What are the key branded products companies will use to promote themselves in 2019? Based on past trends, shifting attitudes and changes in the retail sector, we’re confident you can expect to see the following promotional gifts trending. These include new technology products, environmentally-aware alternatives to disposable plastic, and a move towards high-end gifts for more individually targeted campaigns.

Employing our experience and industry expertise, here are the promotional products we expect to see making waves in 2019.

1. Technology Gifts

Smartphones and tablets are more prevalent than ever and there’s no sign of that trend changing anytime soon. As technology items drop in price they become more viable for the promotions industry and are a great way for brands to associate themselves with the cutting edge.

Expect to see more uptake of wireless chargers as QI charging becomes standard in new phones. Power banks will continue to prove popular as devices’ lithium ion batteries struggle to keep up with ever more powerful cameras and screens. We’re also betting on Bluetooth speakers to show continued growth as consumers increasingly stream music directly from their phones.

2. Reducing Plastic Waste

There has been much public and political attention focused on plastic waste and its impact on our environment. Plastics are non-biodegradable and end up in landfill or polluting our seas. Legislation is already being introduced to ban single-use plastic and this is likely to have an impact on the promotional products industry in 2019.

Expect to see reusable drinkware, such as sports bottles and mugs, becoming popular alternatives to throwaway plastics. A move away from plastic bags is sure to bolster the popularity of reusable cotton shoppers and jute bags.

3. Wellness Promotional Products

Health and wellness products have become increasingly popular in recent years and that trend looks set to continue in 2019. Companies and brands want to be seen as caring about the health of their customers and employees, and promotional personal care products are a great way to demonstrate this.

Hand sanitisers are a perfect choice as people become more fastidious about germs and contamination when out and about, while items such as lip balm and folding mirrors are great goody bag and handbag fillers.

4. Premium Gifts

While promotional product campaigns have traditionally been geared toward canvassing large groups with budget-priced giveaways, there is a growing trend towards targeted campaigns focusing on smaller groups and more premium gifts.

Product ranges such as the exclusive Pierre Cardin Gift Collection are ideal for employee recognition or rewarding top-tier clients. Specially selected personalised gifts are also great for sending to influencers and brand ambassadors as part of a targeted awareness campaign.

5. Notebooks and Promotional Pens

Stationery products have been making a bit of a resurgence in recent years, thanks largely to the popularity of journaling and as an antithesis to our increasingly technological age. Nothing beats the tactility of a high-quality notebook and the feel of real paper.

Promotional pens, meanwhile, have always been hugely popular and that is unlikely to change in 2019. Printed or engraved writing instruments are the perfect promotional product – budget-friendly, useful and likely to be kept by a recipient. Pens are sure to continue being the go-to choice for large marketing campaigns, brand awareness and trade show giveaways.

 

No-Minimum.co.uk offers all of the abovementioned promotional products, printed or engraved with no minimum order quantities, no setup fees and fast dispatch.

Marketers have an eclectic array of promotional products to choose from when looking to promote a brand or marketing initiative. Such a varied range can sometimes be overwhelming, however, and it can be hard to know exactly what branded merchandise to choose.

While factors such as budget and campaign size of course play a part in deciding the best promotional gifts to select, it’s equally important to consider the target audience.

A promotional product works best when it’s an item the recipient is genuinely interested in keeping and using, therefore prolonging exposure to the printed or engraved message. Here are some perfect promotional gifts for various target audiences.

Tech Addicts

The Mirage Wireless Charger uses cutting-edge technology to charge compatible smartphones just by placing the device on the charging surface. There’s a large print area for a full colour design.

Tech-heads rely on their smartphones more than ever.  They can keep their trusty companion in the game with the Pulsar Power Bank, ideal for topping up battery levels on the go while showing off a digitally printed message. It’s the perfect promotional gift for brands wanting to target fans of the latest tech.

Business Execs

For a smart and practical gift, the Dartmouth Conference Folder is perfect for any meeting or business travel. It’s available in A4 or A5 sizes and features a lined notepad and pockets for business cards and accessories. It’s ideal for pairing with Soft Feel Business Cards, beautifully printed in photographic-quality full colour.

School Kids

No pencil case is complete without a 30cm Ruler. This classic-sized measurer is printed in full colour to brighten any school day. Or kit out the kids with Carnival Colouring Pencils, the back of the box personalised with a colourful digital print. Its the perfect promotional product for schools and is sure to get noticed every time the little uns do a spot of scribbling.

Trade Show Visitors

Trade Shows are notorious for weighing down visitors with tons of samples and printed materials. Why not give then a Kingsbridge Cotton Tote Bag to help carry all that stuff? They’re sure to notice the branding adorning the large print area.

