Time management and orderly offices are the two biggest keys to improving productivity. Calendars and USB drives can help your employees stay on task and tidy up their workstations. The two items are great personalized business gifts because they aren't overly familiar and have everyday functionality.

Keeping the date
Workers can struggle while managing their schedules and tackling multiple projects. Staffers forget key responsibilities when they're overwhelmed with new tasks. The Houston Chronicle recommends using calendars to keep track of important work and everyday practices.

Give employees pocket calendars so that they can schedule all of their appointments and create daily to-do lists. Additionally, tell your workers about new projects weeks before the start date to avoid confusion once they begin. The portable planners are extremely beneficial, especially if you allow remote working. Consider distributing personalized calendars to your loyal employees. Customized gifts can help you retain your most valued contributors.

B2B vendors should use promotional calendars to reinforce brand awareness and endear themselves to patrons. Clients will see logos every time they schedule new projects and check the date. Similar to the employee gifts, the functional presents can foster loyalty among customers.

Cleaning the office
SmartMoney recently estimated the average employee spends 30 minutes per week looking for paperwork, which means workers are losing 26 hours of productivity during the year. Get Organized Month is the perfect time to clean the office so that staffers won't waste valuable time searching for documents.

Digital storage is one of the best solutions for reducing paperwork. Scan all of your memos, briefs and other important files and upload them to your computers so that your workers can easily find sensitive information.

Additionally, you should distribute USB drives and allow your employees to access important documents at home. According to Stanford University, working from home increases productivity by 13 percent, so you should give your employees the necessary tools to remotely complete projects.

Promotional flash drives can help your clients capitalize on Stanford's findings. You can distribute branded gifts that are attached to keychains so that your customers never lose important files.

"It think it's immortal. When e-cards came out, everyone said they were going to be the death of the greetings card business. But people prefer something physical," Prince told the BBC.

Businesses can distribute calendars as promotional marketing products to customers. The branded gifts are used all year, so the advertisements will effectively last longer than many marketing messages.

Choosing decorations
Small business owners can give away promotional wall calendars that customers can use as decorations in their homes. Companies can find unique calendars for their clients so that their gifts command attention.

You can find calendars that feature photographs of famous locations and artwork. Customers are more likely to notice your advertisements when they're attached to beautiful pictures, and every page has a different image, so consumers will regularly see your logos.

Calendars can also be used to increase business every month. Consider including coupons on each page so that your customers must return to your business to take advantage of special deals.

On the go
Businesses can also distribute pocket calendars to employees who frequently travel or work remotely. The small schedules can help staffers stay organized even while they're not in the office.

Companies can make the calendars more personal by adding employees' names to the covers. Staffers want to be rewarded for their efforts, and receiving a customized calendar can motivate them to keep up their hard work. Associates appreciate when their managers recognize excellent work, so the gifts can also boost morale.

In the office
Desk planners are excellent gifts for on-site employees and business clients. It's difficult to stay organized and maintain daily schedules, but desk calendars can help recipients track all of their deadlines and tasks. The promotional items can be particularly effective for business-to-business (B2B) vendors. Workers will use the planners every day and see promotional content, which increases brand recognition.

Businesses must start preparing their 2013 marketing strategies. Calendars can help companies start off on the right foot and contribute to unprecedented levels of success during the new year.

According to LiveScience, getting out of debt is one of the most common new year's resolutions. Businesses can assist customers by giving away branded tools that simplify financial planning.

Calculating every expense
Calculators are some of the best promotional marketing products that banks and financial consultants can distribute. Consumers can struggle while going over monthly expenses and tallying their numbers, and some of your customers may not be able to easily to track every penny by themselves. Clients can use branded calculators to track their expenditures and ensure that they aren't exceeding their monthly budgets.

Calculators also reinforce your company's visibility. Each time your customers use the electronic giveaways, they'll be exposed to your logos and develop familiarity with your establishment, which can help you hold onto your clients.

Planning ahead
The most important part of every budget is knowing when money will be spent so funds can be allocated accordingly. Tracking regular spending can be difficult for some consumers, but financial services can distribute branded calendars to help customers schedule all of their recurring expenditures.

A pocket calendar may be the best giveaway for a business client. Small business owners must stay on top of their finances, and small schedules allow entrepreneurs to remember important deadlines and how much they're paying every day. Promotional wall calendars are more suited for homeowners, as the items can be used as decorations.

Writing it all down
Some consumers turn to financial planners for all of their budgeting needs. Before offering advice, consultants can give their clients promotional pens and notepads to take notes on their discussions. Customers will use the giveaways to write down important information and refer back to it when they're going over their expenses.

The giveaways have functionality beyond financial planning so your clients will hold onto the branded gifts. For instance, pens and paper can be used for shopping lists during the holidays, so your customers develop brand recognition even when they aren't focusing on their budgets.

Doctors and small business owners can participate by motivating consumers to make donations in January. Promotional giveaways can target would-be benefactors who need extra incentives and raise awareness for blood drives during the rest of the year.

