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13 Best Promotional Items (and what not to get)

Best Promo Items Hero Image

Promotional items are a popular way for companies to increase brand awareness and attract new customers, but not all promotional items are effective. Many businesses make the mistake of choosing low-quality or uninteresting items that will be easily forgotten or discarded. These types of items are not only a waste of money, but can also harm the brand image. Instead of handing out these meaningless items, it's important to choose the best promo products that are well-designed and will be kept and used by the recipients.  

What Promotional Items Work Best?

1. Don't Get... Paperweights 

Google image search "modern office." What do you see?

Rows and rows of computers and wide open desk space. What don't you see? Paper.

With the growing importance of sustainability, cloud technology connecting coworkers, and a growing remote workforce, businesses are opting to go paperless.

Nearly half of businesses have gone (or are going) paperless. With scanners, cloud technology, and a rapidly growing, telecommuting workforce, businesses need to go paperless in order to remain competitive. Unfortunately, that means a giveaway staple (hah, a paper pun!) are going the way of the dodo.    

Because really, in a paperless office, what use is a paperweight?

Get This Instead: Microfiber Cleaning Cloth

Since we're going digital, cleaning cloths are useful items for blue light glasses, phones, tablets, computers, and laptops. They're practical, compact, and endlessly useful. Plus, cleaning cloths provide ample space for your promotional message or company logo.

So ditch the outdated paperweight and opt instead for a microfiber cleaning cloth that's long-lasting and will get plenty of use in and around the office!

2. Don't Get... Plain, Boring Pens

Pens, while great for signing documents, are becoming less and less useful. This is in large part due to the advancements in digitization. In an increasingly digital world, providing your customers with a pen is far less effective in terms of driving impressions for your brand.

Get This Instead: A Pen/Stylus Combo 

Pen

Promotional items are really popular at conferences, right? Can you imagine how popular your booth would be if you started handing out dual purpose pens?

With less and less people carrying notebooks with them to conferences, laptops, tablets, and phones are reigning supreme. A pen alone is unhelpful when it comes to touchscreens (especially if you're not looking to violate your warranty), but pens that come with a stylus? *Chef's kiss.*

Instead of using your fingers, which more often than not results in smudges all over your phone, your branded stylus will help you access your apps, absolutely smudge-less. 

3. Don't Get... Standard Pencils

The only thing worse than a plain, boring pen is a standard pencil. 

While pens work from the get-go (click them and they write - ingenious, really), pencils typically first require a sharpener. And unless you plan to supply a branded sharpener with every pencil, you're more likely than not leaving your end-users with a useless piece of wood.  

Get This Instead: A Mechanical Pencil

Mechanical Pencil

There's something to be said for instant gratification, and a mechanical pencil provides exactly that. Not only can your end-users immediately enjoy their new promo item, but your brand is also in tact through the entirety of the pencil's lifecycle, rather than slowly being sharpened away until it's unrecognizable. 

4. Don't Get... Letter Openers

When is the last time you received a letter?

You likely either mentioned a recent bill or an advertisement that you take a single glance at and immediately designate as "junk mail," earning a place directly into the recycling bin, unopened.

This makes letter openers just as useless as paperweights.  

Get This Instead: Phone Cases

phone case

These days, most corporate communication is done via email, and while that has its own share of problems (looking at you spam emails), it is still much more convenient than snail mail. Plus, many of us have our emails linked to our phones, making us almost always accessible. 

So why not provide something a little more useful when it comes to staying in touch? Enter phone cases.  

Phones are expensive (and fragile), so with your brand protecting them, your consumers will be ever grateful. Plus, you can utilize the design to really stand out, drawing all eyes to your logo and eliciting the following question, every time a new person sees it in use: "Where did you get that?!"

5. Don't Get... Outdated Listening Devices

Think about the last time you used (or maybe even saw) a CD. Does your laptop even have a CD drive anymore? Probably not. 

Over the years, listening devices have slowly gone out of style and, aside from the few that swear vinyl just "sounds better," the past is probably best left in the past. 

Get This Instead: USB Drives

USB Drive

Admittedly, USB drives are also on their way out; fewer and fewer tablets support them.

