It’s one of the most challenging questions facing marketing departments.

“What kind of promotional products should we order for our marketing giveaways?”

There are a number of considerations. Budget. Your target audience. Finding the balance between usefulness and uniqueness.

To help you solve this all-important conundrum, here are five guidelines for ordering promotional products.

Have a specific purpose.

Hopefully the basis of a conversation about promotional products begins with an overall marketing plan. Promotional products, like any form of advertising, are a tactic that should ultimately fulfill a key objective of your overall marketing plan.

A marketing objective of brand awareness will require different tactics than encouraging repeat business, which will differ from launching an entirely new product line.

Promotional products can help with any of those objectives, but what and how much you order, and how you design and distribute those items, may vary based on what you want to accomplish.

Plan ahead and order accordingly.

You buy a large quantity of pieces to get a price break. You go through a small amount at your first industry show. Six months later you need items for another event but the stuff you ordered for the first show doesn’t quite fit.

So you rush order another quantity of different items. Because of the higher cost due to the last-minute order, you can’t buy as many. So you run out during the event, missing valuable promotional opportunities. The old stuff stays in a cabinet until it’s cleaned out a few years later.

This is fairly common occurrence. But it doesn’t have to be. Buying the right amount of items simply requires advanced planning. Look at your marketing calendar for the next year. Consider how many items you’ll give out at each event or for each marketing initiative.

When researching vendors, pay particular attention to quantity price breaks, how long it will take to fulfill orders, and the design flexibility offered.

Consider items that people will use in public.

A common objective for handing out promotional items is exposure. You want to introduce and/or reinforce your brand to as many people as possible.

So why limit your brand’s exposure to one recipient? What if for every single promotional item you give away, another five, 10 or 25 people see your brand on that item?

Match your brand message to your promotional items.

If your brand centers on innovation, then giving out old standbys like cups, pens, and mouse pads may sublimely contradict your message. If your company serves high-end clientele, promotional items made of cheap plastic or fabric will certainly send the wrong message.

Keep the design simple.

Lately, don’t clutter the item with unnecessary and tacky images or text that can camouflage or hurt your brand.

About the author

EVERSOX is a worldwide supplier of custom branded socks for businesses, retailers, and promotional products distributors — with over 10,000 designs manufactured & 100 major brands served since 2010.