Branded products, like t-shirts, water bottles and others, helps brands establish a relationship with their target audience.
With 48% of Americans surveyed by Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) stating that they’d like to receive more promotional items as an advertising medium, we can clearly see just how efficient promo items can be in terms of bringing your brand closer to its audience.
In this post, we’re going to look into eighteen different branded products for every business, including:
- Computer backpacks
- Face masks
- Blue light blocking glasses
- Hydroponic plant sets
Plus, plenty more.
Without further ado, we’re kicking off our list.
Author’s Note: You can either start reading this list post from the beginning or choose the list item you want to know more about from the navigation below.
18 Branded Products and Promotional Items for Every Business
Idea #1: Recycled Cotton Tote Bag
Idea #3: Personalized Task Pad
Idea #8: Blue Light Blocking Glasses
Idea #10: Eco-friendly Water Bottle
Idea #15: Embroidered Logo Patches
Idea #17: Vegan Leather Padfolio
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Branded Product #1: Recycled Cotton Tote Bag
First up on our list of promotional and branded items that’d work for every business is the ever popular recycled cotton tote bag.
Having branded tote bags ready to be given away to your clients or employees is a great idea, no matter which industry you’re in.
A recycled cotton tote bag is an eco-conscious swag choice that can be used by people of all ages and styles.
What’s great about them is that they offer your graphic design team a big surface to work with, thus allowing you to demonstrate your company logo in a very efficient way.
Type: Customized bags
Ideal for: Trade shows, podcast swag, giveaways, conference attendees
Price range: Starting at $4 per item
Branded Product #2: Customized T-shirt
We couldn’t have possibly put together this list post without mentioning the customized t-shirt which is one of the most popular branded items.
Branded t-shirts can definitely work for a wide range of events and promotional purposes.
Whether you want to organize a social media giveaway to boost your brand’s reach on social media, put together a t-shirt fundraiser for your non profit, or simply show your appreciation to your most loyal clients, this custom product is always a good idea.
Type: Branded apparel
Ideal for: T-shirt fundraisers, giveaways, new hires, conference attendees
Price range: Starting at $12 per item
Branded Product #3: Personalized Notepad
As a writing essential for your promo recipients, you should also consider the personalized notepad.
Thankfully, there are so many different ways to promote your business on these handy custom branded products.
Depending on the type of promotion you’re planning to run, you can choose between a wide variety of promotional notebook types.
Author’s Tip: For more information on the different branded notepad types and how you could choose the best notepads for your business, jump into our branded notebooks post and get inspired.
Type: Promotional notebooks
Ideal for: New hires, students, conference attendees
Price range: Starting at $3 per item
Branded Product #4: Computer Backpack
When it comes to branded products that every company can start creating and distributing, the super handy computer backpack should be one of your top choices.
Choosing a backpack that comes with lots of pockets for on-the-go essentials means that the recipients will carry it around for a bunch of different activities.
There’s no doubt that there are a gazillion options in terms of customizing a backpack, but taking extra care in choosing high-quality materials will make it more likely that people will use your promo item for a long time.
Type: Customized bags
Ideal for: Employees, new hires, conference swag
Price range: Starting at $15 per item
Branded Product #5: Jacket
A little further up in this list, we talked about customized t-shirts being one of the most popular promotional apparel items.
Jackets are probably in the top three of the most popular swag, along with hoodies and vests.
This promotional outerwear will make anyone receiving your swag a walking billboard that’ll promote your brand.
It’s the right product for businesses of all sizes, from small businesses to enterprises, like Google – the branded jacket of which can be seen above these lines.
Type: Branded apparel
Ideal for: Trade shows, new hires
Price range: Starting at $25 per item
Branded Product #6: Face Mask
Would it be possible to create an up-to-date list post talking about some of the best branded products for every business in 2021 without mentioning the face mask?
Probably not!
Since the pandemic started to affect the world in early 2020, the face mask has become a must-have accessory that makes people across the globe feel safer when around people.
That’s why creating face masks with your company logo on them sounds like a good idea in terms of giving away useful promotional merchandise that also promotes wellness.
Author’s Tip: Put the face mask together with a hand sanitizer branded set – it can be a particularly useful gift for people who travel often.
Type: Promotional face masks
Ideal for: Podcast merch, conference swag
Price range: Starting at $4 per item
Branded Product #7: Desk Accessories
The seventh item we’ve got on our list of popular promotional items for all businesses is a nice set of desk accessories.
