What Is Promotional Merchandisewhat Is Promotional Merchandise

Just What Exactly Is Promotional Merchandise?

Promotional merchandise refers to items branded with a companies logo, used to raise awareness of their brand or to convey the message of a specific marketing campaign. There are many other terms used for promotional merchandise including: promotional products, branded merchandise, company giveaways, corporate gifts and even swag. Promotional merchandise can be given to both existing and prospective clients and be used internally. The most popular usage for promotional products is as a trade show giveaway. Other reasons include to show customer recognition, as a sales incentive or to increase employee engagement. There are thousands of promotional products that can be branded with a companies logo. The most branded items include pens, notebooks, t-shirts and tote bags.

What Are The Most Popular Promotional Items?

There’s no list naming specific promotional products in terms of popularity, however we do know how much is spent in each product category within the U.K, giving us some indication as to the more popular items.

Group Of Promotional ProductsSpendings In Promotional Products (In Mil Of €)
Apparel & Textiles342
Electronics & Multimedia281
School & Office270
Bags, Luggage & Travel186
Lifestyle & Accessories127
Food & Beverage120
Sports, Lesure & Events104
Home & Living98
Services & Technologies87
Beauty & Health47
Games & Toys40
Garden & Outdoors35
Home Improvement26

As mentioned, there’s no itemised list of the most popular promotional products. However, in a survey conducted by the British Promotional Merchandise Association, respondents voted pens, confectionery and mugs to be the top three perfect promotional gifts. Whilst these products may not seem inspiring they all serve a purpose. From writing down notes to sipping tea,they are all incredibly useful, which is important as usefulness is the most desired quality from promotional merchandise. Other items respondents thought made the perfect promotional product include:

Is Promotional Merchandise Effective?

The short answer is yes, promotional merchandise is incredibly effective. 8 in 10 research a brand after receiving merchandise from them and an astonishing 83% of people are more likely to do business with a brand they’ve gotten branded merchandise from. Of course, it depends what promotional products you select. Whilst some might think the pen is the perfect promotional product, being incredibly useful, it may not be as memorable or distinctive as a branded cheese board. The key to selecting the right promotional product is understanding your clients needs, wants and lifestyles and of course, knowing your target market. When used correctly promotional products can make your clients feel appreciated, happy and impressed.

What Are The Benefits Of Using Promotional Merchandise?

There are many benefits to using promotional merchandise such as increasing brand awareness, recall, reputation and sales. Long lasting merchandise that is used regularly offers the best return on investment with every use offering more brand exposure to the client whilst also generating free brand impressions to those around them. Items such as umbrellas are able to generate over 1,000 brand impressions thoughout their lifetime. Promotional merchandise was also found to be the U.K’s favourite form of advertising, so another benefit of using promotional products is that you are likely selecting your clients preffered advertising channel to connect with them – that is of course if your clients are Blighty based.

What Kinds Of Organisations Use Promotional Merchandise?

All kinds of organisations use promotional merchandise. From charities to large businesses, all sorts of companies invest in promotional merchandise to aid their marketing efforts. We’ve partnered with everyone from government authorities to big well-known brands over the years, helping them get effective branded merchandise. A few examples of our work can be seen below and more can be found by visiting our Showroom page.

Get Your Own Promotional Merchandise

As mentioned, there’s a lot of promotional products out there. So, if you need some guidence on choosing promotional merchandise we’re on hand to help. There are many considerations when choosing the effective promotional merchandise and through many years of experience, we’ve mastered that process. At Brandelity, we pride ourselves not only on the job we do but the way we do it. Our experienced team will work with you to ensure your brand only features on relevant, purposeful and environmentally responsible merchandise. Making sure you stay memorable, and for all the right reasons. You can get in touch with us on 01753 491470 or by sending us an email to sales@brandelity.com. To view some of our most popular promotional products, click the button below. All of our products come branded with your logo and we can provide free mock ups and product samples.