Promotional Products Marketing Ideas

The Superbowl is one of the most watched programs all year. In fact, the 2011 game between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers drew in a record-breaking 111 million viewers. The year before, Superbowl XLIV topped the M*A*S*H series finale, which had been the most widely viewed program for 27 years.

With so many people watching, the Superbowl can make a great opportunity for companies to advertise to consumers. However, you might not be able to afford the estimated $2.8 to $3 million price tag to air a 30-second commercial during the game. A more affordable way to reach football fans or customers who just enjoy watching the big game is to give away promotional products.

Reach out to your customers who are football fans with gear they can use before and during the game, such as printed football bodylights. These promotional gifts are pins shaped like NFL team logos that light up,  with an optional lobster claw lanyard necklace so your customers can decide if they want to pin it to their jersey or wear it around their neck. 

The pins are available in New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49'ers logos for your business' promotion that can be just in time for Superbowl XLVI.

At the start of a new semester, schools have the opportunity to reach out to students and parents. Universities and high schools can supply students and their families with promotional products like calendars that are printed with valuable information and resources that will help them throughout the year.

Some important resources to include can be contact information for departments and offices that parents or students might need to reach. Listing the dates of holidays and breaks can make planning vacations or visits simple, and both parents and students might find it helpful to have midterm and finals schedules right at the start of the year.

Custom calendars can be printed in many forms to meet different people's needs. Desk calendars might be more helpful for students who sit down to do homework and write in assignment due dates as they're assigned. A wall calendar can be a good tool for high school students' parents to remember basketball games, practices and parent-teacher conferences, whereas a calendar magnet might be more helpful for parents of college students who don't need to keep track of a detailed weekly schedule.

Custom calendars make great promotional gifts that can contain school spirit-inspiring photos as well as help students get off to a great start at the beginning of the semester.  

Those who haven't yet given up on their New Year's resolutions of losing weight and healthy eating might find themselves running low on the motivation they had at the start of 2012. As winter wears on, blustery weather can make us crave comfort foods as a way to warm up and relax at the end of a long day. Small businesses can help customers keep their goals on track by supplying them with kitchen gadget promotional products to encourage healthy home cooking.

A simple item like a water bottle can contain your promotional gifts and remind customers to adopt habits like drinking water in place of soda and sugary drinks. Inside the water bottle, you can include kitchen gadgets such as collapsible measuring cups or a multi-use measuring spoon that comes in bright colors and can make cooking more fun.

Cooking recipes at home can empower people to make healthy choices because they know what's going into their meals. A promotional memo holder can keep recipes in easy view and free up the chef's hands while cooking, and a palm veggie brush can make it easy to clean vegetables that can bulk up dishes without adding a lot of calories.

Customers that also experience the money-saving benefit of home cooking may remember your support of their weight-loss goals and use their extra budget at your business. 

Winter is upon us, which means it's the season for marketing products like scarves, mittens and hot chocolate. Cold weather and winter storms can also bring slippery sidewalks and frost-covered windshields. Dealing with these conditions can cause delays if we don't plan enough time in our morning routine.

Going out in the cold to realize that you need to scrape your windshield and brush snow off your car prior to getting on the road can be enough to ruin a morning. Many of us don't have enough time to properly clean snowy cars before heading to work. It can be made worse if after a thorough search of the trunk and underneath the backseat, you realize that you no longer have an ice scraper in your vehicle.

Some states have even implemented fines for drivers that don't completely clear their vehicles before hitting the road, which can lead to reduced visibility and the potential for accidents.

Help your customers prepare for the winter weather and avoid fines by providing them with windshield scrapers as promotional products. Ice-scraper key tags that attach to car keys and keep the handy device on-hand for inclement weather. 

There are a lot of myths about what can cause and cure the common cold. Some popular myths include illnesses caused by being cold, feeding a cold and starving a fever and using extra clothes to sweat out a fever. Even widely accepted alternative medicines like vitamin C, honey, zinc and echnicea have not been proven as effective treatments.

