The Most Creative Promotional Products

The average person would rather not listen to an argument, but loves to get a free gift. That is why promotional products are among the most popular and successful marketing tools. Of course, when everyone uses promotional products, it takes a little bit of extra creativity to stand out from the crowd. That has some particularly brilliant marketers coming up an impressive set of promotional products that are unique enough to be memorable, but still useful enough to be popular with the people that received them.

Which Products Are Most Useful?

The best results always come from giving people things that they can use. Useful gifts are more appreciated than mere trinkets, but there is also a hidden benefit. A person will look at the promotional item every time that it gets used. Each look reminds them about the company that provided it, and makes it more likely that they will remember the company when they go shopping.

The effect is so large that researchers have studied the popularity of various promotional products. USB drives are the most popular, but the classic choice of a pen comes in a very close second place. Some other items also scored fairly well, but popularity dropped off sharply after the top few choices. That doesn't mean that every promotional item needs to be a drive or a pen in order to succeed, but it does mean that other choices need to be deployed with care and creativity.

LEGO Hand Bag

This isn't a purse made of LEGO, but it is the next best thing. A team of students create a bag that makes the carrier's hands look like those of a LEGO figurine. Unlike most bags, it has a set of internal handles that are hidden from view. When somebody grasps a handle, their arm goes behind a piece of plastic that looks like a LEGO hand. Their arm and their hand are hidden, so it looks as though the person carrying the bag has replaced everything below their wrist with LEGO. The bag went viral and became popular with media websites shortly after it was released, which shows just how powerful even a simple promotional product can be as a marketing tool.

Ice Cream Toothbrush

Handing out an edible product is a bold but risky strategy. On one hand, they tend to be popular because most people love to get free food. On the other hand, they don't last very long, so they don't provide a constant reminder about the company. It's possible to balance that out by providing the food regularly, but that increases the ongoing cost of the marketing campaign.

Colgate Palmolive managed to strike the right balance in Thailand by handing out candy and ice cream. They do it at special events rather than on a regular basis, which helps to keep the cost down while still making the food memorable. They put their candy on a stick that is shaped like a toothbrush with the company's logo on it along with a reminder that people should brush their teeth after eating. It's very simple, but it has proven to be a successful marketing tool, especially towards younger people who love the treats.

Ketchup Stain Detergent Packets

The easiest way to attract new customers is to simply hand out a sample of a product, but it's still worth taking the time to make that product memorable. Vantage Stain Remover is used primarily to get tomato stains out of clothing, so the company decided to hand out small packets of their product that resembled those stains. The unique packets got the attention of potential customers, even the ones who wouldn't bother to take a sample that was in a more conventional package. Many of those people tried the product and found that they liked it, which led to more sales.

Fake Bugs

A little bit of fear can be a powerful way to get a person's attention. One insect extermination company put their advertisements on fake cockroaches and slipped them under doors. When people saw the fake roaches, they assumed that they were real and tried to smash them. That led them to realize that the roaches were fake. They picked up those fakes for a closer look, which gave them a chance to look at the ad. It wasn't a subtle technique, but it was enough to get their attention and fix it in their memories, and that is often all that it takes to make a good marketing campaign.