Best Promotional Merch Ideas

branded-merch.JPG

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. In this article, we will show you a few ideas for cool branded merch ideas to fit your brand.

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.

Unconventional Event Swag and Promotional Items

Robo-cube puzzle fidget toy

Robo-cube puzzle fidget toy

Magnetic interactive fidget pen

Magnetic interactive fidget pen

Hexagon spinner fidget cube

Hexagon spinner fidget cube

Ball of Whacks fidget toy

Ball of Whacks fidget toy

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? Check out ‘Fidget Toys Are Not Just Hype’ - Scientific American

Conventional and Practical Branded Products

Supersweet Coffee & Tattoos

Supersweet Coffee & Tattoos

Panton blue light glasses

Panton blue light glasses

Verve Coffee Shop

Verve Coffee Shop

Ultra-portable speaker

Ultra-portable speaker

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. What is better than a free t-shirt? A cool free t-shirt. Incorporating giveaways can be an excellent way to get people excited about your event, while also spreading brand awareness in untraditional ways.

8% of promotional product recipients remember the name of the advertiser on the products. 85% of the recipients do business with the advertiser on the product. 83% of people like receiving them.
Praytell agency Promo Box

Praytell agency Promo Box

Why Promotional Product 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.

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. Additionally, the cost of a promotional item compared to regular advertising is much lower, and corporate gifts build relationships and brand loyalty.

Author: Irene Floridia - Content Creator


Share this article with your friend!

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook!

For FAQ, check out our site!

For any inquiries, send us a message!

OR

send us an e-mail at quotes@familyindustriesla.com

Our showroom at 2755 Fruitdale Street, Los Angeles, CA 90039 is open by appointment only from 10 am - 4 pm Monday through Friday.

Promotional Gift Ideas For 2022

As we welcome the new year, you may be thinking of ways to improve your business or step up your game in one way or another. Swag bags or promotional gifts may be a good way for you to maintain engagement or improve your brand visibility.

We will take you through all the promotional merch ideas for 2022.

Key Features

When looking for the best promotional gifts for your business, it’s important to keep a few things in mind. Certain criteria may apply better for your type of business, however, overall we believe these features will be helpful.

  • Small Items

  • Portable Items

  • Adaptable for Remote Work

  • Easy To Ship

  • Sustainable / Eco-friendly

  • Home & lifestyle-themed

  • Health and wellness-themed

  • Unique and on-brand

All the products below can be branded in different ways with a business logo, a graphics design, branded packaging, and more.

Check Out Best Eco-Friendly Merch

Swag Box

A swag box is commonly used as “Thank You” gifts or “Welcome” gifts for agencies or service providers for clients. Swag boxes are unique in the sense that you can pick and choose what type of items to include and the personalization aspect is much more pronounced.

For example, you can put your logo with your company colors on the box itself and include items that also display your logo, company moto, or tag line.

Check Out A Guide To Creating Your Own Merch


Top Ranking

Promotional Items

Water Bottles

This doesn’t have to be a boring items, you can make it cool by choosing the right bottle. There’s various styles you can customize to incorporate your logo and any other aspects of your branding.

For example, JBL used a MIIR wide mouth bottle and added their logo as well as some artwork they created for this specific merch item. Water bottles are a great promotional item because there’s a lot of surface to play with and because it’s a functional product.

Portable Laptop Stand

This simple yet sleek design is great for remote workers or people that travel for work. Woox laptop stand is the perfect compact yet useful gift for clients old and new. With more people moving towards remote work, this makes a thoughtful gift that can be included in a swag box as it is small and light. It’s also an opportunity to laser cut your logo into and keep the your cost down.

This is also a very simple design that most merch agencies such as Family Industries can produce for you.

Learn more about How To Capitalize From Branding Costs

Personalized Socks

You can never go wrong with socks! Personalizing socks with your company colors and logo is an easy and budget friendly merch item to include in your swag box. You also don’t have to worry about size as much as you would with other apparel items.