That said, as long as business is done on laptops and desktops, USB drives are golden. End-users will use them again and again, each time with your logo front and center. Even better? Flash drives typically pass through many users' hands in their lifetimes, making your logo an impression-making machine!

6. Don't Get... Toothbrushes

Everyone remembers that one house on their block that gave out toothbrushes instead of candy, right? Don't be that house. 

General rule of thumb: unless your brand is concerned with dental hygiene, don't brand a toothbrush. 

Get This Instead: Food

Food

Everyone eats, and food gifts are always appreciated.

Regardless of the event, food can be an energizer, and it can also brand your organization as a "savior," especially when event attendees' stomachs are already rumbling. 

And if you're really worried about your consumers' dental hygiene, you can invest in a healthier snack alternative. 

7. Don't Get... Drawstring Bags

They're everywhere, and unless you're going high-quality, they're pretty unlikely to experience reuse. 

Get This Instead: Tote Bags

Totes

Totes are useful and oftentimes tell a sustainability story, which is huge in today's climate. Plus, totes typically offer more branding real-estate than drawstring bags!

8. Don't Get... Visors 

What's a visor, when it comes down to it? Half of a hat. What do you have against hats? 

Not only are you getting less hat for your money, but you're also giving away an item that most users will never wear. 

Get This Instead: Sunglasses

Sunglasses-last blog

What protects your eyes from the sun, caters to hat-haters, and maintains your good hair day? That's right, sunglasses! 

They come in a million styles, everyone could use more of them, and they'll travel everywhere with your end-users. Really, it's a no brainer. 

9. Don't Get... Ponchos

Think about it; do you really want your brand on a garbage bag with a face hole? We didn't think so. 

Get This Instead: Umbrellas

umbrella-last blog

Umbrellas keep you dry, without associating your brand with a garbage bag. 

Yes, umbrellas are more costly giveaways than ponchos, but they are long lasting and endlessly useful for your consumers.

10. Don't Get... A Padfolio  

Padfolios, in and of themselves, are outdated. Sure, some people carry them around at conferences still, but let's call a spade a spade: these people are not with the times. 

We're going digital, so padfolios just aren't a memorable (or all that useful) giveaway.

Get This Instead: A Tablet Case 

tablet case

Tablet cases can often still carry the same information a padfolio does, just in a much more compact, digital, eco-friendly manner. Plus, tablet cases come in a variety of styles and they can accommodate nearly any tablet size, making them an easy branding opportunity that your end-users will love.

11. Don't Get... A Regular Wallet

Wallets can be deeply personal items. We spend all day carrying them around, and some people are even gifted wallets with a personal significance, i.e. an heirloom or a coming of age gift. 

For this reason, most individuals aren't interested in your free wallet, when theirs, whether falling apart or not, has way too much meaning. 

phone wallet

Get This Instead: A Phone Wallet

Without diminishing the significance of the end-user's wallet, a phone wallet is designed for lightweight, compact carrying of a single credit card and ID when on-the-go. It helps keep their necessities close, since everyone's phone goes wherever they do. 

12. Don't Get... Headphones

Let's just be honest: your headphones aren't going to compete with brands like Beats or Bose.

So when you try to give away what can only be viewed as "subpar" headphones, your brand is not getting the impressions that you want. 

bluetooth speakers

Get This Instead: Bluetooth Speakers

We'll be honest, these are on the pricier end of promotional giveaways. That said, they are well worth the price. 

These speakers work with any Bluetooth enabled device, they are durable (and oftentimes waterproof), and they look pretty sharp sitting on a desk with your branding. All that aside, there are also so many uses for Bluetooth speakers, meaning your brand is going to be out and about, making these speakers well worth the investment. 

13. Don't Get... Wall Chargers

Nowadays, most chargeable devices are USB or wireless charging enabled, meaning wall chargers are becoming more and more obsolete. 

And you definitely don't want your brand to be viewed as obsolete. 

powerbank

Get This Instead: Power Banks 

Power banks are perfect giveaways because they charge on-the-go, allowing your end-users to go effortlessly about their day, no cords attached. So whether at the office, the airport, or at home, they won't need to be glued to a wall, thanks to the freedom your brand has provided! 

Selecting the right giveaway can be an overwhelming process, but don't you worry, we're here to help! Just get in touch and we can help you select the perfect giveaway for your upcoming event or promotion!