{"id":26022,"date":"2019-11-13T15:19:44","date_gmt":"2019-11-13T21:19:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ipromo.com\/blog\/?p=26022"},"modified":"2019-11-13T15:19:47","modified_gmt":"2019-11-13T21:19:47","slug":"how-to-choose-company-branded-merchandise-for-your-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.ipromo.com\/how-to-choose-company-branded-merchandise-for-your-business\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Choose Company Branded Merchandise for Your Business"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Employees and clients alike love receiving custom branded merchandise from your company, but more often than not, the giveaway ends up collecting dust in a drawer at the office or in a junk drawer home. If that describes the state of your promotional products, then you may want to keep reading. Branded merchandise is a great way to get your brand\u2019s name out there while also creating an opportunity to thank employees or loyal customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are plenty of reasons why companies might want to create branded merchandise even if merchandise isn\u2019t their primary business goal. After all, it would be hard to imagine a world where you didn\u2019t see promotional products for brands like Coca-Cola or McDonalds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Part of the reason why a soda company or a restaurant might want a t-shirt<\/a> with their logo on it is because it is simply good marketing. The more you see a brand, the more likely you are to purchase something that brand offers. Increased brand awareness is generally the end goal of a branded merchandise campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, most businesses aren\u2019t on the same level of popularity as a Coca-Cola or McDonald\u2019s. So, branded products often also work as a method of keeping customers and employees engaged with your brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, what steps should you take to ensure that the campaign will be effective and what products are best for your business? We\u2019ll dive into those questions below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What is Branded Merchandise?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Before we get into any further discussion, it\u2019s important to define branded merchandise. For our purposes, the term \u201cbranded merchandise\u201d includes any branded items<\/a> that you plan to use internally in the office or give away as a \u201cthank you\u201d to customers. It is not uncommon to give away branded products to customers, employees, or even the general public (e.g. at a trade show or other event). You may even want to use branded merchandise in social media contest giveaways. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Promotional gifts serve the dual purpose of generating goodwill with the recipients while also allowing them to advertise your brand when using the products. For employees, branded products around the office<\/a> can help reinforce the company\u2019s culture and foster their sense of cohesion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might be surprised by how well branded products work at keeping your brand\u2019s name fresh in the minds of people who see those items. In fact, one study suggests that people can remember the name of a company they saw on a promotional product about 83% of the time<\/a>. Compare that to only a 7% recall rate for ads on television.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, we know that products with your logo, slogan, or design on them are great for advertising and generally cultivating a solid relationship with clients and employees, but what branded merchandise ideas can give you the best outcomes?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Have a Concrete Strategy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In order for any promotional product campaign to be successful, you need to employ an adequate strategy. Simply branding a collection of items isn\u2019t going to do much for you. You have to have an action plan for how you are going to distribute those products and what your ultimate goal is. You don\u2019t want to order a bunch of branded merchandise only to decide what to do with it after the fact. Some questions you might want to ask include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n