You can also include ankle socks if the weather calls for it. Socks are generally a safe gift as it’s a common wearable item that all us use, and because of the size it’s an easy item to ship.


Wireless Power Bank

A wireless phone charger is a great canvas for your logo and it can be used by everyone with a phone. This is a great gift for a client or employees. Again, it’s a small item that can be easily shipped and it’s a highly utilized product.


Pourover Coffee Maker

Corporate gifts don’t have to be boring. A branded pourover insulated coffee maker is the perfect alternative to a coffee mug or a travel mug as this is one step above the traditional gifts. With this pourover coffee maker, you are sure to impress your clients.

Author: Irene Floridia - Content Creator

Looking to assemble your own promotional swag kit?

Look no further! Request a quote from us!


Follow us on Instagram and Facebook

For FAQ, check out our site!

For any inquiries, send us a message!

OR

send us an e-mail at quotes@familyindustriesla.com

Best Custom Printed Bags

IMG_7599.jpg

A great way to step up your merch game is to consider bags. And depending on what kind you get and how you customize them, they can be surprisingly more affordable than T-shirts and other items. We will tell you about our top-selling customizable bags we customize, along with some details about each kind that can save you money and help avoid printing issues.


5 Most Popular Bags

It is good to note that for screen printed designs, it’s recommended to have a relatively big print area. For smaller items such as a fanny pack and wallets, embroidery is preferred or an embroidered patch to add an extra element of design.

Read Why Your Company Should Invest In Promotional Bags

Some bags call for specific events or occasions. This is why it’s important to consider your audience when it comes to promotional bags. The type of event will also dictate which type of bag is the best and what type of other promotional items to provide event-goers with.

IMG_7299 (1).jpg

Tote Bags

A tote bag hits all the marks: affordably priced, simple construction, durable, lays flat for printing, and comes in a variety of colors and styles. People love tote bags and use them for everything, from carrying groceries to beach supplies, especially with plastic bags going away.

The most affordable tote bag is made of canvas which is easy to print on and you can be sure that people will use them long-term. Avoid plastic tote bags, which can look cheap and people are quick to get rid of. Additionally, plastic is bad for the environment! Tote bags probably provide the most opportunities for customizing out of all the bag types, especially if you go with cotton. They tend to have the largest print area and the widest variety of print methods to choose from.

Check Out 5 Benefits Of A Giveaway Promotional Tote Bag

drawstring-bag.JPG

Drawstring Bags

Drawstring bags are great for big events where people will be walking for long periods of time. Because these bags are generally small and simple, they are great for people looking to hold just a few things while displaying your logo to several thousand people at large events.

Cotton fabric makes the best drawstring bag for screen printing a large order. Especially because you can’t screen print on the synthetic drawstring bags unless you want them to get all mangled and melted under the heat dryers. The other nice thing is that this bag can be washed like regular laundry.

Fanny Packs

Now that the ’90s are back in style, fanny packs are cool again. We generally suggest using embroidery for your logo or design application, as these types of bags are usually made of tougher material, and because of it’s size and shape, screen printing or DTG can be difficult.

Pro Tip: Avoid designs with too many details or thin lines, these types of designs are not good for embroidery.

Check Out 7 Reasons to Use Wearable Promotional Items for Your Business

unsplash-image-V_vgvY8ZSsk.jpg

Duffel Bags

The duffel bag or gym bag is all-purpose, durable, and handy are some of the words used to describe the duffel. Take it to the gym, take it to school, take it camping, take it as a carry-on bag on your trips. Printing on a duffel bag has its’ restrictions that tend to come down to the print area, which can be small depending on the size of the gym bag. So be prepared for that with a logo that can be reduced in size and still look good. Avoid details and multiple colors for the best results.

Once again, we believe that the best way to customize a duffel bag is to use embroidery. This method has a more classic finish look than a simple screen print.

small-bags.JPG

Neck Wallet

This type of bag is not conventional and is mostly used by event-goers and athletes or outdoorsy people to hold phones, IDs, credit cards, keys, and other small flat items.

