Seasonal VS Year-Round- Which Promotional Gifts will suit you best?

Many companies agonize over choosing and handing out promotional gifts. One of the issues that often come up is whether or not to hand out season-specific items or ones that can be used all year long. There are a few advantages to both of these options. Here are a few things that you may want to think about that will help you make that decision for your next promotional gift campaign.

Some examples of generic gifts can include bags, mugs, pens and key chains. All of these things can be used at any time of the year. Season-specific items may include clothing (such as jackets) or certain types of hats. Gardening items are also seasonal but depending on what they are they may be more versatile than other items would be.

Is your business seasonal in nature?
One thing you may want to consider is whether or not your business is seasonal in nature. If so, you may want to make sure that you pick items that relate to that season. A good example of this would be a company that does most of its business in the summer. It may be a good idea to hand out promotional gifts that relate to that season since it will be easier for recipients to connect the gift to your company in their own mind.

This does not mean that you can only hand out these items during the season for which they were intended. You can use them in an off season as a way to build anticipation and get potential customers thinking ahead to when they may need your company and its products or services.

Is the promotional gift campaign linked to something specific?
If you just want to be able to hand out items that will get your name and logo out there, more generic promotional gifts may work well. If, however, you want to link them to a specific product or service you may be more limited in what you can distribute. If your product or service is seasonal in nature you may then be limited to whether or not you can give a season-specific promotional gift.

When to hand out seasonal items
If you are handing out seasonal items you need to think about when you will be handing them out. For some items, it can be more helpful to give them out before the season arrives when they will be used. This can accomplish two different goals. The first is that it can create anticipation (handing out a sunscreen container or other summery item late in the winter) and the second is that it can get your company’s name and information into someone’s mind before other companies begin to compete for their business.

If you are unsure about what kinds of items you want to hand out you may want to consult with other people at your company. It can be very helpful to get a second opinion about what you want to order and when you want to hand them out.