Some consumers aren't prepared for the new season and will be caught off guard by the cold weather. Small business owners can distribute unique promotional products to help their customers enjoy the chilly months. Branded items like flashlights and mugs can be great gifts for clients, and winter wear can be given to employees.

For consumers
The Winter Solstice has the fewest daylight hours, and early sunsets are a regular part of the entire season. The sun usually sets before most employees' evening commute. Promotional flashlights can light the ways to your customers' homes. Patrons will appreciate having a small light to they can use to find their keys or watch their steps along dimly lit paths.

Alternatively, promotional mugs might be ideal tools for dealing with the winter weather. When colds winds start to blow, consumers frequently turn to warm beverages to stave off the chills. Branded mugs can help increase your company's visibility because your customers will be exposed to your logos every time they brew coffee or boil water for tea or cocoa.

For employees
The winter blues can hurt productivity in your business. If your workers are struggling to deal with the cold weather, they may have a hard time handling all of their regular responsibilities. Personalized business gifts geared toward coping with snow and frigid temperatures can help ensure that your employees keep warm and stay happy.

You can give mugs to your staffers, but you can also distribute thermoses instead. Some of your staffers may have long commutes and would appreciate being able to bring their hot beverages with them every morning. Emboss your employees' names on their travel mugs to demonstrate how much you care about their needs.

Consider giving some of your valued contributors winter wear from the Adler Collection. Scarves and gloves can be excellent presents for employees who aren't fond of the cold weather. Consider each recipient's needs before giving the gifts. An associate who commutes via public transportation might not appreciate a pair of driving gloves as much as someone who brings their car to work.

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Global annihilation is on many consumers' minds. The National Geographic Channel even produces a reality TV series titled "Doomsday Preppers," in which it documents how people prepare for the end of times. Small business owners can capitalize on the trend by distributing unique promotional products to help their customers gear up for the end of the world.

Water, water everywhere
Disposable water bottles will be a thing of the past once the apocalypse arrives. Survivors will be left searching for wells and will require containers. Distribute branded water bottles to ensure that your clients can stay hydrated and healthy. Water is a necessity, so reusable bottles may be the best promotional items to give away.

The night is dark
If NBC's hit series "Revolution" is to be believed, a global power outage will plunge the world into chaos. Promotional key rings with small flashlights can help your customers keep the darkness at bay. Additionally, the branded items can be used while hunting for food and searching for water, so the gifts could lead to continued survival.

Tending to the wounded
Health services may be scarce in the post-apocalyptic world. Your customers must learn to tend to their own wounds, and promotional first aid kits can help. While the supplies won't last long, your clients will appreciate having bandages and antibacterial wipes available.

A history
One of the most commonly overlooked aspects of the world's end is holding onto the past. Cultural artifacts will be eradicated during the apocalypse and humanity will have to rebuild and recreate the entire world. Promotional pens and notepads can be used to rewrite history books and record current events.

Building a legacy
There's one lesson to take away from all of the incorrect predictions about the end of the world – you can't schedule doomsday. Until the end times come, your clients can use your promotional gifts around their homes and offices. If the apocalypse ever arrives, your patrons will remember that your business helped them prepare for the worst. 

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Effective advertising can help retailers attract last-minute shoppers and finish the holiday season strongly. Promotional giveaways can draw traffic and motivate consumers to make those final purchases.

Functional gifts
You can distribute promotional marketing products that your customers can use as gifts for their loved ones. While you can't give away free merchandise, small items with everyday functionality are appealing to consumers.

A branded coffee mug can work well as a present. Coffee and tea are popular year-round, and hot chocolate is a favorite during the holiday season. You can give mugs to shoppers with large purchase orders to say thanks for their patronage, and the items will increase your visibility when given as gifts to other consumers.

Alternatively, you can give away smaller items that shoppers can use as stocking stuffers. For instance, promotional key rings attached to flashlights can be great gifts. You can distribute budget-friendly products to every shopper instead of using them as incentives for sizable purchases.

Enjoying the rest of the season
You can give promotional pens to last-minute shoppers who need help wrapping all of their gifts. Instruct your employees to give a pen to every customer, even those who aren't making any purchases. Patrons will appreciate that your store wants to help with seasonal obligations.

Consider giving festive pens that are decorated with holiday imagery. You can find models with snowmen on the caps that can give your customers some seasonal cheer. Additionally, consider adding holiday graphics to your logos.

Ensuring that bad weather doesn't hamper your customers' celebrations can also help them enjoy the holidays. The U.S. Drought Monitor notes that the first few weeks of December featured heavy precipitation in most areas, and that trend is forecast to continue. Branded umbrellas can prevent rainy conditions from ruining the most wonderful time of the year.

Distributing promotional products that have a usefulness that extends beyond the holiday season can create a lasting advertising presence. For example, items like pens and umbrellas can be used all year so your customers will hold onto the gifts.

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Unfortunately, not all of your customers can access renewable energy. Some live in apartments and condos and can't make building-wide changes. There are everyday items, however, that can harness the power of the sun and serve as promotional giveaways.

Instead of giving customers battery-powered flashlights, small businesses can hand out solar-powered versions. Patrons may actually appreciate these gifts more because there's no need to buy new batteries every few weeks.

While these promotional items won't have an environmental impact comparable to installing solar panels, they can make a small difference and encourage consumers to reduce their carbon emissions.

Small businesses should always be aware of growing trends like solar energy. While some may turn out to be fads, others can have lasting appeals. Renewable power has been a popular topic over the last few years, so owners may want to consider joining the movement with their marketing campaigns. 

