Custom Swag: The Perfect Marketing Tool for Your Company
Custom t-shirts and gear should be the first thing you think of when considering marketing tools for your business, and we’re here to tell you why!
At Custom Ink, we can partner with you to create custom gear you can use in many ways, and just one of those ways is marketing your business.
With so much focus on digital marketing currently, we forget how beneficial marketing IRL can be too. Adding your logo to custom products—like t-shirts, hoodies, water bottles, notebooks, and hats—is an excellent way to market your company.
What’s more, the people wearing or using your custom gear also become one of your greatest marketing tools because they can tell inquiring minds all about how awesome your company is.
Read on to learn about great ways to use custom swag as a marketing tool and see premium products to inspire you!
Provide Custom Work Uniforms for Your Staff
Looking like a team is one of the best ways to feel like a team. Custom work uniforms, custom work shirts, or even custom hats are excellent for looking professional and polished for customers and clients alike.
Especially if your team is public-facing, you can make a great first impression by looking your best on the job. Add an extra personal touch by embroidering each employee’s name on their respective custom shirts (or other items you love!).
Work uniforms project an image of teamwork and professionalism to your potential and existing customers while also displaying your brand.
Mark a Corporate Event with Custom Apparel
Make your next corporate event extra special by showing off your brand on custom apparel. Celebrate your teams and thank your clients with custom swag bearing your logo.
Wearing custom apparel with everyone in your company, especially during an event, fosters feelings of belonging and inclusivity. Then, when the corporate event is over, employees and customers will go out into the world with custom gear they love that also shows off your brand, thus transforming it into an amazing marketing tool.
Thank Customers for Purchasing Services With Custom Gear
People love free stuff, so incentivize those sought-after clients by offering a gift when they sign up for a service or make their first purchase.
Custom Ink has a huge offering of custom promo products that are great for giveaways like these.
This strategy ensures that your business’s message continues to circulate when new customers wear those custom hats, shirts, or backpacks. You could even advertise this offer on the gift itself, so people know that this amazing custom product could be theirs too!
Celebrate Your Successes With Custom Products
Another excellent way to get brag-worthy custom gear into the hands of your employees and customers is by celebrating company milestones and successes. Boost morale among your team members and recognize their hard work while increasing brand awareness.
You can do this on the individual level by rewarding employees for reaching goals within their roles, or you can recognize whole teams or the entire company for true team efforts.
Using awesome custom swag to recognize employees’ accomplishments is both a great incentive for hitting goals and an excellent marketing tool.
Create Memorable Designs to Share on Social Media
Leverage the power of social media by sharing your awesome custom apparel on your social accounts. Give your custom design a moment to shine by showcasing it on the custom apparel you plan to gift to new customers.
If you make a unique and memorable design, the magic of social media will take hold and people will be clamoring to get their hands on it. Check out some of our design templates to get started!
Show Off Your Brand Personality
Designing custom apparel for your business is an excellent marketing tool because it also helps to showcase your brand personality.
It’s important to consider how you want your brand to make customers feel, and constant exposure to your brand via custom apparel will ignite those feelings.
Think about how you can best establish your business’s message and personality with your design. If you’re not sure where to start, we offer professional design assistance!
Use Custom Products for Trade Show Giveaways
Do you have a trade show or conference coming up? These events are perfect opportunities to spread the word about your business with custom products.
Make your booth a memorable stop by offering custom pens, water bottles, notebooks, key chains, and so much more with your custom logo front and center. This is one of the best scenarios for custom products as marketing tools.
Sponsor a Local Event
Getting out into your local community is crucial for marketing your business, so sponsor a local event and provide some awesome custom gear too.
This is one of the best ways custom apparel can be a marketing tool because it puts your business in front of so many people at once.
You could use promo products similar to what you would give away at a trade show, or you could make it more specific to the event or time of year. Custom Ink has a huge selection of products to suit your wants and needs!
Use Your Brand for Good With a Fundraiser
Getting behind a cause is another great way to market your business, and Custom Ink offers a free fundraising platform to help you do just that.
Fundraising for a cause your company cares about helps both you and the organization you’re supporting get the help they need by selling custom gear featuring your logo. It’s a win-win!
And you certainly don’t have to stop at one cause. Host a fundraiser for a new cause every year, or maybe you’d like to establish a relationship with a nonprofit by consistently working with them.
Give Out Annual Custom Gifts
Make sure that your custom swag is refreshed and circulating all year long by giving out annual custom gifts to your team and clients. This is a fun tradition and lets your teams and clients know that you’re grateful for their work and partnership.
While custom gear is a great marketing tool, the feelings custom gear creates among your people are what really drive your message into the world. Make sure you’re fostering those connections consistently with custom gifts. Check out our guide for more ideas!
