Blog Post | Apr 22, 2025
Get Strategic with Promo Products
Promotional items never go out of style and are a must-have in your marketing plan. These steps can help you strategically plan for promo items that stand the test of time.
Your promotional strategy is the careful selection of promotional products that drive awareness of your brand and keep your company top of mind with merchandise recipients. But when you don’t put the work in prior to selecting those objects to give away at a conference or tradeshow, you run the risk of them being banished to a junk drawer or, worse yet, the trash, when your customers return home.
Paradoxically, while some promotional products lose their value in the eyes of show attendees once they leave an event, the items are also proven to work. The American Marketing Association reports that:
So, recognizing that both these realities are simultaneously true, what steps can you take to strategically plan for promotional items that will stand the test of time?
Select Items That Align with Your Brand’s Values
When planning, think about how you want your brand represented to attendees. Carefully select items that reflect your brand. Physical promotional items represent your brand at an event and should communicate your values or mission to consumers.
This strategy will look different for each company, so keep your organization’s image in mind when purchasing promotional products; seek more than the generic, commonplace items that flood many tradeshows or conferences.
Know Your Audience
Any items that you use to promote your brand should match the demographics of event attendees. Every audience will value different types of products. Take time to profile your audience in terms of age, gender, career, hobbies, etc. This will help you make the choices that reflect the lifestyle and working styles of your recipients.
Select Items That Send the Right Message
Also, take time to think about what your giveaway items say about your customers. Your products should mirror your values and, ideally, they’ll be unlike what they will get from everyone else. You don’t want to inadvertently communicate to your customers that they are not special or worthy of spending a little more.
Promotional products that resonate with your customers and elicit emotional responses will also help you connect with them and ensure positive associations about your brand. Put thought into colors, materials and packaging.
Think Long Term
Items like snacks, tissues, plastic bags and other disposable or single-use items won’t have much staying power with your customers. Once they’ve eaten the food or blown their nose, they throw away your carefully thought-out giveaway item, undercutting the value that you placed on it. Likewise, if it’s something of little value that gets placed in the trash immediately following an event, its limited utility means that it will end up in a landfill somewhere.
Instead, choose highly visible, practical products that will last, items that people will use every day. The more they use the products you gave them, the more they will see your brand—so make sure to select durable and long-lasting materials.
Consider the Drive for Minimalism
Simple is in, so consider using an understated, smaller version of your logo on promo items. Rather than asking your audience to become walking billboards for your products, embrace subtlety and simplicity.
Take a retail approach and use clean, modern, minimal colors and fonts. Select high-quality items that reflect a “less is more” mentality to ensure that customers are a) more likely to use the item you gave them and b) think of you each time they use the product.
Paradoxically, while some promotional products lose their value in the eyes of show attendees once they leave an event, the items are also proven to work. The American Marketing Association reports that:
- 65% of advertisers find promotional products to be highly effective at reaching consumers and facilitating brand recall
- 88% of marketers recommend the use of promotional products
- Eight in 10 consumers share their promotional products rather than throwing them away
- Over 80% of promotional products are used for a year or more
So, recognizing that both these realities are simultaneously true, what steps can you take to strategically plan for promotional items that will stand the test of time?
Select Items That Align with Your Brand’s Values
When planning, think about how you want your brand represented to attendees. Carefully select items that reflect your brand. Physical promotional items represent your brand at an event and should communicate your values or mission to consumers.
This strategy will look different for each company, so keep your organization’s image in mind when purchasing promotional products; seek more than the generic, commonplace items that flood many tradeshows or conferences.
Know Your Audience
Any items that you use to promote your brand should match the demographics of event attendees. Every audience will value different types of products. Take time to profile your audience in terms of age, gender, career, hobbies, etc. This will help you make the choices that reflect the lifestyle and working styles of your recipients.
Select Items That Send the Right Message
Also, take time to think about what your giveaway items say about your customers. Your products should mirror your values and, ideally, they’ll be unlike what they will get from everyone else. You don’t want to inadvertently communicate to your customers that they are not special or worthy of spending a little more.
Promotional products that resonate with your customers and elicit emotional responses will also help you connect with them and ensure positive associations about your brand. Put thought into colors, materials and packaging.
Think Long Term
Items like snacks, tissues, plastic bags and other disposable or single-use items won’t have much staying power with your customers. Once they’ve eaten the food or blown their nose, they throw away your carefully thought-out giveaway item, undercutting the value that you placed on it. Likewise, if it’s something of little value that gets placed in the trash immediately following an event, its limited utility means that it will end up in a landfill somewhere.
Instead, choose highly visible, practical products that will last, items that people will use every day. The more they use the products you gave them, the more they will see your brand—so make sure to select durable and long-lasting materials.
Consider the Drive for Minimalism
Simple is in, so consider using an understated, smaller version of your logo on promo items. Rather than asking your audience to become walking billboards for your products, embrace subtlety and simplicity.
Take a retail approach and use clean, modern, minimal colors and fonts. Select high-quality items that reflect a “less is more” mentality to ensure that customers are a) more likely to use the item you gave them and b) think of you each time they use the product.