Whether your employees are working from home or coming back to the office soon, a set of desk accessories will make them feel part of the team which is much needed in the times we’re going through.
What’s great about desk accessory sets is that they usually include a number of different items which means that you can have multiple choices in terms of featuring your business name on them.
Type: Office and home office swag
Ideal for: Remote teams, new hires
Price range: Starting at $15 per item
Branded Product #8: Blue Light Blocking Glasses
Blue light blocking glasses are a great swag option for companies in the healthcare and tech industries.
If that’s a new product to you, then we probably need to mention that the way they work is like this:
Blue light blocking glasses are equipped with blue light filter glasses that block blue light which can cause eye strain and irritation.
As you probably already know, blue light is found – among other things – in screens, like mobile phones, laptops and computers, thus making blue light blocking glasses very useful for people doing most of their job in front of a screen.
Type: Promotional accessories
Ideal for: New hires, giveaways
Price range: Starting at $3 per pair
Branded Product #9: Branded Pen
We’re halfway through our promotional items for every business list, and the next popular promotional product we’re going to look at is the branded pen.
It might be an all time classic Bic, or a more modern stylus pen that can be used on most types of screen.
Either way, if you decide to go for a set of branded pens, make sure to personalize them accordingly so people have a valid reason to actually keep them.
Even though pens are definitely useful items, they are also – usually – inexpensive, which might make people receiving them in a set of branded goods to underestimate their value.
If you don’t want your branded pens to be one of the first items thrown away in one’s next declutter, be sure to customize them in a creative, meaningful way.
Type: Promotional writing instruments
Ideal for: Bank swag
Price range: Starting at $1 per item
Branded Product #10: Eco-friendly Water Bottle
We’ve said it before in most of our blog posts: sustainability is the next hot thing when it comes to promotional items for companies.
Eco-friendly products are durable, sustainable products that are made to last for a long time and made of materials that don’t harm the environment.
On that note, a durable, stainless steel water bottle or tumbler can significantly help reduce single use plastic consumption which makes it a great environmentally-conscious choice.
Plus, they’re far more stylish than a plastic bottle!
Type: Promotional drinkware
Ideal for: Anything!
Price range: Starting at $10 per item
Branded Product #11: Ceramic Mugs
When your target audience are the coffee loving kind of people, offer them a personalized ceramic mug they can use to drink their coffee from.
A high quality coffee mug with your brand name on it is a great brand strategy to connect with your audience and give them an item that’ll make them think of your brand every time they use it.
Author’s Tip: Be sure to choose merchandise companies that’ll work closely with you and help you find the most appropriate way to present your branding so it’s not too loud or cheap-looking.
Type: Promotional drinkware
Ideal for: New hires, bank swag, giveaways
Price range: Starting at $5 per item
Branded Product #12: Cap
The branded cap is not just one of the most searched branded items in Canada, it’s also a very efficient way to build brand awareness as part of your marketing strategy.
The reason why we absolutely love promotional hats is because they offer companies many options in terms of the types of hats they can choose from, such as:
- Beanies
- Visors
- Bucket hats
And so on and so forth.
Additionally, they’re very easy to customize and you can personalize them to fit your brand identity.
All in all, these best sellers can be given to potential customers as well as existing loyal customers that already love your products and will happily wear your swag everywhere they go.
Type: Promotional hats
Ideal for: Giveaways
Price range: Starting at $8 per item
Branded Product #13: Power Bank
The power bank might be a mundane item but it’s also one of the most relevant and easy to customize tech swag items, no matter which industry your company belongs to.
Because no one likes to travel, work, or go out with their battery phone drained, we couldn’t recommend this item enough.
Event attendees naturally use their phones quite a lot to take notes or live tweet, for example, and that’s why we’d particularly recommend this item for in-person trade shows and conferences that usually last for hours.
Type: Tech swag
Ideal for: Clients, conference speakers
Price range: Starting at $7 per item
Branded Product #14: Flash Drive
Following up from the previous tech swag idea, sourcing flash drives that feature your company logo would also be great.
We all tend to have lots of digital files and sometimes no place to safely store them.
It may be that your new hires will find it useful to digitally store all your onboarding essentials or your executive conference speakers will want to keep back ups of their presentations.
