“The era of ballpoint pens, USB sticks and the like is over!” No, of course not. Traditional promotional items also still have their raison d’être. But the question is: Do these promotional items serve their purpose? To do this, you first need to think about the specific goal in using your giveaways. We evaluated our top 3 giveaways and promotional products 2020/2021 according to the criteria brand awareness, benefit, wow effect, cost and durability. For comparison, the all-time classic among promotional items is evaluated according to the same criteria.

If you want to be “top-of-mind” with your target group, the ballpoint pen is probably not the predestined promotional gift. If, on the other hand, you want to encourage people to write by hand – for example, as a manufacturer of writing materials, this could make perfect sense – then probably yes. We remember: the promotional item per se is not simply good or bad, but the goal associated with it is decisive. Since there are out there but in proportion not so many manufacturers of writing materials, as ballpoint pens with logos are in circulation, we present below our top 3 alternative and above all innovative give aways or promotional gifts 2020/2021.

4 key questions for the effective promotional item

Companies should first and foremost try to be positively remembered by their target group with a giveaway. The prerequisite for this is that the giveaway fits the company or its service. These are the most important questions you should always ask yourself before purchasing promotional products:

• Does the giveaway convey the desired emotions to the target group?
• Do the company’s service and the promotional item match thematically?
• Does the giveaway have a specific benefit? Does it solve a specific problem?
• Would I be happy with this promotional item myself (putting myself in the target audience’s shoes)?

If you can answer all these questions positively, you can assume that the giveaway or promotional item is worth its investment. In short: an acquisition will pay off for the company sooner or later (positive effects on image and sales).

The following ideas for giveaways and promotional items are based on the classic corporate goal of “attracting attention or being top-of-mind” – without taking the company’s industry or service into account.

1. cell phone ring or smartphone ring

Dieses trendige Gadget sorgt ganz bestimmt für Aufsehen, und das nicht nur im Freundeskreis. Das Smartphone ist schliesslich omnipräsent in unserem Alltag. Ein Handyring ist aber nicht nur ein schönes Accessoire, sondern in erster Linie einfach nur nützlich. Er erleichtert das sichere Handling des Smartphones, kann als praktischen Smartphone Ständer eingesetzt werden (z. B. um Videos zu schauen) und bietet eine neue und unterhaltsame User Experience; ideale Voraussetzungen also, um den Handyring als innovatives Give away mit Logo Branding zu nutzen.

High brand awareness

Many conventional promotional items have a rather modest lifespan. However, once the mobile ring is attached to the smartphone, it (and thus your brand) usually remains there for a long time and is therefore visible for a long time. Attention: There are big differences in quality of this product. If the quality is poor, the promotional item can also quickly have the opposite effect (broken smartphones).

Rating Handyring (as promotional item with logo branding)

2. webcam cover

Wer kennt sie nicht? Die farbigen Post-it’s oder Klebestreifen auf den Laptops im Uni Vorlesungssaal. Warum kompliziert, wenn es auch einfach und erst noch viel eleganter geht? Die Lösung heisst Webcam Cover bzw. Webcam Abdeckung.

This is a smart slider that is stuck over the camera of the laptop, tablet or smartphone. It solves two problems at once: On the one hand, it simply looks better, is permanent and counteracts Post-it wear and tear. On the other hand, privacy is effectively protected. Of course, the slider is always nicely closed, except during the video call, when it can simply be slid open.

Useful, inexpensive, innovative: The ideal promotional item

This gadget is suitable as a cheap promotional item not only because it is an innovative problem solver, but also because your brand is very visible (and therefore top-of-mind). In the meantime, we don’t exactly spend little time on the laptop.

Another big advantage of this smart giveaway is that the packaging (at Twing) can be branded at the same time. Companies can thus place their messages optimally and deliver a completely thought-out product in their own corporate design.

Rating Webcam Cover (as promotional item with logo branding)

3. wallet or cards wallet

Admittedly, the idea is not a world first. Implemented correctly, a small, classy wallet or mini wallet for cards is an ideal (premium) customer gift and therefore on our 3rd place of the best promotional items 2018/2019.

As a slightly more expensive promotional gift, it’s not a classic giveaway. For certain industries – e.g. security or finance – it is particularly suitable as a high-quality customer gift. It is best presented personally in a small gift box, which can also be branded.

Logo branding is crucial

Especially on special occasions, such as Christmas, this personalized promotional gift is something very special. It is important that the logo is only engraved discreetly. Especially with a wallet, large-scale branding can be off-putting. After all, the goal is for the wallet to actually be used in everyday life and to give the customer many years of pleasure. Imagine the positive word-of-mouth communication to your brand, and possibly for years.

Evaluation wallet (as promotional item with logo branding)

4. ball pen

As a reference and for comparison, we evaluate below the (still) most widespread and therefore most popular promotional item according to the same 5 criteria: It is still the classic ballpoint pen. #nohate

Evaluation ball pen (as promotional item with logo branding)

About Twing

Twing hat sich zum Ziel gesetzt, die Welt vor schlechten Werbeartikeln zu retten. Wir entwickeln zusammen mit Unternehmen die besten Give-aways. Mehr über Twing erfahren.