Credit Card Mint Containers are also among the best promotional products for trade shows as they’re compact enough for goody bags, plus everyone loves a bit of minty refreshment.

 

Frequent Flyers

Travel-related promotional gifts are great for getting some distance out of a printed message. Circular Bag Tags are ideal for identifying your luggage among the hundreds of identical-looking suitcases on the airport baggage carousel.

A compact travel Hand Sanitiser will protect from globe-trotting grubbiness while ensuring a company logo or brand is taken far and wide.

Sports Nuts

Get a brand or marketing message in the sweaty hands of a sporty target audience with the Olympic Sports Bottle. It’s printed with a full colour wrap around the circumference of the bottle for branding that’s impossible to miss. Meanwhile, the Verve Drawstring Bag is perfect for carrying sports kit or gym wear and while the large print area means it’s one of the best promotional gifts for getting a message seen.

Fairway Fanatics

Digitally printed ProTech Infinity Golf Balls are perfect promotional products for advertising a brand to any golfer and therefore a great choice for clubs and corporate golfing days. Or choose a Golf Pro Towel, made from high-quality velour. The towel is a smart black but with a lighter panel at the bottom specifically designed for a vivid full colour print.

 

DIY Doers

Target tradespeople or fans of home-improvement with the Handy Tool Set. This features four screwdrivers in one compact tool, with a plastic case designed for full colour branding. Or choose another useful multi-tool with the Spirit Level Tape Measure, combining two functions in one and with a flat surface area ideal for digital print.

Girly Girls

The beauty industry is big bucks and brands can target consumers via a Lip Balm pot or Folding Mirror. Both are made from white plastic as the perfect canvas for a photographic-quality full colour design. These are perfect promotional gifts as they are usable every day and compact enough for any handbag or makeup case.

Nine-to-Fivers

Liven up a work desk with a full colour printed Mouse Mat, guaranteed to be more attention-grabbing than any spreadsheet or webinar. This promo gift will get plenty of exposure and every day usage – just like the ever-popular printed mug.

The Vienna Coffee Mug is a classic 300ml size and has been specifically designed for full colour dishwasher proof prints. A design or marketing message can be applied to almost the entire outside area for one of the best promotional gifts for any office worker.

Stationery Fanatics

Some people just love stationery. It’s tactile, usable and collectable. The Electra Inkredible™ Roller is an aluminium pen with a beautiful anodised finish and chrome trim. However, it’s the smooth-flow Inkredible™ ink refill that really makes it stand out.

Associate a company or campaign with a world-known fashion label with the Pierre Cardin Fashion Notebook. Its exceptional quality will be immediately apparent to any notebook connoisseur making it the perfect promotional gift for stationery addicts.

Eco Warriors

Printed shopper bags are among the best promotional products thanks to their versatility, popularity and value for money. They are also an eco-friendly alternative to using plastic bags. The Image Tote Bag is particularly environmentally sound as it’s made from recycled PET, manufactured from used water bottles.

The Panther Eco Extra Ballpen is also a great eco-friendly choice, made from recycled plastic and with a white barrel ideal for full colour printing.

 

Each of these audience-targeted promotional gifts is available from a single piece at www.No-Minimum.co.uk – the ideal site for sourcing lower-quantity promo products with fast lead times and no setup fees.

Whether you call them promotional products, branded merchandise or haptic media, there is clear evidence that a printed mug or laser engraved pen offer key benefits over other forms of advertising. But what are the most salient of these benefits; why are promotional products so widely regarded and so regularly used to promote businesses and brands?

1. Brand Exposure

The 2017 PPAI Consumer Survey found that nearly 9 out of 10 respondents can recall messaging from a promotional product they have received. A promotional product reminds existing customers of a brand while also advertising it to potential clients. A printed name on a valued gift will imprint that name on a customer’s thoughts, even if it is just subliminally, whenever that product is used or noticed.

2. Cost-Effective

All marketers must consider the return on investment (ROI) of their advertising endeavours. It’s obvious to say that promotional products are significantly cheaper than TV advertising, for example, particularly with entry-level options such as stationery and shopper bags, but the key aspect to measure is the cost per impression (CPI). This is the amount of money spent on a campaign divided by the number of times the advertising is seen. Promotional products offer a larger number of impressions versus their initial cost, and this is why they are considered to have a good return on investment.

Research by the BMPA in 2013 found that 50% of respondents had taken action after receiving a promotional product, versus 19% for costly TV advertising and just 10% for print advertising.

