Take the most popular items of branded merchandise—USB sticks, calendars, t-shirts, umbrellas, mugs and pens—why do they work? One of the reasons is that they’re things your audience uses on a daily basis.

Mugs, pens and USB sticks can put your name on their desk. A calendar puts your name on the wall or fridge, a t-shirt on their chest or sleeve. And when it rains, it’s your umbrella overhead. These simple items have been found to deliver a similar ROI to television and print advertising. But you can achieve a more targeted campaign with a lower budget.

Not only does branded merchandise keep your name prominent, it can also prompt buyers into changing their purchasing decision. Plenty of people will try a new brand if the product comes with a free mug, hat or t-shirt.

A free gift with purchase can give you a double hit, in other words—it will make them buy from you in the first place and then remind them to come back to you.

One of the most practical (and unoriginal) pieces of promotional merchandise available. Why are they so popular? High perceived value, they’re useful and individual (people don’t really like cup sharing). Also, cups don’t tend to get broken too often and as a result they hang around for longer.

So what’s the difference between a great promotional mug and the one that gets left in the cupboard? Character.

To make your mug, cup or glass stand out, it’s got to be something someone wants to own. Otherwise it’ll just get left in the back of the cupboard.

Always a favourite for companies selling products or services with higher values. The latest gadget, gizmo or timepiece can make a fantastic statement about how much you think of your client or potential client.

What you should always weigh up with this kind of gift is how quickly your gift will get superseded, whether it really is useful and how attractive it is.

Branding should be minimal and discreet to get the most chance of someone continuing to use this type of gift.

Another favourite for branded merchandise is the keyring. Gadgets and gimmicks can easily fall into this category too. You should always remember with a keyring or gadget that unless it is very desirable or useful, it will probably end up in a drawer or on a spare set of keys.

Consider your target audience and what they would want to own before investing in this type of gift or giveaway. The obvious choices for keyrings are motor industry and estate agents.

You can never have too many pens, but before you go splashing out on thousands of cheap pens think about this.

How many promotional pens do you already own and do you know where they came from? How many times have you called a number or visited a website from a pen?

If you’re going to use pens as branded merchandise, make it someone’s favourite pen unless your’re happy to be another colour in the pen pot. Where pens really make sense is in organisations where visitors or staff have to use pens and then you can make sure they’re always company pens. As technology evolves though, the use for pens diminishes.

From uniforms to promotional tee shirts, hats and jackets, branded merchandise in the form of clothing is a must have in millions of businesses. There are tons of options available from the standard and somewhat mundane to nowadays where you can access all sorts of funkier clothes lines that are more desirable and mean your brand may be displayed more often than you demand.

Something different to consider if you’re a mac user type of company. Mac’s are expensive and you’ll want to protect your company assets. There are tons of cases on the market but have you considered branding your cases? Every time your staff pull out their laptop to do some work, others around them will see your corporate branding. The added benefit being the machine is that little bit safer from knocks and scratches.

It’s a more recent development in personalisation and now customers can buy branded footwear. From workboots to sportswear, personalised footwear has stand out appeal that will get you noticed.

Whether you want your workforce to all look right or you’re sponsoring a sports team, there are plenty of options out there, it my just be that you weren’t aware.

A speciality at Renew Marketing Ltd is creating branded bikes for customers. From a simple colour scheme through to completely bespoke creations, branded bikes offer you something different that can be used for everything from shop window displays to staff transport and client gifts.

With this one there could be tax relief for your business as well.

An essential part of many workforces requirements, have you considered branding yours? Not only would branding be a deterrent to theft of your assets but also helps promote your business whilst people are “on the job”.

You can speak to the Renew Marketing team about options available for the tools and equipment your workforce uses.

For something really special, a bespoke commision can be the answer for you. From glassware and awards to statues, 3D printed items and much more beyond. To be fair, the only real restrictions in this category are your imagination and budget.

You can speak to one of the team at Renew Marketing about these kinds of options for Branded Merchandise.