promotional product ideas

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There's a good reason that an estimated 16 billion dollars worth of promotional products were sold worldwide in 2010. Free stuff is amazingly popular (as most people would guess), which is why promotional products work... but only if you know what you're doing! You need to pick the right promotional product that is best for what you are promoting, and then use the promo or giveaway item in the right way. We've all gotten promotional products (aka marketing giveaways, freebies, swag, corporate gifts, employee appreciation rewards, etc), and we know how many of them end up in the trash can and then the local landfill (a lot!). So how do you utilize promotional products effectively, and keep your customized promotional product from joining the other promotional losers in the trash? Well, with these great promotional products ideas, of course!

As I've written in other trade show articles here, promotional products are great for trade show giveaways (which is why I've provided some specific trade show giveaway ideas). But promotional products are also great for other business promotion and marketing events (like grand openings) as well as for corporate gifts (to important customers) and for employee gifts, and for employee reward programs. If possible, you should select a promo product that will meet all your marketing needs. For example, if you are choosing a promotional product idea for your trade show giveaway, order extra, and then use it for other marketing (like sending to your best customers at Christmas and other holidays as gifts). Promotional products can be used for employee appreciation gifts and rewards (like for perfect attendance, hitting sales goals, etc). Promotional products can also be used for personal events, like family reunions, baby showers, anniversary celebrations, etc. Generally promotional products for personal events are more limited in scope, and include items like custom-printed t-shirts, silicon wristbands, and baseball caps.

For cheap promotional products ideas, I'm a big fan of custom-printed pens and silicon wristbands, as well as keychains and various puzzles. For more expensive promotional giveaways and also for corporate and employee gifts, I'm a big fan of embroidered logo apparel, such as polo shirts, jackets, and baseball caps. And if you really want to impress corporate customers or reward special employees, all the Apple electronics, such as iPads and iPods are extremely popular, though putting one's logo on them can be challenging (USB flash drives and memory sticks are a cheaper and more easily imprinted option).

If you are using a promotional product as a free giveaway to market your business, a few basic rules apply (similar to the rules for using trade show giveaways effectively)

1. YOUR COMPANY NAME: The promo item needs your company or business name, logo, and contact information on it.

2. ADD SOMETHING UNIQUE AND CATCHY: If you can, add something unique to the imprint, like a funny, memorable, and/or useful phrase, tagline, or motto, and if possible, relate this phrase to your business. Something catchy on your promotional product giveaway will encourage people too keep your giveaway instead of a competitors giveaway if they have multiple items that are the same and only keep one.

3. COST AND COST EFFECTIVENESS: The cost and price of the promo item needs to make sense. You need to be able to afford to hand it out to as many people, prospective clients, and/or customers as needed, and you need to make more in return from the promotional effect of the promo item so that it more than covers the cost of the items and giving them away.

4. THE KEEPABILITY FACTOR: What is the "keepability factor"? It means will people keep your promotional product giveaway, or will it end up in the trash? Is the item useful, helpful, or funny? Is there a reason to keep it, and hold on to it, or will it just get discarded?

Just remember when you're picking a promotional item for marketing your cause or business, the point of promotional products is NOT just to give out free stuff, or even worse, free junk. The point is to promote your business! You need your promotional item to be useful so it is kept by the recipient, and also to help promote your business. It should be a win-win... a win for your future customer because it is something they will keep and use, and a win for your company because it will result in the person contacting you in the future to do business with you. Don't just hand out junk, and don't hand out stuff to people that will never become your customers. Remember the point of promotional products... they are for promoting your business. Be smart, and pick your promotional products carefully and wisely. Make sure they also fit in with your overall marketing strategy. And remember that often the best promotional item is the most obvious item... a sample of your product or service. Nothing identifies and defines your company more than a sample of what you make or do, so remember to consider samples as promo items, but also remember to make sure your samples are labeled with your company contact information!

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Please bookmark this page and visit it again. We will be regularly posting updates to our Promotional Products Ideas & Tips page as we find more ideas for the top promotional products well as the latest best, most popular promotional products also. Come back soon and visit us again!

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