10 Benefits in Using Promotional Items to Advertise

People Love Promotional Swag

If you watch TV with a group of people, you’ll notice that many scoff at TV commercials. They also roll their eyes at sales pitches at stores. Promotional items won’t get the same negative reaction!

People are genuinely excited to receive free branded giveaways, even if it’s something as simple as a keychain or pen. If we love the company enough, we may even spend money on their merch. In fact, 85% of people have bought a branded item at some point.

Easy Way to Boost Brand Awareness

The world is saturated with advertising. It’s everywhere you look – on the side of the highway, on your smartphone, before a movie starts. Companies do this on purpose since you need to see a logo 5 to 7 times before you start remembering it.

A podcast spot or YouTube Ad will eventually end, but your logo lives on when it’s printed on a tangible item.

Every time the shirt is worn, or the tote bag carried your logo is getting new life. New people are seeing it every time the item is worn or used.

Lower Cost Than Other Ad Strategies

Compared to other forms of advertising, promotional items are relatively inexpensive. You can get a bulk order of pens, stress balls, koozies, and other cheap swag items for as little as $150.

Now look at that cost measured against podcast spots, Google Ads, and brief commercials on streaming platforms.

*Based on 2023 pricing

This chart shows just some of the advertising costs your company may encounter. It doesn’t include other strategies like billboards, email marketing, signage, and direct mailers.

Promotional items are definitely not the only form of advertising your company should use, but they’re definitely one of the most cost-effective.

Shareable on Social Media

Influencers get free swag from companies, and in exchange, talk about it with their followers. However, you don’t need to use an official social media personality to talk about cool promotional items. Your fans will do it on their own!

When you buy a new shirt or get a cool freebie from a company you love, you’re going to want to brag about it with friends and family.

70% of the Americans use social media, so ordering picture-perfect promotional items only works in your brand’s favor.

Fun Part of Offline Events

Whether you’re creating a pop-up shop, setting up a booth at a town fair, or sponsoring a music festival, you can use promotional products at your event. Keep a few branded items out for people to take at their leisure, make cool merch prizes for games, or throw swag like shirts and stress balls into the crowd.

95% of marketers believe that in-person events are beneficial.

You’re only going to engage with the audience if you make the experience worth their time. Free promotional giveaways are a step in the right direction!

Unique to Your Brand

Do you remember the Livestrong bracelets that everyone was obsessed with in the 2000s? Are you sipping your coffee now from a Starbucks mug? If you’re doing it right, your brand will become known for your promotional items.

A recent survey found that 61% of consumers will shop at local businesses because of the unique product selection. You can get that “it” factor by advertising with distinct branded merch. It’s something only you have to offer.

Makes Your Brand Seem Authentic

88% of consumers value authenticity when deciding which brands to support. The last thing you want to seem like to your customers is hungry for their money. They can smell that from a mile away. Be authentic, and just like Kevin Costner said in Field of Dreams, they will come.

Giving out free promotional items is a good way to establish your brand as one that’s generous and thoughtful. You can even give the items out as gifts to new clients.

Celebrates & Creates a Fandom

You want your brand to have the same level of love as Taco Bell gets from their customers. People even get married at the fast food restaurant! To get there, you need to build up your fanbase and cool promotional merchandise definitely helps.

Do you know someone who is Pepsi over Coca-Cola? Burger King over McDonald’s? 72% of customers are considered brand loyalists. You want those people to choose you over anyone else. That’s what makes them proudly wear your promotional shirts!

Choose your swag wisely

Promotional items with your logo are beneficial to your brand in many ways. You just need to choose the right branded products for you!

Now let’s be real here. You’re not going to order promotional products and magically get new business. That’s not how it works. It’s about consistency and using your promotional logo items in a clever way.

Take your time and choose the right logo items to represent who you are and what you do. You can get cool custom apparel like shirts and hats, or go with something fun like koozies or sunglasses. It just depends on what works best for you!