Promotional items or promotional products refers to articles of merchandise that are used in marketing and communication programs. These items are usually imprinted with a company's name, logo or slogan, and given away at trade shows, conferences, and as part of guerilla marketing campaigns. These items are also referred to by the slang terms swag (probably from the British usage of the word meaning "stolen goods" or "loot"^[1]), or tchotchke (derived from a Yiddish word meaning "trinket"). For other uses, see Logo (disambiguation). ... For the Bob Marley song, see Slogans (song). ... A trade fair (or trade show) is an exhibition organised so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their new products and services. ... A Business conference is an event organized by an association, inividual, publication or private company for the purpose of networking, education or to discuss a business topic. ... Guerrilla marketing, as described by J. Levinson in his popular 1984 book Guerrilla Marketing, is an unconventional way of performing marketing activities (primarily promotion) on a very low budget. ... Swag may refer to: Loot taken by a thief or burglar - see also looting Swag, common term for promotional items, gifts to the general public, or a souvenir of a special event Swag valance, an ornamental window dressing draped in a curve between two points. ... Look up tchotchke in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Yiddish (ייִדיש, Jiddisch) is a Germanic language spoken by about four million Jews throughout the world. ...

Products and uses

Almost anything can be branded with a company’s name or logo and used for promotional purposes. Common items include t-shirts, caps, keychains, bumper stickers, pens, mugs or mouse pads. The largest product category for promotional products is wearable items, which make up more than 30% of the total.^{[citation needed]} T-Shirt A T-shirt (or tee shirt) is a shirt with short or long sleeves, a round neck, put on over the head, without pockets. ... Bumper stickers are often used on commercial vehicles so that employers can receive feedback about the driving habits of their employees A bumper sticker is an adhesive label or sticker with a message, intended to be attached to the bumper of an automobile and to be read by the occupants... For other uses, see Pen (disambiguation). ...

Most promotional items are relatively small and inexpensive, but can range to higher-end items; for example celebrities at film festivals and award shows are often given expensive promotional items such as expensive perfumes, leather goods, and electronics items. Companies that provide expensive gifts for celebrity attendees often ask that the celebrities allow a photo to be taken of them with the gift item, which can be used by the company for promotional purposes. Other companies provide luxury gifts such as handbags or scarves to celebrity attendees in the hopes that the celebrities will wear these items in public, thus garnering publicity for the company's brand name and product. For other uses, see Celebrity (disambiguation). ... A film festival is the presentation or showcasing of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues. ... For other uses, see Perfume (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Leather (disambiguation). ... In promotion and advertising, a testimonial or endorsement consists of a written or spoken statement, sometimes from a public figure, sometimes from a private citizen, extolling the virtue of some product. ... Wikibooks has more about this subject: Marketing Look up publicity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about brands in marketing. ...

Business gifts used to foster customer goodwill and retention are the most common use for promotional items at 18.5%. Other objectives that marketers use promotional items to facilitate include tradeshow traffic-building, brand awareness, public relations, employee relations and events, dealer and distributor programs, new customer generation, not-for-profit programs, employee service awards, new product introductions, internal incentive programs, safety education, customer referrals and marketing research.^{[citation needed]}

Promotional items are also used in politics to promote candidates and causes. Promotional items as a tool for non-commercial organizations, such as schools and charities are often used as a part of fund raising and awareness-raising campaigns. A prominent example was the livestrong wristband, used to promote cancer awareness and raise funds to support cancer survivorship programs and research. For other uses, see Politics (disambiguation). ... Students in Rome, Italy. ... This article is about charitable organizations. ... The LIVESTRONG wristband The Livestrong wristband is a yellow silicone wristband (a gel bracelet) launched in May of 2004 as a fund-raising item for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, founded by cyclist and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong. ... Cancer is a class of diseases or disorders characterized by uncontrolled division of cells and the ability of these to spread, either by direct growth into adjacent tissue through invasion, or by implantation into distant sites by metastasis (where cancer cells are transported through the bloodstream or lymphatic system). ...

