There’s no point in putting in the time and effort to purchase a bunch of promotional products if the people you give them to quickly forget about them and toss them.
You want promo items that are going to stand out and catch people’s attention. That they’ll hang onto because they find themselves using them regularly. That will keep you top-of-mind for everyone you give them to.
But how can you achieve that? What tactics should you be following during the creation process?
3 Things You Should Focus on to Help Your Branded Items Stand Out & Stick Around
When it comes to producing memorable promotional products and materials, there are three main things you should focus on:
Usefulness and Practicality
What kinds of promo items are people most likely to keep around? Think of items that potential recipients might use on a regular basis. Common “practical” products include things like pens, mugs, water bottles, and clothing, but everyone does those. If you want something a bit more unique, consider items like Post-It Notes, umbrellas, air tags and holders, and even reusable straws.
Your Audience’s Needs
What kinds of branded items will matter to your ideal customer? If you’re targeting campers, a power bank is sure to become a favorite as they fuel their devices in the great outdoors. Animal food or water bowls – or even poop bag holders featuring your logo – would likely be a hit with pet owners. And businesses focusing on book lovers could do a lot worse than creating a simple but attractive bookmark, or go a step farther with a book light. This category is one step up from mere usefulness, in our opinion, because you’re showing your audience that you’re thinking about them specifically.
Cleverness and Surprise
This one is the wild card of the bunch, but shoot for out of the box items that will still make sense for your industry and audience. Schools and tutoring companies could create stress balls shaped like brains. A florist or landscaping company might use a business card created with seed paper. A construction company might hand out keychains of miniature tools like measuring tapes or levels.
Recently, we worked with an IT business to design a mousepad with a memorable illustration playing with an old IT trope:
The point here is to do something that uniquely represents your business in a way that stands out and hopefully still encourages people to hang on to the item because it’s also useful.
Remember, the Ultimate Goal Is to Keep Your Business Top-of-Mind for an Extended Period of Time
Generally speaking, we don’t suggest making branded food unless it’s really memorable or tied into your business, because once that food is gone, so is your audience’s reminder of you. Other promotional products such as chapstick, hand sanitizer, and matchbooks fall into a similar category in that they are designed to be disposable, but at least they have a longer shelf life than food. And if you’re going to brand a piece of clothing, make sure that the design is something you would be likely to wear yourself.
By necessity, all of this needs to start with a clear, professional design that draws people in while keeping things simple and uncluttered. Whether you need help designing the branding for your promotional items or finding the right products for your business, we can help.
