Articles: promotional products

These articles rarely open with a product catalogue. They start with a question: who will receive the item and when it will be used. A giveaway handed out at a trade fair is chosen differently from a gift for a long-standing client, and differently again from something left on a reception desk.

What the choice depends on

A few points keep coming back, and this order tends to work:

• Usefulness - an object used daily reminds people of the brand far longer than an ornament.
• Recipient - age, interests and whether the item goes to a customer, an employee or a business partner.
• Number of pieces - small runs and limited editions follow a different logic to large orders.
• Material - metal, plastic or wood change how the same object is read.
• How the logo is applied - it decides how large and how legible the logo can be.

Gifts that do not shout advertising

A separate thread covers items that never look like advertising. Coasters in a venue. Card holders. A keyring treated as a miniature business card. An everyday object with a discreet logo. Practical questions return as well. When lighters make sense for promoting an event. Whether a memory stick shaped like your product is worth a separate design. How to plan what sits on that stick so the recipient opens it at all.

Start with the article on matching a gift to its recipient. Then read up on the specific item you are considering - it is easier to judge whether it fits your situation.