I don’t think I need to tell you how much people appreciate recieving physical gifts.  You’ve probably noticed from personal interaction how happy your mom, dad, siblings, or kids may get when they’re given a gift. Customers and employees also enjoy gifts, which makes advertising promotional products such an exciting way to promote your business.
In contrast, most people can’t say they’re excited about “sponsored posts” going across their social media feeds or even while they’re searching for information online. It’s important to take advantage of the opportunities you have to make advertising and building a reputable reputation simultaneous efforts, and advertising promotional products are an example of one of those opportunities.
Doesn’t Giving Cost?
According to Dr. Gary Chapman, author of the Five Love Languages, “giving gifts” is one of the five love languages people use to give and recieve love. In fact, giving gifts dates back to nomadic times near the creation of the Earth!  Whether in a professional or personal setting, giving helps to:
- Liven relationships
- Spark the law of reciprocity
- Build reputation
- Increase engagement
- Show appreciation
- and, Create an atmosphere of gratitude and generosity
When giving is coupled with advertising promotional products RIGHT, it positively affects the way people inside and outside of the organization perceives the company which results in:
- More referrals
- More advocates
- Increased loyalty
- and growth
While in the beginning when you’re making the purchase, it might seem like giving promotional items is an EXPENSE or a COST, when the campaign is planned well and the law of reciprocation sets in, it turns into an INVESTMENT that benefits the business. Â Here’s a list of the 12 most common advertising promotional products that businesses use to ignite the power of promotional product advertising…
#1 Advertising Promotional Products | Pens & Writing Utensils
According to statistics, pens rank #3 of all promotional items with most impressions; receiving an average of 2730 impressions. If you give pens to people within your target audience, it’s likely they network with other like-minded people, and the pens could get exposure to many potential customers.
#2 Advertising Promotional Products | Office Supplies & Calendars
Calendars and office supplies are a must-have for any professional career, which makes them useful and appreciated items. When you give something that’s useful, it’s likely, the recipient will keep it, use it, and appreciate you for giving it.
#3 Advertising Promotional Products | Mugs & Drinkware
Logoed mugs in particular are more effective advertising than radio and television spots; 57 percent of people were able to recall the advertiser on a mug, versus 32 percent of radio and 28 percent of TV. Coffee and hot drinks are spiking in sales, and now they exist on nearly every menu! With the growing trends of coffee and hot tea drinkers, you can take advantage of this growth and get advertising impressions by giving promotional mugs during advertising campaigns.
#4 Advertising Promotional Products | Kitchen Supplies
Ninety-one percent of consumers have at least one promotional product in their kitchen, 74 percent have at least one in their workspace, 55 percent have at least one in their bedroom. From custom pizza cutters to custom coasters, there’s so many possibilities in the kitchenware advertising promotional products.
#5 Advertising Promotional Products | Vendor & Convention Supplies
Vendor events, networking events, and conventions are some of the best ways to attract business. Typically, businesses set up a table with custom items like:
- A table cloth
- Retractable banners
- Maybe giveaway custom imprinted giveaways like mugs, cards, or candies
- and even branded water bottles!
Items for vendor events leave a lasting impression of your brand and your brand message. Added to that, if you do a contest and promotional giveaways, you could increase engagement at your vendor booth, and have something useful for potential customers to walk away with. Doing a vendor event well could give advertising impressions for months or years to come.
#6 Advertising Promotional Products | Auto Supplies
From jumper cables to tire pressure checkers, keychains to sun shields, there are so many promotional items you can use to represent your brand. Auto supplies don’t have to only be purchased by auto shops! They can be great giveaways for people in the auto industry like:
- Tint shops
- Window repair shops
- Vehicle maintenance shops
- Car dealerships
- and, auto supply retailers
Auto promotional products can also help run good promotional campaigns for companies outside of the auto industry simply because they’re useful and reasonable costs. Often, custom promotional keychains sold by promo dealers can cost less than 0.50 per piece!
#7 Advertising Promotional Products | Outdoors
Certain industries (like Real Estate) are well known for using promotional signs, but did you realize there are many other custom products that fit into the outdoor category? Signs are only a component of the outdoor promotional products; other outdoor items such as balloons, games, umbrellas, tool kits, and ice scrapers can also be used as promotional items for businesses.
Can you imagine how many impressions a business could get from an umbrella in a very rainy area? Or, could you imagine how appreciative a person in your target audience would be if your giveaway spared them in a crisis?  Promotional product advertising can be very powerful!
#8 Advertising Promotional Products | Bags & Coolers
With nearly six thousand impressions, bags generate more impressions than any other promotional product in the U.S. You can give bags ranging from paper and plastic shopping bags (like what’s normal for retail), or backpacks, purses, or coolers! They’re a great promotional item to use for mixed gender promotions, and they’re very useful.
#9 Advertising Promotional Products | Wearables
Wearables are the top product category, followed by writing instruments, bags, calendars and drinkware. Wearables come in many forms: uniforms, t-shirts, buttons, pins, hats, and the list goes on. Wearables are versatile. They can be for employee use or for advertising promotions, gifting, and giveaways.
#10 Advertising Promotional Products | Flash Drives & Technology
Seventy-seven percent of consumers say a promotional product’s usefulness is the number-one reason to keep it, with health and safety products, computer products and writing instruments ranked as the most useful. In keeping with the stats, flash drives and custom technology products shouldn’t be overlooked.
#11 Advertising Promotional Products | Magnets
Magnets can be very cost effective and a high value. They go perfect in goodie bags, mailings, onboarding packages, and a variety of different promotional campaigns. Office workers have metal desks, metal cabinets, and other metal surfaces, and most consumers have refrigerators, so applying business promotions to a magnet can help your customers or potential clients recall your information when they need it.
Final Words on Advertising Promotional Products
The goal of this article was to show you 11 of the most common advertising promotional products. These top 11 are good to keep in mind when you’re looking for ways to acquire or retain customers, trying to keep key talent, creating goodie bags, hosting giveaways, attending vendor events, or advertising for your business. Ready to get start with promotional product advertising, check out my other reviews of promo product vendors I recommend:
If you have questions or concerns about this, don’t hesitate to leave them in the comments section. I’d love to help you out!
Now, it’s Your Turn…
Have you or someone you know used any of these 11 top advertising promotional products for advertising in your businesses? Have you noticed how businesses who use advertising promotional products were able to improve their brand perception, increase their effectiveness with acquiring customers, or motivate their employees? What’s your observations? Leave your comments below.
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