Are you planning to distribute branded custom items at the next corporate event? Customization and personalization are the hottest trends in business right now. However, a study says 50% of businesses are only somewhat or aren’t confident about their ability to create customized experiences.

If you feel the same way, don’t worry about it. Below, we’ve got a few tips on branding and selecting customized items. Keep reading and you’ll never have to worry about making a bad investment with custom items again.

1. Start with Your Plan and Budget

Before anything else, it’s always important to have an intimate knowledge of your budget and plan. Begin the process with a rough plan. Brainstorm with colleagues who understand the complexities of customized marketing.

If you plan to get customized items for gifts during an event, make sure it fits the budget. Planning the event alone can use up all your financial resources. Don’t forget to set aside a part of the budget for ordering your guests’ gifts.

What if you want custom items to sell as merchandise? It’s the same thing but most of your budget gets focused on the items.

The bottom line is to understand your budget well to avoid overspending.

2. Research 

We can’t stress this point enough. Before you commit to anything, research first. Even a little research can get you a long way.

Research everything from the custom items to the recipients. Research how well it will stick, for how long, and if it’s recommended for your brand. Will it make an impact at all and is it memorable enough?

If you plan to sell customized items as merchandise, research is even more necessary. You must know what’s going to sell and who’s going to buy it. Demographic knowledge is one of the barriers to getting started with customized products.

Research only takes an hour or two. That much time can give you vital information about an item that can make or break your event and/or brand. Plus, when you research, you get an idea of what other companies like to use and how you can make your brand stand out.

3. Create a Selection of Customizable Items 

By this point, you should’ve already researched the customizable items you can get. Now, create a list or selection of the items you want to put out there. Don’t forget about their relevance to your customer, event, and brand.

Are you hitting a blank about which will make the most impact? Start with a list of the most mundane yet useful items. Umbrellas, tote bags, and hoodies are a popular choice for this.

If you want to invest in novelty items, go for it. Choose a bobblehead, a funny sign, or a lava lamp. They may be useless but they’re often interesting, humorous, and make great display items.

4. Diversify Customized Items

At the beginning of the winter, you already used branded scarves as your promo items. Next winter, try something new. You don’t want your clients to get bored with the things you offer them.

You’ve already given away branded t-shirts to your employees on the last anniversary. Now, it’s time for something new to give away. Go from something useful to something weird, like a horse mask.

Remember, it’s all in how you build up interest in your brand. There’s nothing wrong with getting branded caps every summer, but it gets old and predictable. This summer, try business branding with custom bracelets that glow in the dark instead.

5. Maintain Quality Items

Be wary of the cheapest options. Cheap isn’t always good, especially when we’re talking about customized items. In business, always focus on quality over quantity.

As we said before, a little research goes a long way. This includes checking samples of the items you’re going to use for customized items in person. Make sure you get to wear a sample for a trial period.

Looking at them up close and personal will give you a sense of their quality.

Let’s say you plan to distribute medical alert bracelets. Check a sample for any irritability issues or fading of text during a trial period. It’ll give you an idea about the quality of the bracelet and how long a recipient should wear it.

In another example, you want to distribute t-shirts to your employees during the company anniversary. Make sure you pick a custom t-shirt with quality fabric and a good cut. There’s no doubt your employees will appreciate the attention to detail.

6. Keep Graphics and Logos Flexible

Have you got a loud and colorful logo? Well, that’s difficult to put on most things. Here is where some brands experience problems.

When you’re choosing customized items for business, always consider your logo.

What if you have a logo that isn’t very flexible? Start with items that offer colors that can complement or match your logo. White items make a great choice for colorful logos.

Next, consider the item you’re pairing your logo up with. Let’s say your brand stands for saving the environment.  Avoid items that you cannot recycle like plastic products and tires.

7. Don’t Forget the End Users

Always consider the recipients of your customized items. As much as you can, avoid the “one size fits all” principle. This is essential when you’re offering customized wearables and/or garments.

If you’re getting customized items in bulk, don’t order t-shirts in one size. Get smaller bulk orders in varying sizes instead. If possible, look for shops that offer bulk orders in size sets.

For example, you want to get a variety of customized items for him. Your research will tell you what products “he” wants and needs. Your research will also tell you how unique he can be.

Thus, you order branded custom t-shirts in various sizes. Choose adjustable caps or hats. If you’re distributing perfumes for men, get a selection of fragrances.

Get Customers Talking About Your Brand

That’s it for our guide on how you should choose branded customized items. In case the point didn’t get across before, we’ll say it again because we can’t stress it enough. Do research, research, and more research!

Now that that’s done, we hope you learned a lot from reading this guide. Are you ready to do more research about a possible custom item for your business? Contact us now or read more about how wristbands and bracelets help your brand.

