The world of promotional products has come a long way from the days of business cards and bill-boards. This should come as no surprise; the crazier the world you inhabit, the more abnormal things have to be before they grab your attention. This is true for all markets; Agatha Ruiz De La Prada’s breakfast-themed fashion-wear was only another manifestation of the ever-more horrific content of modern horror movies; when crazy becomes the norm, it’s time to get extreme. Promotion is no different and the internet is teeming with companies offering to stamp your logo onto any product that can take a stamping – from the simple and mundane to the simply insane. As Sartre would tell you; when the amount of choice is so vast, the mere act of choosing becomes all the harder, yet equally inevitable. But fear not! Though it would be impossible (and rather pointless) to give a breakdown of every product available on the market, a guide is always a useful way of figuring out where you do and don’t want to go. As such, here is a quick guide to the good, the bad and the ugly of promotional products:
The Good: Compressed T-Shirts!
Available in containers of a veritable host of shapes and sizes, these are full-sized, heavy-weight cotton T-shirts, emblazoned with artwork of your choice, that are then compressed (would you believe) into containers as small as your hand! (I assume the hand in question is that of an average adult, although this is not explicitly stated anywhere). There are hundreds of containers to choose from, including guitars, baseball bats, flags, crowns, pianos and mobile phones! Even Beavers make an appearance, coming alongside Burrito Wraps and Sushi Rolls as the weirdest shapes I could find. Due the basic necessity of clothing in modern society, it is unlikely that promotional T-shirts will ever become an unpopular choice of promotional product. Nevertheless, it is ideas like this eye-catching and unique approach to T-shirt distribution that push the boundaries of promotion for all of us. Amen.
The Bad: Stress Balls
I think it would be fair to say that one doesn’t need a PhD in psychology to
spot that creating a deliberate mental connection between unpleasant feelings of tension and your company logo is probably not the wisest plan of action. When there are literally thousands of different desktop-based products upon which you can plant your logo, why chose the one that gets crushed repeatedly after frustrating experiences? With the exception of counselling services, travel companies and gyms I cannot understand who would consider a stress-ball to be a better advert for their company than say…a stapler. Be creative!
The Ugly: Mugs
It may be a clichéd expression, but nobody wants an ugly mug. OK, so that’s less of a cliché and more of a blatant social observation but nevertheless it rings true. The point I am trying to make here is, if you’re going to use a mug to advertise your company, for goodness sake make sure you have the kind of logo that people don’t mind having to stare at first thing in the morning! Put my face on a mug and you’ll get my point. Nobody wants to have to look at my ugly mug in the morning so think twice about whether they’ll want to look at yours.
So there you have it; an overview of the kind of products that will get you noticed and the kind that could potentially ruin your reputation forever. Clearly the best choice of promotional product depends largely on the target audience and the nature of what is being advertised; but in my opinion, you can be more inventive than cups and balls.
The Good: Compressed T-Shirts!
Available in containers of a veritable host of shapes and sizes, these are full-sized, heavy-weight cotton T-shirts, emblazoned with artwork of your choice, that are then compressed (would you believe) into containers as small as your hand! (I assume the hand in question is that of an average adult, although this is not explicitly stated anywhere). There are hundreds of containers to choose from, including guitars, baseball bats, flags, crowns, pianos and mobile phones! Even Beavers make an appearance, coming alongside Burrito Wraps and Sushi Rolls as the weirdest shapes I could find. Due the basic necessity of clothing in modern society, it is unlikely that promotional T-shirts will ever become an unpopular choice of promotional product. Nevertheless, it is ideas like this eye-catching and unique approach to T-shirt distribution that push the boundaries of promotion for all of us. Amen.
The Bad: Stress Balls
I think it would be fair to say that one doesn’t need a PhD in psychology to
spot that creating a deliberate mental connection between unpleasant feelings of tension and your company logo is probably not the wisest plan of action. When there are literally thousands of different desktop-based products upon which you can plant your logo, why chose the one that gets crushed repeatedly after frustrating experiences? With the exception of counselling services, travel companies and gyms I cannot understand who would consider a stress-ball to be a better advert for their company than say…a stapler. Be creative! The Ugly: Mugs
It may be a clichéd expression, but nobody wants an ugly mug. OK, so that’s less of a cliché and more of a blatant social observation but nevertheless it rings true. The point I am trying to make here is, if you’re going to use a mug to advertise your company, for goodness sake make sure you have the kind of logo that people don’t mind having to stare at first thing in the morning! Put my face on a mug and you’ll get my point. Nobody wants to have to look at my ugly mug in the morning so think twice about whether they’ll want to look at yours.
So there you have it; an overview of the kind of products that will get you noticed and the kind that could potentially ruin your reputation forever. Clearly the best choice of promotional product depends largely on the target audience and the nature of what is being advertised; but in my opinion, you can be more inventive than cups and balls.
