Company Logo Gifts

[Travis Munroe]

I am just finishing up my Christmas card mail out and went with gift cards this year. That said, I know a ton of realtors/self employed/companies who give out "promotional / branding" gifts.

Im guessing a large number of these are thrown out which brings me to asking CP, what are some items you have around the house or office that have a company logo on them and actually get use of?
Pens, Golf Balls and Coffee Mugs are the three that come to mind should I start taking this route.

[Deegee]

The three you listed are what get used, but only personally.

At the office, we use our own branded items.

[FlamingHomer]

I am indirectly in that industry and there was a nationwide survey done in one of our trade publications that showed PENS to be the item that people kept the longest.

If you want to spend more than the value of a pen, I am noticing there is an increase in bags (backpacks, totes, carry ons etc.) being logoed and handed out in the past year.

[Hanni]

Obviously depending on how much you want to spend but I had a Realtor give me a BBQ utensil set 5 years ago that I'm still using today.

[burn_this_city]

Mugs are good, same with golf balls. Don't under any circumstances get a bunch of cheesy hats made up with the crappy fabric strap on the back, those are never worn.

[bossy22]

If you are getting caps, do the flex fit. spend the extra $8. The other ones just get thrown out.
I'd say for me, I'd use golf balls, a travel mug (not coffee mug. I'd toss that, my wife requires nice mugs in the kitchen). It all depends on what you want to spend.
My realtor gives out calendars...lame. the gift cards is a good idea.


My wife's company gives the employees and spouses some pretty awesome stuff, but you probably don't want to spend $100/person for clients.

[GGG]

I wear free touques regularly especially nice fleece ones instead of cheapy knit ones. Pens I will keep if they are a nice pen and not a junky throwaway. I appreciate a wall sized calender for my office from the first vendor that gives me one at the end of the year. A decent sized duffle bag is always nice but the logoed ones always seem cheap to me and fail quickly when I try to over stuff them.

I also like USB sticks, I always need one for something.

[cDnStealth]

Aside from golf balls, I don't ever keep anything with a company logo on it. I don't even keep those golf balls very long either as they usually end up in some heavily wooded area or the bottom of a lake lol.

[Table 5]

The only thing from your list I would keep is the pen. I always need pens as I can't seem to keep them around for long. The rest of them...I don't need and I don't want. Think about it from the users perspective....who would want to wear some chinese-junk backpack with their real estate agent on it? Or how often would you drink from a mug with your accountants face on it? Most people don't.

The only promotional item, besides pens, that I actually use is an insulated lunch bag. That thing comes in pretty handy.

In general though, these cheap gifts seem like a giant waste of resources.

[socktape]

We get this corporate stuff all the time, you name it we're probably got it from time to time. Some of the best ones I've had are:
-golf balls, to-go coffee mugs, Light vest, golf hat(flex fit or similar), Chef's Knife, cork screw/bottle opener.

The best one by far has been a large faux fur blanket. That things gets used every day.

[krynski]

+1 for USB sticks.

Pens are good too....but I don't like super cheap feeling pens. That may just be me, but I hold value to pens that can write smoothly, write black, and don't feel like it's been created using the cheapest plastic possible. Don't get me wrong, a cheap pen can feel good and a pricey pen can feel cheap; it's hard to find a balance for me. If it's blue though, I'll dispose of it somehow.

[stang]

A contigo coffee mug would get a lot of use.

[tvp2003]

Only thing I've kept is a metal shoe horn and a metal ice cream scoop.

[Temporary_User]

I have a couple frisbees that I keep around for summer time, but they only get taken out 1-2x a year.
Same for golf balls. Yes many people keep them, but how often are they actually seen?
What about soccer balls? Footballs?

I like the BBQ set idea mentioned earlier.

Kids toys are always good as they are less inclined to care about the branding, but they get seen and kept around.

This is my friends site: http://csipromotions.espwebsite.com/
I do keep a pair of sunglasses in my car for days I'm driving and forgot a better pair. Also good for guests in your car that may have forgotten a pair of their own.
The tote/reusuable grocery bags are always good, they get grabbed everytime I go grocery shopping and then seen by others as I'm walking around with it full of groceries.
I use the can holder koozies quite a bit but I think many throw them out.
The USB car chargers are good and get used.
water bottles are good if they are actually good bottles. A bigger container to make juice in that gets kept in the fridge

Your logo could be placed on almost anything.

I got shopping cart keychains with the logos name on them that are used for Grocery store buggies. There was a quarter sized one and a loonie sized one. I seem to never have change on me, so I'm always using them.

[East Coast Flame]

A gym bag is the only thing that I use regularly

[pylon]

Pens, but don't cheap out.

Good quality note pads.

But I think the best 'modern' gift are USB sticks. They are awesome and always handy. I have one I got 3 or 4 years ago I use the hell out of, and I have actually pulled it out of my desk to get the contact info for the bank rep off of it. And it led to some pretty substantial business for him.

[Sliver]

Yeah, a super small keychain USB stick would be the bomb.

I'm surprised pens are popular as I won't use just any random pen. I'm very particular about the kind of pens I use (old school four-colour bic) and won't use anything else. Maybe I'm abnormal.

[Fobulous]

Pens may be kept around the longest, but if you are looking for a way to advertise and get the best use of your money, then pens have to be the worst.

I have never thought of looking for a specific service and immediately rushed to my pen drawer to see which names I can find.

Stuff that I have used in the past that I find very useful are:

1. Golf shirts
2. Gym bags
3. Plastic water bottles
4. Golf balls
5. Coffee travel mugs

-FoB.

[Byrns]

Pens and other office supplies. Everything else (clothes, hats, mugs) gets donated/tossed.