4 great company swag ideas for 2019

No matter the time of year, great company swag ideas are always in season!

Customers ask us weekly how other fellow users are using swag to create kick-ass campaigns.

So, we’re sharing 4 of our favorite ideas we’ve seen put in action.

But before we jump in, let me share the secret ingredient to a successful swag campaign

You’ll notice the 4 ideas I’m about to share all have one thing in common.

They all take advantage of a theme which makes them more memorable — and therefore — more successful.

The theme should resonate with your target audience and also align with your brand and messaging.

You should then select corporate swag products that also fit the theme.

These company swag ideas were all designed for specific business objectives. But, they can easily be customized and tailored to meet your goals.

If you like any of these, please share with your colleagues and leave us a comment!

Company swag idea #1 | We take the puzzle out of {customer support}

Example promotional swag: Branded Rubik’s Cube and postcard

People young and old will recognize the quintessential (and oft-frustrating) Rubik’s Cube.

While some folks on the internet can solve this puzzle in seconds, most mortals (including me) will struggle for weeks (I’ve actually never completed one).

How to use this swag campaign theme:

For the puzzle theme, we used customer support as an example. But you could replace the word in brackets with whatever your company is offering.

If you were a data intelligence company, it could be ‘We take the puzzle out of data analysis.’

Provide HR software? Maybe it’s ‘We take the puzzle out of recruiting,’ or ‘We take the puzzle out of benefits management.’

You get the idea.

Then peer into your CRM/database to create a list of companies who are a good fit for your product.

We recommend getting pretty targeted. Try to find prospects that mirror your ICP (Ideal Customer Profile).

Most of the time you’ll base this off industries you play well in, the right-sized companies for your product, and the titles of your typical buyers.

Once you have the right accounts and contacts you want to reach, send out the cube and a postcard with a very brief message that asks for a call/demo with your Sales team.

Note: For that postcard copy, we recommend trying to keep that as short as possible, like 4-5 simple sentences that explain your CTA as succinctly as you can.

Direct mail campaigns are one of the greatest company swag ideas to test because open rates of your packages are exponentially greater than email.

But once you have your target’s attention, don’t drown them with a long letter!

Company swag idea #2 | Let’s chat over coffee

Example promotional swag: Branded coffee mug & Starbucks gift card

If you want a really simple idea for booking more meetings, this one’s your ticket. Just send a simple box with a mug and a $5 or $10 Starbucks gift card.

How to make the most of this swag idea:

Include a postcard with a short statement explaining the value your company provides, and then a CTA to talk it about it further on a call (while they enjoy their coffee).

If you don’t hear from your prospect, don’t despair!

Monitor your tracking notifications, and once your package is delivered, wait a day and then send a follow up email. Ask if your recipient got your gift and if they’d be willing to schedule a call.

Most likely the combo of package and email will be enough to get some time on their calendar – or at least get a response.

We’re utilizing this one ourselves at Printfection!

We ran a small test and spent just over $1,000 on the kits, including shipping costs.

Factoring in our average deal size, our expected ROI is already over 300%!

Company swag idea #3 | Welcome to our {bug monitoring} tool – stop bugs in their tracks

Example promotional products: Bug zapper or fly swatter and an insect-repellant t-shirt

In this example, you’d send a swag kit to new customers who signed up for a free-trial of your bug monitoring software.

As with all these themes, we can help you find company swag that best aligns with your particular swag marketing initiatives.

As another example, consider mobile massage app provider Zeel.

Since customers use their app to book massages on-demand at their homes or offices, they send branded merchandise items like face masks, bathrobes, and towels.

They’re also using swag in a couple clever, strategic ways to drive more customer signups.

The success they have achieved directly hinges on the fact their swag connects so fluidly to their product and messaging.

How to leverage this (and other company swag ideas) to the fullest:

Sending gifts to customers offers the perfect opportunity to gather more brand advocates.

You could follow up with your customers and ask them to share the kit you sent them on social.

This way you not only delight your customers, but you also get much-cherished word-of-mouth marketing. Your customers are your best sales reps, after all!

Company swag idea #4 | How are you tracking {the ROI of swag}?

Example promotional products: Tile tracker and postcard

This theme asks your recipient how he or she tracks the success of {insert your business focus here.}

At Printfection, we’re all about helping customers actually measure the success of their swag efforts.

What do you help your customers with? Take that idea and send your prospects a branded (and nifty) Tile tracker.

These blue-tooth enabled devices allow you to find your wallet, keys, or any other item you may have displaced.

We like this theme because 1) everyone is obsessed with data and ROI measurement these days, and 2) it’s a really handy piece of swag that will get used for a long time.

By the way, creating corporate swag that’s actually useful is one of the 5 key attributes of taking your swag to the next level.

Advice on making this corporate swag idea as successful as possible:

For the postcard on this one, you can follow a very simple template for getting the most responses.

First sentence – simple intro that tees the problem up.

Ex: Most companies we talk to struggle to track the ROI of ABC. How are you doing it today?

Second sentence – introduce your company as the solution (be as specific as you can) – you can also opt for bullets here if you offer a lot of services/benefits for your target audience.

Ex: We help companies better leverage their CRM to measure XYZ, which helps them (cut costs, make smarter decisions, some other quantifiable benefit).

Third sentence – clear and succinct CTA.

Ex: Can we chat for 5-10 minutes? You can reach me at {phone} or {email.}

The level of personalization is up to you – just make that last CTA sentence stand out and keep it as short as you can.

And as mentioned above, follow up with emails if you don’t get initial responses to your themed swag kits.

What company swag ideas are you most likely to try?

Let us know on social by tagging @printfection and use the hashtag, #swagideas in your post or tweet!

If you need some help on generating creative company swag ideas for your business, by all means contact us.

Our Customer Success teams and Merch Experts do this all day, every day, so we have lots of ideas/themes to share.

Editor’s note: this post was updated from summer 2018 to be even more comprehensive