3. Integrated Marketing

Branded merchandise are not just standalone advertising media but can be incorporated into the wider marketing mix. Smaller promotional products can be used as part of a direct mailing, while tradeshow giveaways can effectively support exhibitions. These days, marketers recognise that an integrated approach using a variety of channels is the most effective way to promote a brand.

4. Longevity

Promotional products that recipients find useful are more likely to be kept and regularly used. This means prolonged exposure to the advertising message compared to a magazine advert which might be flicked past or a leaflet that might be instantly dismissed. In their 2017 survey, the BPMA found “usefulness” was considered the most important quality of a promotional gift. The more a product is used, the more likely branding is to be noticed, and this effect is amplified by the product being kept for a long time.

5. Tactile

This point is more psychological than objectively measureable, but we can all appreciate that a physical object is more appealing and creates more of an impression than a fleeting printed image or onscreen advert. People love to get their hands on tactile objects and haptic media fall into this category perfectly.

6. Variety

One reason for the appeal of promotional products is the sheer variety of forms they take. Branded merchandise encompasses everything them budget pens through to the latest technology. This means there is literally something for every budget and every occasion. Premium products are ideal for promoting high-end brands or for giving in small quantities as corporate gifts, while entry-level merchandise is perfect for large-scale campaigns where the items are likely to be considered more disposable.

Recent advances in technology allow almost any surface to be digitally printed, whether its via transfer film, dye-sublimation, doming or direct digital, and this has considerably increased the variety of imprintable products available to marketers or those wanting to give personalised gifts.

7. Rewarding Customer Loyalty

Promotional gifts can be used to thank loyal customers and help cement relationships with them. The BPMA found that, second only to trade shows, customer recognition is the most common use for promotional merchandise, while the PPAI discovered that 83% of those surveyed said they were more likely to do business with brands they had received promotional products from.

8. Recognising Staff

According to 2017 research by the BPMA, an incredible 79% of respondents said they feel appreciated when receiving a promotional gift. This makes promotional gifts a cost-effective way to reward staff and boost morale. Budget-friendly items could be given to all employees, while premium products and branded awards can be used to recognise top-performing staff or to mark employment milestones.

9. Deep Reach

Not only do promotional products make an impression on recipients, evidence suggests that they go on to make impressions beyond their initial audience. PPAI research found that 8 out of 10 consumers give a promotional product to someone else if they don’t want to keep it for themselves. This organically furthers the brand’s reach in a way that non-haptic advertising cannot do.

10. Resonance

Branded merchandise helps to create an emotional relationship between brands and consumers. 71% of people in the PPAI Consumer Study said they felt happy when receiving a promotional product. More importantly, 83% agreed that their impression of a brand positively changed as a direct result. Establishing emotional resonance means that the consumer is more likely to buy into a brand and have a positive impression of it.

Of course, the above points are just some of the reasons branded merchandise is considered such an integral part of the marketing mix. They help explain why, even in our digital age, recipients still love to get their hands on a printed freebie.

No-Minimum.co.uk has a wide variety of digitally printed and laser engraved promotional products, available from a single piece with no setup charges.

Sources

• Mapping Out The Modern Consumer – 2017 PPAI Consumer Study
• BPMA Research 2017
• BPMA Research 2013

We’re excited to announce the launch of our new range of Christmas decorations, digitally printed with no minimum order quantity and free setup. They’re ideal for festive-themed promotions, marketing campaigns or as personalised gifts.

The range includes Tree Ornaments in a round or snowflake shape. Made from high-quality transparent acrylic, the insert is digitally printed with a photographic image or full colour design. They make an intriguing promotional gift and will look fantastic adorning any Christmas tree.

For a fun-filled festive product, the Snow Block is an image block with a cool wintery effect. The rectangular acrylic block is filled with safety-certified liquid containing fake snow and glitter particles. It’s a great way to display a photograph, promote a brand or give as a unique award. A Snow Dome version is also available for a classic Christmas ornament.

Or choose the Snowflake Magnet, the digitally printed photo or design housed in a unique snowflake frame and ideal for displaying on a fridge, filing cabinet or any metal surface.

Each of these festive items is available from a single piece, with free setup and a 5-day lead time. Check out these and other personalised Christmas gifts here.

Distributors can sell personalised Christmas items and hundreds of other digitally printed and laser engraved products through their own free No-Minimum Bespoke end user website. Contact support@no-minimum.co.uk for details.

Promotional products are powerful tools for companies and brands. In fact, research by the BPMA found that 82% of respondents go on to do business with a company they had received a promotional gift from.

