly more popular so they were probably made in ~3:1:1:1 ratio). That was enough for us to do 2 district events (30 teams and then 40 teams) and also DCMP (90 teams). If we wanted enough for champs, I’d guess we would need probably another ~1300, but I haven’t gone to WCMP so it’s hard to get an actual estimate.
Expect that ~30% of all people taking your buttons will want one of every design, so limit the variety of designs if you want them to last longer. Few people take multiple of the same button.
If your buttons are just your team logo/name or something lacking a unique quality, cut those numbers by a third or so.
If you are a persistently high performing team (or are having a breakout season), increase quantity by at least 50%.
If you have a unique design, especially one that is identity-oriented (LGBT+/BLM/etc), expect to need at least 2/3 as many of those as your main design.
Always make more than you think you need, especially for “evergreen” designs because they can always be used for next year. For “season specific” button designs (like charged-up theme), don’t make quite as many unless you know they are going to be popular. It’s not as valuable to use “season specific” designs for sponsor demos, outreach events, etc, because they don’t usually hold true to the team brand.
None of these numbers were actually tracked, just estimates based on how many supplies we ordered and how much we have left. I know our numbers were similar on my previous teams as well, so I’m confident in the rough range. I think we should have made at least ~400 more because we chose not to bring them to our Week 0 event (hadn’t made enough yet), and we don’t have enough for our summer outreach events.
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From my teams personal experience, you probably don’t want to do more than 2 designs of buttons, because otherwise you have people who try to collect every design and you will run out FAR quicker.
We are bringing approximately 350 buttons and 300 stickers for each regional. They are finishing around 2 days.
For the champs we decided to make 1000 buttons and 600 stickers which is hopefully enough.
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Let the secret be reveled!
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We typically plan for 1000 for a regional (60 teams x average of 25 people per team = 1500 people, so about 2/3) and 3000 for champs (clearly not on the same level, but many people don’t get out past their own division) and seldom run out - but our bows are a bit different than your typical pin, I think they end up a little more popular. One year when our team didn’t make it, our Dean’s List Finalists took 1000 bows with her and ran out without even having a pit!
The good news is they keep fairly well when you have leftovers 
But only if you vacuum seal them 
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For the LGBTQ+ of FIRST lapel pins, The Rainbow STEM Alliance usually takes (and gives away) over 2,000-3,000 per year at world’s alone amongst the partner teams and the LGBTQ+ of FIRST Staff Members. Slightly different thing, but similarly popular, and is cross program.
If you want your pins to be more popular, make sure it successfully completes one of the categories in Champs Button Bingo. My students will all be playing “fill the grid”.
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