Finding Great Promotional Gifts & Products

Recruit and retain customers with personalized promotional items

By Matt Alderton, Writer, Editor and Media Consultant, Logolepsy Custom Content and Communications

Consumers in the information age are exposed to a continuous stream of electronic messaging; it flows past them via laptops, TVs and digital music players, fast and fleeting. Businesses that send lasting messages via tangible products — personalized promotional items such as T-shirts or pens, which sit on a customer's desk for weeks, months or even years — have a leg up on their fast-moving competitors. Corporate promotional gifts will:

Build brand recognition.
Reward current customers.
Attract new prospects.

Clothing as personalized promotional items

T-shirts, hats or jackets embroidered with your company name and logo turn your customers and employees into walking advertisements.
Try: Customize clothing of all types in all sizes with merchandise from LOGOSportswear.com or AceLogoGear.com.

Magnets as promotional merchandise

Magnets with your phone number or Web site make inexpensive business promotional items that put your business name in thousands of local kitchens, where customers will see it every time they open the fridge.
Try: Purchase a variety of custom magnets — from business card magnets to calendars and memos — online from Magnets.com or Fridgedoor.com.

Key chains as business promotional items

Put your business name in your customers' pockets with these inexpensive personalized promotional items, popular among consumers for their portability and utility.
Try: Metal or plastic, carabiners or rings, promotional key chains come in all shapes and styles. Browse a vast selection online at PromotionalKeyChains.biz or see the directory of suppliers of key-chain promotional merchandise at Business.com.

Office supplies as business promotional products

Desk accessories — from pens and stationery to sticky notes and calculators — are extremely effective for their staying power, as customers will keep and use these promotional gifts at work on a daily basis, reminded each time of the company that provided them.
Try: Promopeddler.com's online catalog includes everything from custom binder clips and desk sets to letter openers and rulers. Look for office supplies for promotional merchandise in the directory at Business.com.

Calendars as promotional merchandise

Calendars branded with your company name, logo and address are monthly reminders to your customers. Add reminders to the calendar to push them into your store for special events, promotions or holidays.
Try: Build your own custom calendars featuring photos of your store or merchandise and have them printed using special software from Digilabs Inc. Or, work with New York Calendar Co. to choose the design that's best for you. Find a directory of suppliers of calendars as promotional merchandise at Business.com.

Really useful things as corporate promotional gifts

The most creative and effective personalized promotional items drive loyalty by giving customers something they regularly use.
Try: Find inspiration when you browse creative promotional gifts online courtesy of Branders and ePromos, which offer everything from branded flash drives and mouse pads for tech companies to coffee mugs and coasters for cafes.