What is the best promotional product you have given out or received, and why?
Most companies, when buying promotional products, purchase the cheapest item (i.e. pen, mug, shirt, etc.). What do you do when you receive a cheap item? Which ones have made the greatest brand impression on you? I am a service provider of promotional products asking these questions to educate clients and potential clients that cheap promotional products are a waste of their money.
Expert Answers
Sort by Date
Sort by Votes
Jul 12, 2019
The best useful promotional item I have received was a really nice metal business card holder. Because I thought that was pretty different, shows they care for the environment and their customers, and everyone asks where I got it from so it's good for their business .
May 28, 2018
Promotional products are products which help a company to market itself and well as to provide goodies to the customers. This is one of the ways to catch the attention of consumers and get your brand name to be remembered. Promotional products can vary from engraved pens, printed bags, customized calendars, etc. There are many companies providing promotional products at exhibitions, conferences, etc. I myself use PrintStop to get my promotional products done. They do it in the best quality and are very professional in approach.
Aug 19, 2016
sports promotional products have always worked best for us personally. We own a small wholefoods shop, and sports based products have always been the best area to put our money in.
Jun 11, 2014
The best one I've received recently is a logo cigarette lighter USB charging unit for my car. Three things are absolutely necessary: useful, memorable (it has saved my "life" a few times when my cell battery was dead), and durable.
Cheap products never have all three attributes.
Jun 5, 2014
Avoid all the cheap and low perceived value commodity items; as they will have little or no beneficial effect on your marketing efforts. A couple of years ago a client was considering the ubiquitous branded ball point pen, he could get 500 for about 12 cents each. I asked him if he knew 500 people who would actually appreciate him giving them a cheap Chinese pen. The answer was, as anticipated; No! I then asked him how many good customers he had that would really cherish a premium quality writing instrument, he could count them on the fingers or two hands, so I recommended that he buy them each a top quality pen, and have each engraved with the recipient’s name (not his). The boxed and well-presented gifts (each costing more than three times the original ‘me too’ concept), were very effective they generated immeasurable of good will, word-of-mouth and resulted in each pan spawning multiple referrals over an extended period, in addition to the recipients continued loyalty.
Jun 5, 2014
Lip gloss in three different colours with the logo of the wedding magazine we were advertising. They were a smash. Brides loved them. Gave them out at trade shows.
Notepads were the first promotional products we gave out and they worked like a charm. Even though they're old school I would still do them again because they worked. Also distributed at trade shows.
Jun 3, 2014
I have several.
1)Windows phones… with our Office app already installed on it. It was a great way to a) get our enterprise customers to buy win phones for their users of office 365 and purchase more seats and b) small business customers understood the interoperability of that phone with office, share point, email and lync/skype. Very good at helping close all in one productivity business.
2) USB Mobile phone batteries
3)Branded travel kits with noise canceling headphones, international chargers, etc. etc
4) All in one pens: USB flash drive, laser pointer with powerpoint slide advancers
5) free digital downloads to information people value
People want stuff they can use… and it is far better at actual reach to engage the RIGHT customers than every customer.
May 31, 2014
One of the items I gave out and got rave reviews for were neoprene lunch bags with clients names stitched on them. My name was not on them, but people remember where they got it and that is the whole point. Nobody needs more crap, but they do appreciate useful things and remember who gave it to them.
May 28, 2014
My first rule of thumb when trolling a conference or expo .. don't pick it up. We have a pretty strong green policy for the business which includes no plastic, must be refillable/reusable, run paperless and whatever comes in must be recyclable but preferably biodegradable. That pretty much rules out most promo items.
When we exhibit at trade shows, we partner with local businesses and give away apples, Cabot cheese, or locally produced small batch chocolates.
This fall we will be purchasing our favorite promo item to give away - Chico Bags [http://www.chicobag.com]! They make fabulous reusable, washable and sturdy shopping bags that has the pouch attached. They can imprint both the pouch and bag (or just the pouch or just the bag) and the folks over there are great to deal with.
On the receiving end, I hate to admit to liking coffee mugs and picked up two at a conference last week. Other favorites are USB jump drives and stainless steel water bottles.
May 28, 2014
Hello Troy --
The promotional items that leave the biggest impression on me are ones that while ostensibly promotional, are at the same time, extremely high quality and valuable.
To wit: a very nice fountain pen with promotional branding in gold lettering, a high-quality promotional iPad case, or a calfskin padfolio with imprinted brand messaging. The list goes on.
All these items create enduring value while simultaneously leaving a lasting brand impression. The way I see it, the secret is to create promotional items that people will actually want to use in their daily lives. By creating value (via quality or productivity gains) you can ensure your promotional product will regularly be used by your audience, in so doing, ensure your brand messaging will always remain "top of mind".
Cheers,
Sterling