Gains From Giveaways: The Value Of Promotional Swag

Branded marketing materials: Some people call it “swag,” others call it “tchotchkes,” but whatever name is used, marketing professionals say it could be called a boon to your bottom line if it is well strategized and blended with your brand. 

Anne Ballard, president of marketing, training, and developmental services for Universal Storage Group (USG) in Atlanta, Ga., is a proponent of branded marketing materials. “It’s a great way to build your brand,” she says, “and if you’re not doing it in the community or at trade shows, you’re not doing it right.” 

History Of Branded Products 

It may be surprising to learn the history of branded swag goes back to our nation’s founding. QRG, a company that describes itself as a single-sourced branded merchandise agency, direct marketing firm, and commercial printer, says in its online blog that branded merchandise was first known to be used for George Washington’s presidential campaign. “One of the first well-known promotional products passed around the U.S. was a commemorative button made for George Washington’s presidential election in 1789. These presidential buttons were so popular that other promotional items like calendars, rulers, and almanacs became available for the adoring public as well.” 

By the late 1800s, a man named Jasper Meek, who owned a newspaper printing press, decided to start printing branded items for businesses. A branded burlap sack carried to and from school by children became so popular and successful for a local shoe store that Meek began branding other products that would be seen all over town. Meek became known as the “father of promotional products.” 

In the early 1900s, a branding trade association was formed. By the late 20^th century, it seemed branded items were everywhere, including on toys given out by fast food restaurants, rally towels at sporting events, and T-shirts. 

Today, promotional products are a $23 billion industry. However, QRG notes, “It’s no longer enough to simply offer a name logo or message on an item. Consumers now look for products that provide use, align with their values, and provide social capital.”

Branded Merchandise Strategy

Whether you are creating a plan to give branded merchandise out to the community or give away at trade shows, Ballard says the most important first step is to create a plan that makes sense and coordinates with all your other marketing and logos. 

“Whatever you put your logos on must appear identical on everything,” she says. “Be consistent.” 

Next, create a budget. Christina Alvino, CEO of StorSuite in Austin, Texas, says her company will typically create a budget for items that are 75 cents to $1 for items given away in the community, but that budget is at least doubled (from $2 to $2.50 per item) for swag they passed out at trade shows. 

Branded merchandise is included in Universal Storage Group’s overall marketing budget, which is less than three percent of the company’s annual income. For a big store grand opening, Ballard says they may spend as much as $2,500 to $3,000 on promotional items to give out to new customers and community members. 

USG is sold on community events and giving branded merchandise. The company recorded putting out 3.3 million marketing messages in 2023. Ballard notes community marketing is much more economical than digital marketing, which also has its place in a self-storage company’s marketing plan. But Ballard believes their heavy community marketing helps keep the average cost per lease lower; USG’s was $88.56 in 2023. 

“However, if you’re a small store and don’t have that large of a budget, you can still give away merchandise that will have an impact,” Ballard says. “You can take a branded pen and tie it to a bottle of water, for example, and have a relatively inexpensive branded item.” 

Trade show marketing is also important to USG, which makes appearances at all the major industry trade shows, including ISS, SSA, and many state association shows. The company’s budget is between $15,000 to $20,000 per year on promotional items. 

Alvino’s company’s budget for trade shows is about $2,000 per year. “However, we might do a special branded item for a particular trade show,” adds Alvino. Carol Mixon, president of SkilCheck Services in Tucson, Ariz., says her company’s budget for trade show promotional items is approximately $3,000 per year. 

Choosing The Right Swag

It’s important to note this type of marketing falls under the branding category, so remember to choose items that will be used in public and/or displayed places, such as on office desks. You’ll also want to keep in mind that tracking this type of marketing is not as easy as tracking pay-per-click marketing, for example. Two ways to get a feel for your marketing swag initiatives is to put a tracking phone number on the items given away and to make sure you ask people who come into your store how they heard about you.

Depending on your target audience, you’ll want to carefully choose your branded swag, being careful not to give away things people will use while not exceeding your budget. “Pens are probably the No. 1 item managers take out to the community,” says Ballard. “You can spend a fortune on pens.” 

Experts agree pens are typically a good branded item for both community and trade show giveaways. Many self-storage companies give away notepads as well. “People forget these things when they’re travelling to trade shows, so they are usually a popular item,” says Mixon. 

Alvino likes the idea of chip clips and magnets in both community and trade show giveaways. Another idea may be to make the swag more useful by giving away chip clips that double as refrigerator magnets and make it more memorable by including a small bag of chips or nuts. 

“All of our facilities have tote bags,” says Ballard. “One of our facilities had bright red tote bags for giveaways that were very popular, and pretty soon, many people in the town were carrying a bright red tote bag from our store.” 

USG also tries to come up with a tag line for their branded items. For example, if a USG facility is including a bag of popcorn with a giveaway, it may say, “Popping out of space? Pop into ours.” If they are targeting white-collar businesses to store files, they may give emery boards with “Your files belong with us.” Pencils may say, “Pencil us in for your storage needs.”  

Other branded items can be tailored to your audience, including wine bags and bottle openers for facilities that offer wine storage or stadium cups in college towns. Ballard notes cups can also be filled with candy, pens, and referral cards. RV facilities could give away branded litter bags, tire pressure gages, or other gadgets associated with the RV lifestyle. 

You can offer candy, especially chocolate, at your trade show booth for those afternoon pick-me-ups, but trade shows also require creativity to attract people to your booth. You may want to offer something that makes people remember your company for years to come. 

USG has become known for its telescope backscratchers, a unique and handy item for use at trade shows and to take home. Other items USG has been known to offer are Band-Aid kits (for those pesky high heel blisters), spot removers for clothes, and hand sanitizer. USG will also do a drawing for a more valuable item, such as a desirable tech gadget. “One year it was a GoPro camera,” says Ballard, “and our tag line was ‘Go Pro with USG.’” 

Alvino’s company’s trade show giveaways include silicone wine glasses, which she says draws people to her booth year after year. Another very successful giveaway at both industry trade shows and specialized community outreaches, such as wedding expos, included a microfiber duster. Mixon says one of the most unique and useful items she’s received at a trade show was a handy holder people wore around their necks that held their phones. 

Don’t forget to require a trade from the people visiting your booth who come for larger items. This typically means collecting contact information from their business card or through various sign-up sheets. 

You may even want to include your employees and new customers in your branded marketing efforts. Ballard says USG employees compete at their annual conference for branded YETI cups. Another idea for employees is a thermal bag for lunches or weekend outings. 

SkilCheck’s new customers receive a welcome bag that’s placed in the middle of their unit at move in. The bags cost the company less than $10 each and may include a travel cup, water, aspirin, Band-Aid kit, and other things they may find useful. “By placing them in the middle of the units, our managers must ensure the unit is spotless,” says Mixon, “which helps us by presenting a nice product. A nice, clean unit with a special gift bag helps customers feel welcome and special.” 

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Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell is a freelance journalist based in the Ozark Mountains. She is a regular contributor to Messenger. Her business articles have also appeared in Entrepreneur, Aol.com, MSN.com, and The Kansas City Star.