Offering them customized flash drives will be much appreciated.
Type: Tech swag
Ideal for: Conference speakers, new hires, bank swag
Price range: Starting at $9 per item
Branded Product #15: Embroidered Logo Patches
The fifteenth item we’ve got on our concise list of promotional items for every business is embroidered logo patches.
See this embroidered Michelin man patch below?
Looks cute, doesn’t it?
Embroidered patches might not be as popular as other items on this list but they do make a fun and creative promotional option depending on your demographics.
In terms of their use, they are similar to the ever popular plain stickers, bumper stickers, and lapel pins which are generally widely used for promotional purposes.
Author’s Note: If you’re in the sports industry, consider adding your branded patches on cool wristbands.
Type: Branded accessories
Ideal for: Trade shows, giveaways
Price range: Starting at $2 per item
Branded Product #16: Cocktail Kit
Moving towards the end of our list, we want to bring your attention to one of our favorites: the DIY cocktail kit.
With so many teams across the globe working remotely, offering swag that can help your employees stay in touch with their teammates is a great thing to do.
Offering a DIY cocktail kit to remote employees means that you give them a reason to come together online and enjoy a drink with their colleagues.
Type: Home office swag
Ideal for: Remote teams
Price range: Starting at $25 per item
Branded Product #17: Vegan Leather Padfolio
A slightly more luxurious promotional item idea you could consider for your business is a vegan leather padfolio.
Padfolios are practical and can be successfully personalized to match the recipient’s aesthetics.
They are designed to fit into a briefcase, backpack, or simply under one’s arm, so make sure to choose the ones that are made of high-quality material and will last for a long time.
Type: Office swag
Ideal for: New hires, bank swag, conference swag, giveaways
Price range: Starting at $15 per item
Branded Product #18: Hydroponic Plant
We’re completing our list of eighteen branded products for all types of business with a unique branded item that can help you take your swag to the next level.
Enter… the hydroponic plants set!
The item you see above is nothing more than a self contained system that’s made of glass and plastic and is used to grow plants, including edible herbs.
It can be placed indoors and, more specifically, on your desktop to make your workspace more beautiful and calming.
Type: Office swag
Ideal for: Bank swag, remote teams, new hires, giveaways
Price range: Starting at $25 per set
Now Over to You
That’s all eighteen items we wanted to show you as promotion ideas for pretty much every business out there.
Finding the right products for your audience means that you need to find the promotional merchandise that’ll best capture the essence of your brand while also offering them high quality products they can actually use and enjoy.
Partner with a creative merchandise company that’ll guide you and help you create the best custom branded products everyone will be happy to get from you.
Feel free to contact us and we’ll make sure you find the type of swag that best suits you!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Branded products are usually easy to get, but we understand that there might be a few things you want to know more about.
That’s why we’ve compiled a list of eight frequently asked questions and their answers.
Here we go.
Q1. What is a branded product?
A branded product is any product that’s been customized to feature a company logo or company motto.
Q2. What’s an example of a branded product?
An example of a branded product can be anything from branded t-shirts, sweaters, and travel mugs to branded chargers, mouse pads, keychains, stress relievers, jotters, koozies and virtually any other promotional item.
Q3. How do you create a branded product?
To create a branded product, you first need to create your logo and choose the type of swag you want to customize for your business.
Next, you need to work with a swag supplier that’ll help you with sourcing the promo items you need and customizing them accordingly.
Q4. What is branded merchandise?
Branded merchandise is another term for branded products which are a set of items that have been personalized to feature a company name or a company logo.
Q5. Why invest in promotional products?
Investing in promotional products comes with a number of benefits, including:
- Boosting brand awareness
- Establishing connections with your audience
- Giving back to your community for their love and support of your brand.
Q6. How do branded products work?
Branded products work as a way of advertising for companies.
They’re created by brands and then distributed to their audiences in order to raise awareness of the brand and make more people aware of its existence, different products, and services.
Q7. What are the benefits of branded products?
There are many benefits your business can get from branded products, some of the most important are:
- They help create emotional connection with a company’s clients, prospects, and employees
- They help increase brand awareness
- They’re very efficient in terms of advertising a brand
Q8. Where can you buy branded products?
You can buy branded products online or in physical stores.
The safest way to buy them, though, is through a swag supplier that’ll get the items and customize them for you.
