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Lame Promotional Products That Don’t Have To Be

Lame Promotional ProductsIn the modern era of marketing and advertising, businesses must be strategic. No longer do mass advertising mediums bring in tons of sales. You can’t just put out your message and expect people to come running. You have to market to a targeted audience. You must stand out. And, you must not be lame.

Over the past 15 years as a promotional products distributor, I have had many people come to me to buy promotional products for their business. Many people say to me they want a “cool” giveaway and immediately follow with, “I was thinking about koozies. You know the cheap ones!” And every time someone says that, they see a prominent smirk on my face with a look that says, “Are you serious? You want “cool” and you think about cheap koozies?”

Nearly every event I attend, someone is giving away collapsible koozies with a 1 color, puff imprint on them. I respectfully decline taking one or if it comes in a bag that I get at a convention or trade show, I promptly throw it away. I have enough koozies at home. I want something unique. I want something with character.

Now, just to clarify, there are purposes for koozies and the other simple, traditional promotional products. For example, if you are serving canned or bottled drinks at a function, serve the drinks in a koozie. It reinforces your branding, keeps the guests hands from getting cold, and keeps their drink colder for longer. My point is that they are not right for giveaways to make you standout.

By giving away the same lame promotional items that every other business gives out, you look just like them. Your goals should be to look different and stand out boldly from your competitors.

Below are a few lame promotional products along with an awesome counterpart to choose so you don’t have to be lame.

Koozies

Collapsible Koozies
LAME for routine giveaways. Use only for specific events to increase your brand awareness.
Burlap Can Coolies
NOT LAME. Try koozies that aren’t lame. How many burlap koozies have you ever received? These are unique and not lame.

Pens

Fiji Stylus Pens
NOT LAME. Go for a pen with a stylus. It is still budget-friendly, but much more appealing than a boring stick pen. The stylus tip gives this pen extra value.
Classic Promotional Stick Pens
LAME. Classic promotional stick pens have been around for ages. They are boring and quickly thrown away in lieu of a “cooler” pen.

Water Bottles

Basic Promotional Water Bottles
LAME. These standard old promotional water bottles have a purpose, but they are not going to be kept for long.
Custom Alta Tritan Water Bottles
NOT LAME. Get stylish with your water bottle giveaways and your clients will use their bottle for years!

 Coffee Mugs

11 oz budget ceramic coffee mugs
LAME. Coffee drinkers don’t want small, white mugs. They want a larger mug to hold MORE coffee!
16 oz ceramic mugs with chrome base and bright accent color
NOT LAME. These black ceramic coffee mugs not only hold 16 oz, but they are stylish with a bright accent color and chrome base.

Journals

Basic 70 sheet journal
LAME. These basic 70 sheet journals definitely have function, but to really stand out, you can do much better.
Black Journal with Bright Accent Colors
NOT LAME. Be in style with these black 96-page journals with bright accent colors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summary

As you can see with each of these promotional products categories, there are much cooler options. Don’t be lame. Use the simple, cheap promos for needed causes, but for your giveaways to clients, don’t give them a 17 cent pen to say “Thank you for your business.” Find something useful and stylish as your giveaways. Your clients will keep them longer and you will get much more marketing value from your promo investments. An experienced promotional products distributor can make recommendations and keep you from looking lame to your customers.

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