Custom Gear Ideas to Get You Started
With so much custom gear to choose from, it can be difficult to know which is right for you. Luckily, we’ve put together some of our customers’ favorite custom apparel and accessories for inspiration.
Polos are perfect for projecting a polished and professional image of your team, and custom polos from a reputable brand like Nike only make that image stronger.
One popular pick is the Nike Dri-FIT Micro Pique Performance Polo 2.0, which is also available in women’s and tall sizes to ensure the whole team gets one. These polos sport Nike’s signature Dri-FIT material for maximum moisture-wicking and comfort—making them great for those business meetings on the golf course.
OGIO offers some of the best technical performance apparel on the market, which is why we’re so proud to have them as a part of our products! The OGIO Endurance Stealth Zip Hoodie features a zippered right chest pocket, thumb holes, and reflective logos in two different locations.
These custom hoodies are also available in women’s sizes and span from XS to 4XL. Use these custom OGIO hoodies any time of year—from air-conditioned offices to cool summer nights.
Custom signs and banners are crucial for corporate events, trade shows, and conferences, and they’re excellent for screen printing. Choose from banners in all shapes, sizes, and materials so that you can find the one that’s best for you.
Depending on your booth or event location, you might choose a large vinyl banner or a portable feather flag with a base. You might also choose a yard sign, which, despite its name, can be used indoors or outdoors. Get the attention your company deserves with colorful, beautifully designed custom signs and banners.
Custom water bottles and tumblers are excellent choices for giveaways and gift packages. Treat your teams, clients, and colleagues to a trusted brand like CamelBak so that they have confidence in the quality of their swag. The CamelBak 25 oz. Eddy Tritan Renew Water Bottle is spill-proof and eco-friendly. Made from Eastman Tritan™ RENEW, a durable and sustainable material containing 50% recycled plastic.
The CamelBak 30 oz Stainless Steel Tumbler with Straw if you think your people would enjoy this style. Custom water bottles and tumblers are great as marketing tools because people take them with them wherever they go!
Add your custom design to premium office supplies like Moleskine notebooks. These notebooks make fantastic marketing tools since they can easily be taken anywhere. And who doesn’t love to show off the coveted Moleskine brand, especially when it’s customized?
Bring custom notebooks to the next trade show or conference you’re attending, and see how people will light up when they see such polished-looking notebooks. Your custom logo will look sleek and sophisticated on any of our Moleskine offerings.
Another excellent marketing tool is custom pens. Pens are easy to give out and keep, which makes them perfect for promoting your business. Keep them on your desk, at the reception desk, and give them out at events.
We especially love pens from Paper Mate and Pilot because of their smooth writing capabilities and comfortable grips. Pair these awesome pens with custom notebooks to make for a special giveaway.
As long as people have accumulated stuff, they have needed somewhere to keep it. Fortunately, you can add your logo to custom tote bags to promote your business and give your people something useful.
One of our favorites is the Large Multi-Pocket Zippered Tote Bag because it’s so easy to keep everything organized while looking stylish. Custom tote bags are fun, useful, and can be taken anywhere, making them an exceptional marketing tool.
Safety Vests and T-shirts
As mentioned above, creating custom work uniforms and shirts is an excellent way to look and feel like a team while promoting your company. For many businesses, using work uniforms to ensure the safety of their employees is vital.
We carry many options of custom safety vests and t-shirts so that you can keep your team safe without sacrificing style. Adding a sleek logo design to your uniforms can help your team look and feel great on the job.
With many companies shifting to hybrid working styles permanently, working on the go has become more common than ever. This is just one reason why custom backpacks are a great choice for custom gear.
Whether people are going to the office or the gym, driving a car, or riding a bike, a backpack to keep all of their essentials is always handy. The North Face Stalwart 15” Computer Backpack is one of our best-selling custom backpacks thanks to its plentiful pockets and protective laptop sleeve.
An increasingly popular choice for our customers is custom hats! They’re easy to order because you don’t have to worry about sizes, and they look good on everyone.
We especially love custom hats and beanies from New Era. Check out the New Era 9FIFTY Flatbill Snapback Hat for its iconic look and the New Era Recycled Cuff Beanie for its eco-friendly materials. Both of these styles are embroidered, which elevates every custom logo.
Custom apparel and accessories make fantastic marketing tools because they allow you to make real connections with the people who wear them. Custom gear not only promotes your business but also fosters feelings of community and belonging in every person who receives it. This is great for your company and your professional relationships. When you’re looking for creative ways to market your business, think Custom Ink!
Stephanie Self loves to tell stories and expose new perspectives through writing. When she's not typing on a laptop or buried in a book, she loves watching horror movies and pro wrestling, playing video games, and snuggling with her cat, CleoCatra. Lest you should think she never sees the light of day, she also spends time practicing hot yoga, hiking, and traveling.
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