Promotional Products Week is a national campaign celebrating branded merchandise. Its aim is to raise the profile of promotional products and demonstrate their value within the marketing mix. It was launched in 2013 by the British Promotional Merchandise Association (BPMA) – one of the leading bodies in the industry – and each year has gone from strength to strength.

This year’s Promotional Products Week takes place on 2^nd to 6^th October 2017 and the theme is “Thank You”.

With this in mind, we look at the ways promotional products and personalised gifts can be used to say thanks.

Thank Loyal Customers

Giving your customers high-quality and useful promotional products is a great way to reward them for their loyalty. Of course, at the same time you will be reminding them of your brand, services or offers.

Research shows that customers respond well to receiving promotional giveaways. According to the BPMA, recipients are more likely to respond to promotional products than any other form of advertising.

You can thank customers for stopping by your stand at a trade show, for placing a recent order or for referring you to a new client. They’ll love getting an appealing freebie and you’ll promote your business at the same time.

Thank them with: a wrap pen with your full colour branding around the entire barrel

Thank Employees and Colleagues

Your workmates will appreciate being recognised for their hard work, recent promotion or continued loyalty to the company. Give them a personalised gift to show they are valued or customise an image block to create an award that can be given at a staff recognition ceremony.

Numerous pieces of research show that staff are more motivated when they feel valued by their manager. Show your team you appreciate them with a personalised gift they can keep and use every day, also adorned with the company branding, of course.

Thank them with: a high-quality Pierre Cardin notebook printed with a personalised message and corporate logo

Thank Family and Friends

Printed and engraved merchandise are not just for promotional use. They can also be used as thoughtful personalised gifts for family and friends. No-Minimum.co.uk has no minimum order quantities, so you only need to order a single gift or a small quantity if that’s all you require. This means that a huge range of printed and engraved products are viable as personalised gifts.

Thank the grandparents for baby-sitting, the teacher for getting your kids through their exams, or your spouse for putting up with you! Who you choose to thank and the item you select to do so, is entirely up to you. Just go online to No-Minimum.co.uk and create your personalised gift in minutes.

Thank them with: a dishwasher-proof mug printed with their favourite photograph

Not only will this year’s Promotional Products Week help raise the profile of branded and personalised merchandise, it’s also raising money for Alzheimer’s Society.

To find out more, visit www.promotionalproductsweek.co.uk rel=”nofollow”. Or get involved on Social Media using the hashtag #ThankYouPPW

Don’t forget to visit No-Minimum.co.uk for all your personalised Thank You gifts.

Numerous studies have sought to measure the effect colour has on our emotions and responses. The psychology of colour choice in marketing is a much-debated topic and many infographics on the subject can be found on all corners of the internet. However, the link between colour and response to a brand or marketing message is not as simple as a colourful infographic might lead you to believe. It is likely that our personal experiences, preferences and cultural upbringing will have a major effect on how we respond to given colours.

That being said, it is clear that colours do have an emotional impact on us and that companies spend a lot of time and money choosing the colours they want to represent their brand.

Here are some of the most popular colour choices and how they might influence us…

Associated with excitement and youthfulness. Red can be seen as bold and confident. It can also be used to create a sense of urgency and this is why it’s often used for sales, special offers and call to action buttons.

Example brands – Coca-Cola, Lego, Virgin, Nintendo

Symbolises trust and strength. It conveys a sense of dependability and trustworthiness. Blue is most often used by conservative and corporate brands.

Example brands – IBM, Facebook, Volkswagon, NASA

Associated with nature and health. It can convey a sense of peace and tranquillity. Green is favoured by brands who want to be seen as eco-friendly or aligned with nature.

Example brands – BP, Tropicana, Land Rover, Starbucks

Conveys an impression of wisdom, creativity and imagination. Brands also use purple to represent luxury or mystery. Some claim it stimulates the creative and problem-solving parts of the brain.

Example brands – Cadburys, Hallmark, Yahoo, FedEx

Associated with warmth and optimism. Yellow is used by brands who want to convey cheerfulness and happiness, although some argue that too much yellow can cause feelings of anxiety. Commonly used in shop windows to attract impulse buyers.

Example brands – McDonalds, Ikea, Yellow Pages, Chupa Chups

This is a friendly and confident colour. It can be thought of as combining the happiness of yellow with the impact of red. Orange is the choice of brands wanting to be seen as fun and energetic and it is likely to instil a sense of positivity and warmth.

Example brands – Fanta, Amazon, Firefox, Harley Davidson

Symbolises power, strength and authority. It can also be used by brands to convey sophistication and formality. Black is a good choice for high contrast and legibility, although overuse of black can lead to feelings of negativity.

