Offering people something for free in return for buying your products - that is probably the most common use of promotional products. There are many criteria for selecting the right free gift, here is the list of those I consider most important:

• practical and useful

• relevant to product you are selling

• high perceived value

• tasteful design and good quality look

• and all the above within the limits of your budget

There is usually not much you can do about the budget. If you are selling your product for 20 dollars you probably will not be looking at free gift for your customers that costs you 30 dollars . Once you have your budget set you can go on searching for the perfect gift.

Few days ago I found in a department store a booth running promo on Huggies diapers. The gift they have chosen - mini size terry bathrobe - is a good example of careful free gift selection:

• It is practical, bathrobe always comes handy, even for a kid. At the same time it is not exactly a product many people would think of buying. But once you see it is coming free with a product you need anyway you happily take it even if it means switching to a different brand .

• It is relevant. The size of the bathrobe suggests it is intended for the same size of people as the diapers it comes with .

• It has a decent perceived value, definitely much higher than its cost especially if produced in serious quantity.

• It looks fine, fabric is very OK, there are no obvious quality defects and the branding is such that mums and dads probably would not mind their kids running around the beach with it.

To get this free bathrobe people had to purchase 3 packs of Huggies and from what I could see they definitely made Pampers sales suffer on that day in that store .

Popularity: 17% [?]

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Being on the road and travelling around for a while makes it quite difficult to keep up posting regularly. On the other hand one can see things.

When some company sponsors an event, their name, brand and colours are usually all over the place.

So the same could be expected from ING, when they became the title sponsor of Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix race in Melbourne. And of course the branding was all over the track,

as well as on the event merchandise:

No event would be an event without the girls in the sponsor colours. And when it gets way too hot, the custom made umbrellas in the colors of the sponsor are on hand to protect the girls from sunstroke. Well, that probably was the plan. Unfortunately not all the corporate umbrellas are made perfect …

Kind of embarassing situation in front of huge crowd that at that moment had nowhere else to look but in the direction of the girls .

It all ended up well, the umbrella man proved to be more skilled than the workers in the factory that assembled that umbrella for ING.

The more serious topics will return once I return from this trip.

Popularity: 20% [?]

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I admit I never thought highly about luggage straps as an advertising medium. But after recently spending more than healthy amount of time on the planes and in the airports I realized, these straps are great.

First of all, people would appreciate them because they are useful:

• they help to keep your luggage closed in case the zipper breaks or the buckle on the suitcase snaps open

• if colorful enough, they help you to recognize your bag

• and if colorful enough, they make it clear to others, that your bag is not theirs

When looking at them as an advertising medium:

• they have large area for branding - the logo or the message can be big

• they are very visible and move around the world with the owner of the luggage

• they are inexpensive

• they can be produced fully customized in relatively small quantities

Just recall those long minutes at airports standing by the carousel waiting for your luggage to appear, looking at hundreds of others…

Everybody’s attention is firmly focused on the bags going round and round and round. Which ones attract your attention ? Usually the colourful ones or those with loads of stickers on them, or those with something that makes them different. A well designed luggage strap may do the job. And it comes cheaper than branded travel bag or suitcase …

Popularity: 24% [?]

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It was about 10 years ago when we got to work with an advertising agency on gifts that would go with tea. I am not sure what were all the ideas considered but when we came into the picture there was only one concept left - The kitchen timers.

The client did not want to use any generic timer designs. They wanted products specifically designed and produced for them. They were willing to invest into new tooling and surprise surprise - they even gave us enough time to manage that .

We were presented with 2 designs of timers - one in the shape of half a lemon, the other in the shape of raspberry. These 2 designs represented the fruit teas from client’s product range.

The gimmick was the dial. To make these timers “special” there was special marking on the dial. Different colours marked the correct infusion time for different kinds of tea - 3 minutes for black tea, 5 minutes for green tea, 8 minutes for fruit tea etc.

The result of all the work was a practical and useful product of nice quality and unique design (at that time, 10 years ago). And … it also taught people how to make their cup of tea .

Popularity: 24% [?]

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It looks like mugs have been around as a BizGift forever. While many other promotional products come and go, mugs, quite like the pens, seem to be always in. The shapes, the colors, the designs may change, but the mugs are always around. Why is that ?

• First of all they are relatively cheap to make. The cost depends on the material (porcelain, stoneware, ceramics), the material grade, the print design, the print technology, the packaging (if any) and the quantity of mugs ordered. But it is safe to say that mugs are one of the lower budget business gifts.

• They provide large area for branding. Whether it is just a simple logo or all around photo imprint, the branding on the mug is visible. Many people keep their mugs on their office desk where others see it.

• The mugs are useful and practical gift and people usually like getting them. Mug is a gift that makes many people happy.

• Although the mugs are relatively cheap, they do not (or should not) look cheap if well made. They are a decent gift by themselves, but also a nice part of a gift set, like for example the one pictured below.

• The mugs are also mass marketing medium. Look at all the coffee brands around the world and check out the coffee shops that serve their coffee. All the coffee is served in mugs or cups bearing the said coffee brand.

How are they branded ?

The big orders are usually branded right at source in the mug factory. The most common method are the decals applied on the mug and then fired in the oven.

For smaller orders suppliers usually pick the mugs from their stock and depending on the size of the order, design of the mug and type of logo choose either the decal method, pad printing or even silkscreen.

So what to watch out for when ordering mug as a promotional product ?

• First of all, unless you are prepared to pay big money for your mugs, you need to be ready to accept, that what you get at the end may be a bit different from the sample you approved. The tooling used for ceramic mugs production usually last only one production and have to be remade every time. This may cause some differences in shape or size from order to order. The body colour of the mug may vary too. And not only from production to production but also within the same production lot. The final colour is affected by the temperature in the oven. And the higher up on the rack the mug is, the higher the temperature. Simple physics.

• Some people like to have mugs that have more than one colour. Example is the mug with spoon on the picture in this post. Outside the mug is white, inside blue. There are also designs where let’s say bottom half of mug is one color, the upper half another. This is done by dipping the mug into the ink. Try to dip anything into some liquid and see if you can manage to keep the same line every time … If you can than you have every right to complain if the 2 colour mugs you receive from your supplier do not have the perfect border between the 2 colours . Otherwise give your supplier some break .

• When you are choosing your mug, think about what you plan to print on it. Those all around prints are done on decals that are applied on the mug and fired. Only some shapes of mugs are suitable for that … Take a piece of paper and try to wrap it around the ice cream cone to see what I mean.

• Try to avoid having the mugs shipped by air. First of all, they are heavy and the freight may cost you several times more than the mug itself. Second - mugs tend to break. And the chance of them breaking is much higher when they fly then when they go on the ground. Here I am talking about bulk shipments. If you have the mugs individually boxed, they are usually well protected and should survive mailing by post or courier without to many injuries.

Enjoy your cup of coffee or tea !

Popularity: 18% [?]

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