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If you want to advertise your business and stand apart from your competitors, distributing promotional marketing products on lesser known holidays may be an effective strategy. There's a greater chance that you can generate consumer interest and increase awareness by avoiding heavy competition on popular holidays. Here are three of December's celebratory days that aren't as heralded as their famous counterparts.

National Cocoa Day
While the first official day of winter isn't until December 21, cold weather doesn't adhere to a schedule. When the temperature drops people turn to warm beverages to avoid the chills that become so commonplace during winter months. In that spirit, December 12 is National Cocoa Day. Traditionally, hot chocolate is one of the more popular drinks during a cold season, especially around the holidays.

Distributing promotional mugs before the 12th can increase your company's advertising presence as well as help customers stay warm. When the gift recipients fill up their cups on National Cocoa Day they'll see your logo and be reminded of your business. Keep in mind that people don't drink hot beverages solely on the holiday – cocoa, coffee and tea are popular year round. As long as consumers have your mug, they'll have advertisements right in their hands.

Winter solstice
While not an official holiday, the winter solstice is celebrated around the world. It's the first official day of winter and has the fewest daylight hours in the Northern Hemisphere. The solstice can be a fun day depending on how businesses choose to celebrate the seasonal change.

There is one holiday celebrated on the solstice – National Flashlight Day. Giving away promotional flashlights acknowledges the spirit of the day. Because the first day of winter has the shortest amount of daytime, distributing small lights can be a fun way to advertise while recognizing the solstice.

Owners don't have to limit themselves to one giveaway, however, and can develop their own promotional strategies for the winter solstice. Some restaurants hold special events to attract large crowds who want to celebrate winter's arrival. Doing something unique on a day that not every business acknowledges may be smart if companies want to increase traffic in their establishments and draw increased amounts of consumers.

National Chocolate Day
Only a week after the winter solstice is National Chocolate Day. December 28 is a day to celebrate one of the most popular treats available. There's no denying how well-loved chocolate is. Celebrating a day dedicated to the confectionery delights can help small business owners advertise while giving consumers some of their favorite snacks.

You can't give everyone a full-sized candy bar without breaking your marketing budget, but small tins of sweets are budget-friendly alternatives. Even though the sweets won't last long once customers start eating them, they'll likely hold onto the durable boxes. They can repurpose the promotional items to hold small household items, so your logos will constantly be displayed in patrons' homes.

You may want to consider having some non-chocolate candies on hand, as well. Some consumers have severe allergies and must avoid certain foods, but they should still be able to participate in the giveaway.

Celebrating one of these days can help a small business stand apart during a busy season. When many companies are only focusing their advertisements on major holidays, doing something different can attract more consumers.

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They also come in a variety of sizes, colors and shapes. Promotional flashlights don't need to take up a lot of space. In fact, keychain lights are as convenient as they are portable, making them an intuitive accessory for car and house keys. They also offer a constant reminder to consumers of the company who supplied the item, associating the logo with practicality and smart design.

A light when all others go out

In an emergency situation, it's essential to have light to see by. This will help establish a sense of control, as well as help with locating necessary contact information or trying to locate tools like fuse boxes or candles. An article in the Wall Street Journal discussed how much of a lifesaver having a flashlight around in the event of a midnight emergency can be, especially during more catastrophic events.

The article pointed out one of the things that may hit people hard in the wake of a disastrous storm – a lack of preparedness. Offering a promotional keychain flashlight would give consumers access to a highly beneficial tool in just such an emergency, as convenient as it is handy. Full size flashlights with more torch power and battery life are even more useful and can be kept in various rooms of the house, increasing brand visibility while providing the reassurance to consumers that they will always have a light on hand if needed.

Keyrings are also good for less dramatic situations that may still pose a threat or at least an inconvenience. Struggling to find a door lock or the ignition of a car can be annoying, especially depending on the time of night and the area in question, so offering a light to see by can reassure a consumer while reinforcing positive brand awareness.

A guiding promotional light

Other companies have used this simply as a fun and intriguing tool for drawing consumer interest. The options available for keyring lights and promotional flashlights in general aren't just limited to the color of the casing, the color of the light can be changed or different images projected using a built-in lens.

That was exactly the ploy used by Relativity Media in advertising its upcoming film, "House at the End of the Street." The company handed out hundreds of promotional flashlights to consumers at a recent convention, all of them sporting the company's logo and the title of the film. When recipients turned on the light and shined it on a nearby surface, it actually projected a special phone number for people to call that had a spooky recorded message. Callers were then given the option of signing up for text messages and email alerts to keep receiving more advertising information about upcoming events both related to the film specifically and to the company as a whole.

Finding creative ways like this to integrate additional advertising onto promotional items gets people talking and sharing different giveaways. It also draws attention to the brand and its products, encouraging more conversation and increasing company visibility.

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Flashlights come in a variety of shapes and functions and are a useful way to ensure clients remember their interactions with a company. Flashlight pens customized with company logos are dual function and will certainly be useful to clients. This is a good choice for medical practices, as it is reminiscent of the flashlights doctors use to check tonsils.

Solar powered flashlights are a good option for companies engaged in green business. The rechargeable cells promote energy efficiency, and if the tool carries a company's logo, then it is associated with the same practices. Flashlights will be used in cars or for travelling or in the office, and using them as a promotional giveaway sheds light on successful branding.

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Promotional products that are high-tech or very unique and useful stick out in the minds of clients, customers or general consumers more than the average personalized business gift. When deciding on a promotional product to offer new clients, repeat customers or even promotional contest winners, go with something memorable.

In this vein, water-resistant solar flashlights are a great choice. In addition to being handy while on vacation, they are the perfect emergency tool for many different situations. Keeping one in a car, on a bike or even around the house will set people's minds at ease. The fact that this reliable tool is branded with the name, logo or mascot of a company won't go unnoticed.  

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