Effective Strategies for Branded Merch and Promotional Products
In the corporate world, it is often customary to have branded pens, notebooks, or mugs. While having your brand on a pen is cool, we think you can do better! Much of the branded products you will find at a conventional office space are stationary and almost expected, but we believe that having more interesting merch brings excitement about your brand for both employees and clients. Promotional merch is also used to spread brand awareness and it can also be used to work with social media influencers to promote your services or products.
Remember! It is not about just having promotional products but about having the right promotional products that are geared towards your audience. Therefore, it is important to do your research before creating an item to promote your brand. In this article, we will show you a few ideas for cool branded merch ideas to fit your brand.
Why Promotional Products Work
Promotional products are a powerful marketing tool because they allow a brand to connect with consumers by engaging their senses. Branded items are one of the only forms of advertising that allows consumers to interact with a brand on a physical level, promotional products often create more memorable brand experiences and promote brand recognition.
| Metric | Statistic |
|---|---|
| People who like receiving promotional products | 83% |
| Recipients who do business with the advertiser | 85% |
| Adults who use at least one promotional product regularly | Over 50% |
Unconventional Event Swag and Promotional Items
Fidget Toys are the new stress balls! Everyone loves a good fidget toy to entertain themselves while taking a mental break from your desk job. Especially now that more and more people are working from home and encounter more distractions than before. In addition to the improved learning benefits, fidget toys can also reduce anxiety and stress, enhance dexterity, improve coordination and fine motor skills. Besides the benefits, a fidget toy makes for a great promotional item for potential clients or current clients as it keeps your brand on their minds, but also, who doesn’t love a cool gift?
Conventional and Practical Branded Products
Promotional items are also great if you are looking to do a virtual giveaway. Depending on your business, you may be looking for more traditional items that can be used to promote your brand but still motivate people to want to participate. Promotional products such as t-shirts, hoodies, speakers, notebooks, and coffee mugs are more of the traditional branded merch and can seem boring to some but if you have a good design that also ties in your logo, chances are, people will want them. Incorporating giveaways can be an excellent way to get people excited about your event, while also spreading brand awareness in untraditional ways.
Family Industries has worked with brands such as Praytell Agency to create a one-of-a-kind promotional items box which included a pair of bombas socks, a thermal mug, stickers, and a scarf. All products and the box itself contained a print of their signature logo.
How to Design The Right Promotional Item
When creating your own promotional items, it is tempting to try to pack as much information as possible, but we suggest you prevent overwhelming the design with too much text. Keep these points in mind when you're designing your promotional products to create memorable gifts:
- Less Is More: Keep it simple, use your brand logo and a catchy tagline, website, and if you’re able to fit it in, a phone number or a social media handle.
- Use Your Brand Colors: Choose a product with your standard colors to maintain consistency in your style and to improve the chances of brand awareness. If a product option is not available in your colors, select a neutral color that will allow your brand identity to shine through your logo and text, instead.
- Usefulness: You will want your product to be useful time and time again. Novelty items such as fidget toys are great to raise a smile or promote a healthy work-life balance, but depending on your audience perhaps more traditional items such as travel mugs, t-shirts or flash drives are the best options.
Do your research! Key Takeaways: Promotional products are essential for your business, over 50% of adults use at least one promotional product regularly, and 85% of that group will eventually do business with the advertised company.
