Promotional items like pens and calendars might seem a little archaic as marketing tools in the digital age.
However, these products are still incredibly popular among organisations looking to boost brand awareness offline – a 2011 survey showed eight in ten recipients of promotional merchandise believe their awareness of the brand in question increased as a direct result.
If you want to take advantage of promotional items for your business, take a look at our rundown of the best products to consider.
BagsWhether it’s a carrier bag, a durable tote or a holdall, there’s no denying the power of a bag emblazoned with your company’s logo when it comes to enhancing your brand. Look around you on your next commute to or from work – how many bus, train or tube passengers do you see with a printed bag of some kind? Chances are there’ll be quite a few.
As bags are often used a number of times, they’re a great investment as a promotional tool. Plus, the fact that they’re carried around in public means your brand will be advertised to as many people as possible – cementing your company in the minds of both the owner and passersby.
MugsLike bags, mugs are incredibly useful and always welcomed as a gift. Walk into any office and there’s an extremely strong chance there’ll be at least a couple of promotional mugs lying around, either by the coffee machine or on workers’ desks.
Every time someone goes to make a brew or wash up, or even casually glance away from their computer screen, they will take in your logo on their mug. Millions of cups of tea and coffee are drunk in Australia every day, with an individual office worker likely to drink around three or four a day. Just think of how many impressions that adds up to over the lifetime of the average promotional mug!
UmbrellasContinuing on the theme of usefulness, Australians most likely to be grateful to receive a promotional umbrella at the moment. Distribute these as corporate gifts and you will at the very least have provided existing or potential clients with a batch of brollies they can keep at the door on unexpected rainy days.
This is another item that can expand the reach of your brand far beyond the recipient; after all, once the umbrella has been opened, the owner is unlikely to look directly at the logo on its surface while they’re using it – but passersby will have their eye caught by the design.
CalendarsDespite the ubiquity of digital calendars on laptops and mobile phones, there’s much to be said for a printed promotional calendar that will likely be glanced at on most days of the year.
A survey by the Promotional Products Association International shows nearly 80 per cent of consumers and businesspeople prefer a physical calendar for keeping track of appointments and other events, with more than six in ten having at least one branded calendar in their office or home.
Plus, it’s easy for your organisation to simply send out another batch of calendars towards the end of each year, ensuring your brand remains in the minds of recipients for another 12 months.
USB DrivesPromotional USB sticks are proof that offline branding can work in harmony with modern technology – albeit in a very literal sense! USB sticks turned out to be the most popular branded item in a recent Study, with 21 per cent of respondents favouring these for their usefulness.
Flash drives are probably the USB accessories that first come to mind when you think of this type of equipment, but don’t forget that you can also print your logo on a USB mouse, keyboard, charger and many more products!