The Most Popular Giveaway Items for Customers

The most popular giveaway items

Luckily, promotional products today offer far more budget-friendly options for engagement than they did 10 years ago. Thanks to new materials, printing processes and increased automation potential, you no longer have to choose between cost-effectiveness and high quality. Today’s promotional products are more easily created in smaller, purpose-built batches or conveniently mass-produced for a fraction of the cost.

The biggest innovations, however, have come from a willingness to step outside the more traditional offerings and provide existing clients and potential customers with a more unique product or experience. While wooden nickels and paper notepads used to hold the largest sway at conventions, these days, successful marketers are offering useful or fun items that assist people in their daily lives. 

“Businesses today prefer practical items to customize as giveaways for all types of promotions,” explained Shelley Grieshop, creative writer at Totally Promotional. “These items appeal to the masses and keep companies within their marketing budgets with bulk pricing.”

Especially when you’re marketing to millennials, well-thought-out promotional products can make your brand appear current and relevant to their lives.

Take a look at some of the most popular giveaway items you should consider handing out.

1. Pens

According to VistaPrint, pens are the top promotional product for United States customers. Although they’re more popular with older Americans, pens remain a smart giveaway item because they’re affordable, long-lasting and easy to produce in bulk. They fit seamlessly into gift bags or can be handed out as a stand-alone item. Plus, customers can never have too many pens. 

2. Hand sanitizer

Even though the pandemic is over, many people are continuing best practices to keep their hands clean. Branded hand sanitizer is a great way to do your part for public health while also ensuring your giveaway item is used frequently and often shared with others. 

3. Phone chargers

Keep your brand top of mind while helping customers avoid dead cell phone batteries. USB and solar cell phone chargers make for an ideal branded giveaway that customers will use every day, both in the office and at home. Solar-powered chargers and other green technology can prove particularly popular with environmentally conscious consumers.

4. Drinkware

With consumers traversing between their house, office and social events, they may be missing chances to hydrate. Drinkware, such as mugs — the third most popular promotional item, according to VistaPrint — tumblers or reusable, folding water bottles have the potential to become their constant companion. Reusable drinkware is also eco-friendly. 

5. Wearables

Customers are drawn to wearable giveaway items like T-shirts, hoodies, backpacks, sunglasses, socks and tote bags as they love sporting unique goods while representing brands they support. Grieshop has found great success with wearables, citing tote bags and sunglasses as some of her company’s most popular giveaway items. 

6. Lip balm

Many brands are focused on standing out with flashy promotional products, but what matters is utility. Approximately 51 percent of VistaPrint respondents said usefulness is the most important factor in a giveaway item. Products like lip balm are great giveaways for personal businesses with heavy customer contact and are easy to have on your checkout counter or even send in the mail. You can also add customization through flavors or colors to increase brand recognition. 

7. Stress balls

Stress balls are increasing in popularity to help not only with stress management but also to alleviate and work out hand and wrist pain from long days spent on the computer. You can customize your stress ball with your logo and even choose a clever shape that best represents your business. 

8. Branded food

People love to – and need to – eat. At trade shows, however, they do not love spending $6 on $2 nachos. This may explain why several food items, including sweets, chocolate bars and baked goods, all made VistaPrint’s Top 50 list. Whether you provide a pastry in a branded wrapper or a protein-rich granola bar prominently featuring your logo, you’re offering a promotional giveaway item that you know will get used and be appreciated by the hungry people passing your booth.

The benefits of hosting giveaways

You can distribute giveaway items at events or mail them in attention-grabbing packages. In either case, the advantages of offering freebies are strong.

Build brand recognition

Giveaways are an excellent way to boost your brand recognition. If you’re giving away branded items, you’re spreading the word about your business even after the giveaway period ends. Every T-shirt, stress ball and water bottle will continue to show off your company and place your brand name and logo at the forefront of people’s minds. Although the power of giveaways is initially seen during the distribution campaign, the brand recognition you continue to gain is passive yet impactful.

“Recipients keep promotional items with business logos for six months or longer, which creates long-term branding exposure and numerous marketing opportunities for companies of all sizes,” explained Grieshop.

Find new clients and contacts

When weighing your marketing budget, giveaways are a relatively low-cost and low-effort way to generate new clients and sales. If your giveaway is at a convention, eye-catching items can bring in passersby and spark conversations. You can ask people to sign up for your mailing list before entering a giveaway contest.

If you offer your giveaway on social media, you’re likely to gain new followers as people share your post in hopes of winning the item. Social media has the added benefit of being a nearly effortless way to build word of mouth as followers can quickly send your campaign post to their followers and so on. Make sure any social media contest follows applicable laws.

Gather data

A little-known benefit of conducting giveaways is the ability to use them to gather information about your audience, including their preferences and buying habits. People are reasonably careful with their data, but giveaways are a great way for them to willingly give you valuable personal details as they get something in return.

For your next giveaway, you can even have entrants complete a brief survey regarding products or services they’d like to see in the future. There’s no better way to give your clients what they want than to ask them. 

Engage your audience

Regardless of what they may do for your business, giveaways are, quite simply, fun. The playfulness and excitement are what make them so successful. People think it’s fun to share giveaway posts on social media or tag their friends in them. They enjoy finding what they need at a convention, winning something from a prize wheel or getting a surprise in the mail.

Giveaways can also be a new, interesting way to engage with your audience and show them you care for and appreciate them. Mix up the ways you’re interacting with clients and partners through different giveaways and you’ll create some community along the way. [While giving customers free swag, don’t forget about rewarding employees with corporate gifts.]

Think outside the (gift) box

The promotional products highlighted above will be popular for years to come, but the buzz you generate is all based on your delivery. Step back and look at how these unique items can work in harmony with your brand to create a value-added chance at engagement and brand building. By making promotional products a part of your marketing strategy, you provide your audience with a service that will turn them into committed longtime customers and brand ambassadors.

Miranda Fraraccio and Grace Li contributed to this article.