Because of the size of this bag and the area available for logo placement, it’s recommended to use embroidery or an embroidered patch which can give the bag a cool look.

Author: Irene Floridia - Content Creator


Follow us on Instagram and Facebook!

For FAQ, check out our site!

For any inquiries, send us a message!

OR

send us an e-mail at quotes@familyindustriesla.com

Do Trade Show Swag Giveaways Boost Brand Awareness?

Promoting your brand at an event such as a tradeshow or a festival is a must. Giveaways is a good way to engage with the event goers and boost brand awareness.


Trade show Giveaways

Tradeshows can be great exposure for brands in the service industry and giveaways or promotional items can aid other marketing efforts. Whether you call them promotional items, tchotchkes or swag, exhibitors at every trade show hand out countless trade show giveaways to attract and encourage attendees to enter their space.

Check Out 6 PR Tips To Gain Exposure At Trade Shows

The right trade show giveaways can help generate leads and support integrated marketing messages that will prompt attendees to tie that message back to your company long after the show has ended.

What’s The Right Trade Show Promotional Item?

The perfect trade show giveaway items communicate a company’s brand strategy and messaging to attendees. Before selecting a trade show giveaway item, first consider weather or not they support your corporate or brand image and campaign theme.

Check Out How To Build an Effective Tradeshow Marketing Strategy

Brand Alignment

  • Ensuring your branded merch has your company logo printed, etched, or chiseled on it. It does not matter how cool the giveaway is, you will lose out on business and exposure if the item cannot be linked back to your brand.

  • Your giveaway items need to in some way tie-in to your brand and most importantly, your industry. This will help the attendee connect the dots between the physical merch item to your service or business.

  • If you’re attending a themed trade show, select an item that goes with the theme to further strengthen your brand messaging.



Pro Tip: Once you’ve chosen the right merch for your trade show booth, the way you display your items and present your brand is just as important as the items being displayed. Approaching your display as another tool for marketing is a good way to ensure a successful way to show the value in your business.

Check Out Trade show booth design is a key element to engaging with attendees.




What Is A Valuable Trade Show Giveaway?

The most important function of a tradeshow giveaway is the ability for that item to resonate with your clients and prospects. While unique and fun giveaways are always a good way to generate overall interest in your brand, practical merch items can present more value to a trade show guest.

  • Think of a trade show giveaway item as something an event goer can immediately find useful such as tote bags, water bottles, sanitizer, or a backpack.

  • Some of the most valuable giveaways are the ones that will be used frequently like a cool keychain, wireless phone charger, or a phone case / phone wallet.

  • Apparel such as t-shirts are always attractive for people and it’s an overall low-cost product and the perfect canvas for your logo.

Budgeting For Trade Show Giveaways

Like exhibits, trade show budgets vary in size from exhibitor to exhibitor. You should be conscious of the costs associated with your trade show giveaway regardless of your marketing budget. A good rule of thumb is to use 10% of your profit towards marketing, out of the 10% allocate a certain amount to your promotional merch as needed. This will vary depending on your business model.

Check Out How Can Branding Costs Be Capitalized

Tips To Cut Giveaway Costs

  • Making sure you get the most bang for your buck, may mean that you will have to get a little more creative or find inexpensive alternatives.

  • Shipping can add up and can sometimes be an afterthought that puts you over your budget. Think ahead and use a local merch agency so as to be able to pick up your merch instead of paying for shipping and handling.

  • Having the right staff to represent you on site can be a way to ensure your promotional items are being handed out to every person and nothing goes to waste.

Author: Irene Floridia - Content Creator


Looking for The Best Promotional Merch printer?

send us an e-mail at quotes@familyindustriesla.com, or give us a call at 323.227.1547 and we'd be happy to help.

Our showroom at 2755 Fruitdale Street, Los Angeles, CA 90039 is open by appointment only from 10 am - 4 pm Monday through Friday.


Follow us on Instagram and Facebook

For FAQ, check out our site!

For any inquiries, send us a message!

OR

send us an e-mail at quotes@familyindustriesla.com