Are you looking to get a memorable giveaway gift for the next Christmas season? We’re past the Christmas season already. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t plan your next yuletide event early.

Of the many promotional items, wristbands are some of the best to get. Below, we’ll tell you why they work so well as event gifts. Read on if you want to know how Christmas wristbands bring your business good tidings.

1. Christmas Wristbands Promote Your Brand

Giveaways are great ways to promote a business. It works miracles whether it’s through social media, live at an event, or as a freebie. It’s why you see a ton of branded giveaway items everywhere.

So, how does a Christmas wristband promote your brand?

Everyone wants to receive something at Christmas. These wristbands enhance the joy clients feel during this season of giving. Plus, customers feel more engaged when you pair them up with a Christmas event.

Don’t forget to add your company name, logo, and/or slogan on the wristband. It’ll be smart to emboss or deboss a QR code or a link to your website on the band. This increases the chances of getting more traffic on your website.

2. You Reach More People With Wearable Promotional Items

Think about how many traditional and online ads you see in a day. How many can you remember right now? How many corporate events do you attend and how many participating brands stand out to you?

Events indeed increase brand visibility. However, you can stand out more with something tangible. Customized wristbands aren’t only tangible but also wearable and transferable.

Your brand remains visible even after the event guests leave. Wherever the recipients of the wristband go, they bring your brand with you. This is why other companies invest in wearable promotional items.

Speaking of transferable items, wristbands make great brand ambassadors because they are. The direct recipients of your branded silicone wristbands may find themselves at the other end of the world. To share the Christmas spirit, they could give it to a friend all the way overseas.

3. They Are Affordable Giveaway Items

Nothing is sweet as the ringing of Christmas bells as cost-effectiveness. Cost-effective is what Custom Christmas wristbands are. They’re well worth investing in, especially considering how much promotion you get.

Look at how much you spend on digital advertising. Now, let’s take a look at how much you spend on your event and your Christmas paper wristbands. Take the total expenses for the event plus the wristbands.

Let’s compare it with your digital marketing costs for eight months. How much is the difference between both campaigns? How long do the impressions for these two things last?

An online ad gets attention for a few seconds. Your event might get a lasting impression of two weeks. A Forbes report says that most people keep promotional items for an average of eight months.

That’s eight months of glancing at your brand. Given how long your brand stays with a person, it’s a good deal. Plus, bulk orders make the deal even sweeter.

4. Customized Wristbands Are Useful 

Do you want to give away something more useful than a silicone accessory? To give your event goers a good impression, get something more than simple wristbands. Use these wristbands to help spread awareness.

Awareness wristbands are great for brands that stand by something. If your clients stand by the same beliefs, they will enjoy receiving your event wristbands.

Let’s get another example. Let’s say your event has different ticket prices with different packages. You can order wristbands of different designs to distinguish which event-goers bought which tickets.

5. Giveaway Items Enhance Merriness and Customer Loyalty

When you have events, you want to provide tangible items during the event as well. Christmas wristbands for events act as a remembrance of the event. Also, receiving something for the event can create deeper loyalty.

Loyalty is a marketing essential most businesses don’t bother investing in. You need not spend too much to make customers see you take the extra step for them. It’s possible with wristbands, whether they’re made of silicone, plastic, or light metal.

6. ‘Tis the Season for Memorable Branding

Wristbands do more than help your business stand out from the competition. Christmas wristbands can also make the event or the brand memorable. An Entrepreneur article states that 85% of people remembered the name of the company that gave them a promotional item.

Also, ask yourself why a wristband is more memorable than a key chain. This goes back to the engagement that clients get with wristbands. They can only do so much with a key chain, but they can do more with a wristband.

It’s also helpful to mini-events where receivers need the Christmas wristband. This can be anything, from getting into a restricted area to meeting an influencer. Highlight the wristband during the event so getting one is even more memorable.

7. You Have a Ton of Holiday Design Ideas to Choose From

Is your event going to last well into the night? Light up wrists on Christmas eve with glow-in-the-dark wristbands. Or, add a tiny LED light at the front display of the wristband for a star-filled room.

Do you want to keep the designs close to the typical symbols of Christmas? Bakeries can use a design that looks like milk and cookies. Fashion enterprises can get custom designs that match ugly Christmas sweaters.

A classic Christmas symbol is the red bow. If you want your clients to look classy, get them wristbands that look like red bows. You can also use the candy cane pattern for a closer connection to Christmas.

The possibilities for designs are endless. Every business can each have Christmas wristbands for events with unique designs. All it takes is for you to bring out your creativity and apply it to your wristband design.

Bring on the Joy With Christmas-Themed Wristbands 

That’s it for our guide on how Christmas wristbands can get your brand attention. Never underestimate the power of giveaways. It’s one of the best things to invest in, especially for startups and small businesses.