Collecting certain types of promotional items is also a popular hobby. // The hobby of collecting consists of acquiring specific items based on a particular interest of the collector. ... A hobby is a spare-time recreational pursuit. ...

History in the US

The first known promotional products in the United States are commemorative buttons dating back to the election of George Washington in 1789. During the early 1800s there were some advertising calendars, rulers and wooden specialties, but there wasn’t an organized industry for the creation and distribution of promotional items until later in the 19th century. Ralph Naders campaign in the State of Hawaii during the fateful 2000 Presidential Election Campaign buttons are used in a election as political advertising for the candidate or political party, or to proclaim the issues that are part of the political platform. ... George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799)[1] led Americas Continental Army to victory over Britain in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and in 1789 was elected the first President of the United States of America. ... A calendar is a system for assigning calendar dates to days. ... A variety of rulers A 2 metre carpenters rule Retractable flexible rule A ruler or rule is an instrument used in geometry, technical drawing and engineering/building to measure distances and/or to rule straight lines. ...

Jasper Meeks, a printer in Coshocton, Ohio, is considered by many to be the originator of the industry when he convinced a local shoe store to supply book bags imprinted with the store name to local schools. Henry Beach, another Coshochton printer and a competitor of Meeks picked up on the idea and soon the two men were selling and printing bags for marbles, buggy whips, card cases, fans, calendars, cloth caps, aprons and even hats for horses.^[2] Coshocton is the county seat in Coshocton County, OhioGR6. ... Hand-made marbles from West Africa Different glass marbles from a glass-mill For other uses, see Marbles (disambiguation). ... A buggy whip is a coach whip used for driving on horses harnessed to a buggy, or small open carriage. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ... This article is about the garment. ... Who ever deleted my page is a prat and i wil hunt them down on lucy and shout at them loudly! RAAAAARRR! connie sansom ...

In 1904, twelve manufacturers of promotional items got together to found the first trade association for the industry. That organization is now known as Promotional Products Association International, which currently has more than 7,500 global members. An industry trade group is generally a public relations organization funded, founded and formed by corporations that operate in a specific industry. ...

The promotional products industry in the US

At one time, the use of promotional products was limited to random give-aways and not as a part of an integrated marketing effort. Today, many more promotional products are distributed by businesses and organizations, sometimes with the assistance of a promotional consultant, to specific target markets to generate specific and measurable results. For the magazine, see Marketing (magazine). ... In economics, a business (also called firm or enterprise) is a legally recognized organizational entity designed to provide goods and/or services to consumers or corporate entities such as governments, charities or other businesses. ... For other uses, see Consultant (disambiguation). ...

2006 US sales of promotional products totaled $18.6 billion dollars, up from $17.8 billion in 2005.^[3] The industry is growing at a faster rate than newspaper or radio advertising and is larger than Internet advertising ($16.8 billion), cable television ($16.9 billion), Yellow Pages advertising ($14.4 billion) and outdoor advertising ($6.8 billion).^[4] USD redirects here. ... // Advert redirects here. ... Cable TV redirects here. ... For the use in computing, see Yellow Pages (computing). ... Out-of-home advertising (also referred to as OOH) is essentially all type of advertising that reaches the consumer while he or she is outside the home. ...

The industry is made up of supplier companies who manufacture or import the products, inventory them and decorate them on demand. There are approximately 2,000 supplier companies and 18,000 distributors in the United States.^[5] Distributors buy from the supplier companies and sell them to the marketers who are termed "end buyers." The industry is made up of many small and entrepreneurial individuals and companies with 95% of distributor companies selling less than $2.5 million per year.

References

1. ^ worldwidewords.org [1]
2. ^ ppai.org [2]
3. ^ asicentral.com [3]
4. ^ TNS Media Intelligence, March 2007
5. ^ asicentral.com [4]

External links

• "Smart Schwag"
• Promotional Products Association International, the industry's non-profit association
• Australasian Promotional Products Association