Promotional products are an exceptionally powerful marketing tool. The majority of people keep promotional products, use them for a while, and then pass them on to someone else. And the more your promotional items get used, the more eyes you get on your message.
So you want to choose promotional items that your customers will actually use. The best items are those that customers will take out of their homes and use in the workplace, on the street, or in other areas where your messaging can get maximum exposure. Here are some of the best promotional items to choose from for your brand messaging.
Outerwear and T-Shirts
Hats, jackets, and T-shirts printed with your brand logo can easily get your message seen all over town — and even beyond. You can choose from fleece sweatshirts, puffer jackets, windbreakers, t-shirts, ball caps, and even embroidered patches. These items can generate thousands of impressions over a 10-month lifecycle, especially when customers wear them outside of their homes.
When it comes to offering promotional clothing items, inclusive sizing matters. Make sure you offer a wide range of size choices. If you’re choosing puffer jackets or other outerwear that is normally stuffed with down, go for the hypoallergenic down alternative. Lots of people are allergic to real feathers, and plenty of others would prefer to leave the feathers on the birds.
Reusable Bags
Reusable bags and totes are getting more popular as more, younger consumers emphasize sustainability in their shopping habits. Shopping bags and totes are perfect for trade shows, fairs, and other events where you can set yourself up near the door and hand out your branded bags to people coming in. They’ll then carry them all over the event, and while they’re using them to hold their purchases or other to carry other promotional items they’ve received from other vendors, your messaging will be front and center. A $5 tote bag can have a cost-per-impression of about two-tenths of a cent, and the nicer the bag, the longer and more frequently customers will carry it.
USB Drives and Other Tech Stuff
Branded USB drives are among the most popular promotional giveaways because they’re so useful. Lots of people like having access to documents and photos on a thumb drive so they don’t have to rely on cloud access and the internet connection it typically requires. Fifty-eight percent of consumers have a promotional USB and 43 percent of them hang onto these items and are still using them as long as two years later.
Sustainable Items
Millennials and Gen Z consumers prefer products that are made with environmentally sustainable materials, as well as products that allow them to live more sustainable lives, like water bottles, travel coffee mugs, and reusable shopping bags. Look for environmentally-friendly promotional products made from sustainable and recycled materials. For example, you can get nice, branded fleece throws made with recycled plastic or a classy bento box made with bamboo. Sustainable products will appeal to younger consumers, and they’ll reflect positively and on your brand in general.
Drinkware
Regular coffee mugs, insulated travel mugs, tumblers, water bottles, and plastic cups are just some of the branded drinkware that you can offer to customers. Most people hang onto their branded drinkware for several months, to a year or longer, and they use these items. With sustainability at front of mind for many consumers, most are looking for reusable alternatives to disposable drinkware, and everyone could use another water bottle, tumbler, or mug. Branded drinkware is among the most popular promotional products, and one of the ones that people really hang onto, use a lot and then give away when they’re done.
Engraved pens are just the beginning. Think of the kinds of items that employees might be given in the office but that they might otherwise have to buy for themselves while working from home. Everything from cord organizers to sticky noteholders to staplers, thumbtacks and even pencils and pens can help you spread your message while catering to the needs of a new class of professionals who are working remotely.
Promotional items are a great way to get your brand messaging out into the world — so many people use branded items that your messaging might circulate much longer on a single promotional item than in any of your other advertisements. Make sure you’re offering the items your customers actually want, so you can keep your cost per impression low and maximize the return on your marketing investment.
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