Example Brands – Telegraph, Puma, Gillette, Wikipedia

At No-Minimum.co.uk we use the latest digital printing technology, so no matter what colour your brand uses you can be sure it will be faithfully reproduced on whichever printed product you select.

You might also notice that we’ve chosen blue for our logo. We hope this conveys our dependability and reliability!

School. We’ve all been there and done that. Whether you were the top of the class or the naughty little scamp at the back, the most exciting moment of the year was starting back in September with a shiny new set of pens and stationery (okay, so that probably wasn’t the most exciting moment of the year, but we’re doing a blog about back to school products, so bear with).

That first day back was your chance to show off the shiniest of pens, the most pristine of rulers and the most erasery of erasers. How long they stayed like that before Jimmy Hopkins shattered both your ruler and your dreams, is another matter.

Whether you’re a company wanting to furnish school kids with branded stationery as part of a marketing campaign (there are over 8.5 million school children in the UK, so that’s one hell of a market), or whether you’re a school looking for school-branded products for events or open days, here are our top 10 back to school stationery picks.

Pens

This one’s a no-brainer. Pens are pretty much essential. Unless you want your kids to be called “Percy No Pens” and be shunned for their entire school days. Not that anything like that ever happened to us [sobs].

Highlighters

These colourful tools are the perfect way to highlight content in a text book, giving the impression you’ve actually read the 400-page monstrosity on The Role of Chickens in British Medieval History.

Rulers

We would always have ruler sword fights at school until inevitable injury ended the fun. Would we have thought twice if they had been high-quality rulers with a full colour design printed with the latest digital technology to produce stunning, photographic-quality branding? Probably not.

Erasers

If only we could erase the mistakes of our past as easily as school kids can erase their innocent scribblings. We would be on a luxury yacht sipping a cocktail right now, not writing this blog in a dingy office with a million shattered dreams weighing heavily upon us.

Erm, anyway. Printed erasers. They’re great.

Pencils

Another school stationery staple. No-Minimum.co.uk offers full colour wrap printing around wooden pencils for a fantastic look. Did you know that the “lead” is actually graphite? If you didn’t then you were probably the aforementioned naughty little scamp at the back of the class.

Pencil Sharpeners

Just as you can’t have Ant without Dec, night without day, or wear just your pants to work without being called in to see HR, you can’t have a pencil without a pencil sharpener.

Notebooks

Our experience tells us that paper is the most common surface to write stuff on, after the back of your hand and the wall in the school bogs. A personalised notebook looks great with a full colour digital print and will be a welcome addition to any school bag.

Calculator

We used to add up using our fingers. Poor Jamie Evans slammed his finger in a fire door and could only count up to nine-and-a-half. Long division was especially tricky. We really should’ve had calculators.

Sports Bottles

A printed sports bottle with a full colour design looks fantastic. Fill it with water for PE or sports days, or fill it with Irn-Bru if the cheeky little blighters are into that filth. (This blog is not sponsored by Irn-Bru and we should point out that there are other teeth-rotting brands available).

Bags

Did you know that bags aren’t just used as goal posts on the school field? Apparently they can also be used to hold stuff. Who knew?! Many of our bags are dye sublimation printed so the design doesn’t fade, not matter what the little cherubs get up to.

 

All of these stationery products are available from No-Minimum.co.uk. They can be personalised with digital print or laser engraving from just a single piece with no setup fees.

Number of stationery products available from No-Minimum.co.uk: Over 200

Number of times “shattered dreams” mentioned in this blog: 2

At No-Minimum.co.uk we’re excited to bring you our very first blog. We’ve launched this new page to keep you up-to-date with the latest developments, new products and fantastic special offers. We’ll also be bringing you handy “How To” guides and other bits and pieces we hope you’ll find useful. No-Minimum.co.uk is a unique web-to-print platform and we want to help you get the most out of it.

The team at No-Minimum.co.uk have a wealth of experience and expertise, and are bursting with ideas to share with you. Whether you use the site for buying single personalised gifts or frequently place larger orders for promotional use, we’ll be regularly adding content that’s sure to appeal to you.

No-Minimum.co.uk is your one-stop-shop for digitally printed and laser engraved merchandise. You can go online 24/7 and quickly create your own personalised gifts. We dispatch with industry-beating lead times and have free-of-charge express services you won’t find anywhere else. All our products are available from just a single piece and there are no pesky setup charges.

We’re hugely proud of our award-winning web-to-print platform and looking forward to sharing our enthusiasm for personalised gifts.

That’s is for now! We’re pleased to have you accompany us on our blogtastic journey!