We hope you enjoyed reading this informative post. If you want to read more, check out the rest of our blog. If you want to know where you can get great wristbands, contact us now,

In the digital age where everyone receives thousands of advertising messages every day, it’s time to cut through the noise with physical products instead.

Unlike unwelcome marketing messages, a huge 83% of people actually welcome free promotional products. We’re all the same at heart: we just can’t resist a freebie.

Whether you need to stand out at a trade show or encourage existing customers to stay loyal, promotional gifts are a savvy way to boost your return on investment in your marketing strategy.

Why Branded Gifts Must Be Part of Your Marketing Strategy

You may think you simply don’t have the budget to buy promotional products for your company, but wait!

Branded items build awareness of your company, logo, and contact details so your business becomes front-of-mind on a regular basis. People keep branded items for an average of 8 months: just think about how many others see your company branding whenever your item is used over this period.

8 Easy Tips to Maximize the Impact of Promotional Gifts

Everyone has a bunch of promotional pens, notepads, and mugs in their office arsenal – so how do you make sure your item is the one they reach for?

Follow these top tips to generate the biggest return on investment from your branded giveaways!

1. Cheap Isn’t Always Best

Quality is always going to win over quantity when it comes to choosing your promotional items. You don’t have to spend a fortune – but do consider going one level up from the cheapest possible item.

Customers will remember how the item feels, and whether it lasts, and associate this with your business. If they think you’ll cheap out on marketing your business they’ll wonder what else you skimp on!

2. Useful Items Boost Brand Awareness

Nobody needs another weird fuzzy animal with a ribbon tag on it (you know exactly what we mean). Even Sharon in Accounts has used up all her desk space with cuddly promo toys and stress balls.

Opt for something useful like a reusable water bottle, a promotional mug, or even a branded USB stick. Your item will then be used regularly and your brand awareness increases tenfold!

3. Be Creative (Do They REALLY Need Yet Another Free Pen?)

On the same line of useful versus useless items, think creatively about what you can offer.

Fashionable branded wristbands, for example, are a great way to promote your brand and work particularly well for events. Why? You can easily track who has already visited your stand as they wear their wristband afterward! Corner them in the networking lounge and have that sales conversation you’ve trained so hard for.

4. Cater to Your Audience

If you’re a fitness brand maybe don’t offer free branded chocolate or sweets at every opportunity. Decide who your target customer is and develop branded gifts that they’ll like and use.

For example, busy clients always on-the-go can join the plastic-free revolution with a branded bamboo travel mug. Or sports lovers will make the most of a promotional towel, t-shirt, or even branded headphones.

5. Encourage Swag Swiping at Events

You might feel a little pained if you see someone swiping lots of your paid-for-from-a-tight-marketing-budget swag – but let them!

The more swag someone takes from your stall, the more likely they are to pass it to other people. They’ll get back to the office and hand out your promotional items to a wealth of ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ at their freebie haul.

These colleagues then use your promotional products – meaning even more people are now aware of your brand.

6. Offer a Selection of Gift Options

It’s tempting to just opt for one promotional gift in bulk to save on unit and shipping costs.

However, if you want to capture the attention of a wider audience, you must offer a selection of items to choose from. Some people might actually want and need a free pen, while others are truly focused on the organic cotton tote bag to stash their swag.

Choose at least three promotional gift types to offer at events and launches to cater to a wide audience and increase the likelihood of your brand being spread far and wide.

7. Trade a Better Giveaway for Data

Small branded items like tins of mints or sticky notes are great to capture the sort-of-interested-but-not-sure type of potential customer.

To get the really good, hot leads from the I-want-your-product-but-am-playing-hard-to-get clients, have something better up your sleeve to offer. Trade a business card or a questionnaire, even a one-to-one sales meeting, in return for your high-value promotional gift.

This also creates the feeling of the client already completing a transaction with you. That builds a relationship without you having to do anything, and creates a sense of trust and loyalty that helps turn them into must-buy-now customers.

8. Use Promo Gifts for Existing Clients, Too

Promotional giveaways aren’t solely for trade events and product launches (although they are very useful for them). Consider making your existing clients feel valued with a personalized branded gift from time to time, too.

You don’t even need to wait for the holiday season to roll around to send gifts. When a customer reaches a special milestone, such as their tenth order with your business, send them something they’ll love. Personalize a laptop case, for example, and they’ll use it with pride.

Start Small to Win Big

The best promotional gifts are those that people can use or wear. You don’t have to spend a fortune to create must-have giveaways that’ll bring all the clients to your yard (milkshake not required).

Small items such as custom rubber wristbands help establish the first steps of brand awareness and client relationship building – and won’t cost your entire annual marketing budget, either.