What actually does work? Chicken soup and clean hands. Hand washing and hand sanitizing can help to prevent the spread of bacteria and viruses.

For those in the medical industry looking for promotional products to give to customers, consider putting together a kit of items along with information about fighting the common cold.

Pocket Sprayers containing antibacterial hand sanitizer that fit right into a pocket can encourage regular use because they're so portable. Hand sanitizers with covers that have hooks on them can help patients bring cold-prevention with them wherever they go. Pill cases are available in a variety of sizes that are helpful reminders for taking vitamins or cough suppressants. In case their cold worsens, patients could use a customizable thermometer to monitor their temperature. If they need to reach you, they can easily find your information printed on the back. 

Friday the 13th comes around every year to incite superstition.Between 17 and 21 million Americans are reported to have a phobia of Friday the 13th called paraskavedekatriaphobia, and this staggering number translates to approximately $750 million dollars lost on that business that day due to people refusing to go out.

Instead of suffering through a slow Friday the 13th, indulge the superstitious and give your customers a reason to come out and visit your business. Try enticing them with a promotional product giveaway to celebrate the day. Fun products like 'lucky' clover-shaped key tags and horseshoe-shaped pins might help customers ward off bad luck as they face their fears and go out into the world.

For those less daring, a customizable stress reliever might come in handy as they hunker down and wait for the day to pass. In honor of Friday the 13th, you can give customers clover shaped stress relievers for a boost of luck. You can even give them one that's shaped like a superhero so they can rest easy knowing that in case of danger, help is nearby. Since these fun marketing gifts can be printed with your business' name and information, they may help customers remember that your store is also nearby and ready to supply them with whatever they need. 

As Superbowl season approaches, the stakes are high for teams and their fans that hope to make it through the playoffs.

Perhaps the tryptophan is wearing off from the holidays, or maybe we're just not ready to accept that the season for celebrating is over, but many fans use playoff games and the Superbowl as opportunities to host parties for family and friends. When the number of playoff games begins to dwindle, fans are ready to cheer their team to victory or weep in the wake of defeat. 

An average of 17 people attend each super bowl party and only 5 percent watch alone. Businesses can help fans celebrate by supplying them with promotional gifts that will help them throw a great party.

Try printing your business' logo on cork coasters that can keep hosts' tables free of water marks, make clean up easy and are small enough to store for the next game if their team progresses. Customizable can or bottle koozies can keep drinks cold and hands warm. When fans cheers each other after a game-winning touchdown, your marketing products can be in their hands.

As the holidays approach and the year comes to a close, many businesses feel that it is only right that they say thank you to those people who make their companies successful. Clients who give your company large amounts of business are worth thanking, and so are your many employees without whom your company wouldn't be able to create a product or provide a service.

In giving these thank you gifts, you may feel a desire to make the gift giving festive and in the spirit of the holidays. Consider investing in customizable holiday stockings. You can fill the stocking with simple thank you gifts, like pens, travel mugs or the like for employees. Put their holiday bonus inside the stocking as well to make for a very well received gift that shows the spirit of the season.

Put your promotional products into stockings and send a few to some of your best clients as a way to say thank you for their business. Make sure to place your company name and logo on the top of the stocking to make sure that the recipients know the gift came from you.

Promotional products are many companies' best method for advertising in a cheap, fun and useful way. Personal giveaways or promotional booths that host these items also allow the brand to have a face as the products are given away by real people.

It's important to make your promotional product relevant. College fairs, for example, often have pens because those in attendance are typically students. However, if your business finds it difficult to get a promotional product that reflects its business, practicality is another good way to go.

Ice scrapers are great items to give away if you live in an area that experiences heavy winters. It is a useful way to promote your company, and every time a prospective customer cleans her car off, it'll be thanks to your products.

If you want to take it a step further, make sure to only give away ice scrapers made of 100 percent recycled plastic. This gives your company an added layer of environmental friendliness. The purpose of a promotional product is to have those receiving it feel like your company provided them with something useful. With an ice scraper, that goal is sure to be accomplished.