Contact us today to find out more about using promotional products to boost your brand!

Even with a tiny budget, business promotional products are worth the investment. Not convinced?

Check it out:

• 83% of people enjoy receiving a freebie
• 91% have at least one promo item in their kitchen
• 85% became a customer of a branded giveaway they received.

Those numbers are pretty strong, right? Investing in giveaways for events, trade shows, product launches, or even ‘just because’ is a great way to boost brand awareness.

If you need a little more than these few facts to take to your marketing director to release the budget for promo items, keep reading. They’re gonna love this.

7 Undeniable Benefits of Business Promotional Products

Promotional gifts work for your brand in several ways. Use any (or all) of these top reasons to use branded gifts to persuade the person holding your budget that it is a great business investment.

1. Products Get Used Time and Again

A branded gift isn’t a one-time thing. It’s not going to get lost in the desk drawer in a pile of other business cards.

A handy mug, a stylish bracelet, a t-shirt for the gym: people use branded items all the time. Why pay for something when you’ve already got a freebie item in your drawer/kitchen/office that does the job?

Every time someone reaches for your promotional product to help them in some way, they’ll think about your brand. A logo on a gym bag, for example, is an unobtrusive yet daily reminder about the time the customer interacted with your company.

2. Reach More People with the Same Product

People using your promo gifts all the time means something else: others will see your branding, too.

The bamboo travel mug is seen by everyone on the daily commute. The notepad is witnessed in use during weeks of meetings. Offering useful branded giveaways means your logo and contact details become familiar to those around your customer as well as the person using the item all the time.

Think of the extra real-life impressions you gain from just one promotional item. It’s amazing!

3. Build a Recognizable Brand

Promotional products are a perfect way to build an instantly recognizable brand. Think about some famous brands for a moment: if you removed the words from Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, or United Airlines, people still recognize the company the logo represents.

Establishing such a strong brand is easy when you keep the style cohesive throughout your promotions. Always use the same colors, logo, and fonts when designing promotional products if you want to create a brand people understand at a glance.

It’s not just about color and logo, either: the quality of items you choose to give away will tell customers a lot about how much you value them.

Sticking to a set color palette might feel boring but it’s the way to go if you want people to see a certain Pantone shade and instantly associate it with your company.

4. Create Brand Memorability (Not Just Awareness)

Sure, loads of people will see your logo and become familiar with what you do. But there’s more to it than simply recognizing your brand: you’ll be the go-to choice when they need someone who does what you do.

People keep desk accessories for an average of 14 months. That means that for 14 months, they’ll be looking at your brand several times a week an associate it with their own work. When they need your service, they’ll think of – and go to – you.

5. Boost Loyalty with Existing Customers

Promotional items aren’t just for enticing new clients to use your services. The branded candy at a trade show will draw customers to you, sure, but more selective promotional gifts can be used to boost loyalty.

Sending existing clients gifts as a thank-you for trial sign-ups, their customer anniversary with you, or ‘just because’, will help them feel valued.

Sometimes, all it takes is the offer of an extra gift with their next order to make someone return to you instead of going elsewhere. The gift doesn’t have to be big and expensive, either: small and useful products are more valued to most customers.

This boosts loyalty and encourages them to continue using your product or service instead of shopping with competitors.

6. Exchange Giveaways for Leads

People love getting something for nothing – but they’re also willing to trade if the giveaway is good enough.

Just like a downloadable PDF guide is a great online lead generator, high-value branded items can encourage customer actions too. At trade shows or events, offer free branded chocolate to anyone – but something better if you can gather data from people.

People are more willing to trade their details and gain interest in your company if they think they’re going to get something out of it, too. Offer a branded USB stick in return for a business card, for example, or give a promotional mug to anyone completing a short questionnaire.

7. Make Your Brand Desirable

Promotional gifts are not just about the leads you gain from a direct giveaway. Think about providing a gift that’s so awesome or trend-setting that, when people see others using or wearing it, they just gotta have it too.

Look at the worldwide fitness craze for the Insanity program: only those customers completing the 30 days will receive a free – promotional – t-shirt. People feel pride in themselves and claim the t-shirt, but all they’re really doing is promoting the program to others in their gym.

Employees Need Swag, Too

Business promotional products aren’t just for your customers or to tempt potential clients. Employee swag is a great way to build brand ambassadors in those already dedicated to your company.

Fashionable items always work well for this, as app startup IFTTT discovered with their branded socks. Just like the Insanity t-shirt, the fashionable item becomes desirable. People want to wear it: they want to be your promoter.

Small items like custom rubber bracelets provide a great opportunity to build buy-in from employees as ambassadors. They become a must-have item and, soon enough, other people will want to know how to get one, too.

Find out more about our custom bracelets and how to turn them into the next essential fashion item everyone wants!