Blood donations have been down throughout 2012, so National Blood Donor Month is needed to replenish supplies in 2013. ABC News reported that in June 2012, 50,000 fewer contributions were made than had been previously estimated. Additionally, Hurricane Sandy cancelled blood drives all along the East Coast.

Raising awareness for drives
Doctors who are holding blood drives in January should start advertising soon. Patients can't make donations if they aren't aware of local events. Medical professionals can distribute unique promotional products to patients who want to contribute.

Consider giving branded pens to your clients after their appointments. You can have the date of your blood drive emblazoned on the sides so the information is consistently seen by recipients. The American Marketing Association's (AMA) Baltimore branch writes that small giveaways are frequently shared, so advertising on pens can help you market your event to large groups of potential donors.

You can also mail reminders to your patients. Recipients may ignore flyers, so implement strategies to make your advertisements difficult to ignore. For instance, including small giveaways can increase the likelihood that your letters are read. Branded gifts like magnets are small enough that they won't increase your shipping costs.

Doctors can also work with local businesses to raise awareness for blood drives. Stores and restaurants can sponsor the event and advertise it to their customers. Involving the community instead of small groups of patients can lead to more donations.

Giving gifts to donors
Donors usually don't expect gifts for their charitable givings, but little presents are always appreciated. Doctors can give each benefactor unique tokens to say thanks for a contribution.

As Livestrong points out, it's important for blood donors to stay hydrated after their procedures, so consider distributing promotional mugs and water bottles. You can fill each giveaway with water or orange juice and tell benefactors to keep their containers. Consumers will hold onto your mugs and bottles and may be reminded to donate next year as a result.

If you plan on holding drives throughout the year, consider giving away branded calendars with dates marked for the events. People are always looking for calendars to start the new year, and you can capitalize on this search by advertising your drives with promotional items. For regular donors who give every year, consider distributing personalized calendars to thank them.

Finding new donors
Drives that distribute giveaways can gain reputations for reciprocating their donors' kindness. Some consumers may be motivated to contribute their own blood if they know they'll be given something as well.

Advertise your gifts so that potential benefactors are more likely to come to your event. Small presents can make the difference between a successful blood drive and one that didn't reach its full potential. Emblazon your giveaways with your event dates as well. Your donors can act as advertisements each time they use your promotional items and raise your blood drive's visibility.

National Blood Donor Month is meant to increase donations throughout the year. Using giveaways can help you get off to a great start in January.

November 17 is World Prematurity Day, which is supposed to raise awareness for this growing health concern. Obstetricians and family doctors should consider participating in the event to spotlight the potential dangers expectant mothers and premature children can face.

Promotional giveaways can help medical professionals raise the visibility for prematurity. Pens and magnets may not be large, but they can encourage patients to seek regular treatment to prevent early births or receive care for ailments.

Expectant mothers can take numerous steps to ensure their health and that of their children. Doctors who give away small products are taking steps to remind patients that they should have regular check-ups while pregnant and ask their obstetricians for assistance if concerns arise.

While many future moms understand the basic practices they can use to avoid premature births, some may not be familiar with every health issue that can affect their unborn children. Promotional items raise obstetricians' visibility so patients are more likely to remember to seek professional advice.

Tracking the days
During the nine-month pregnancy period, women have to attend many checkups and tests to ensure they and their babies are healthy. Doctors catch issues that can lead to premature births during these appointments, so it's important that future mothers receive this care.

Obstetricians can give away calendars so patients can keep track of their busy schedules without missing a single checkup. While mothers keep track of their appointments, having a dedicated prenatal agenda can be beneficial.

Wall and pocket calendars are popular because they can be used almost anywhere. A working mother can have a calendar in her office so she's reminded that she needs to leave early, while the pocket schedule can tell her what doctor she's visiting during her commute.

Obstetricians must ensure that their patients don't miss a single appointment. Small calendars can help mothers remember important dates and avoid ailments that can lead to premature births.

This can be a very important time because, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes, a growing number of people are less concerned about contracting AIDS. Approximately 50,000 Americans contract HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, annually, and the CDC estimates that one in five carriers does not know they're infected.

Businesses can promote awareness and get involved with the cause by adapting their promotional marketing products. By participating in AIDS Awareness Month, owners may help their customers realize how important it is to have themselves tested and do their best to stay healthy by taking necessary precautions.

Red Ribbon Campaign
As with all causes, AIDS Awareness Month has a colored ribbon. Where breast cancer has a pink one and yellow denotes support for military personnel, AIDS has a red ribbon. The goal of the ribbon is to give people a small token to demonstrate their awareness of the disease.

If you want to participate in AIDS Awareness Month, you can distribute promotional items bearing the red symbol. Many popular giveaways have been redesigned to reflect December's important cause and help raise awareness for the disease that affects so many people.

There are promotional key rings and flash drives modeled after a red ribbon, so consumers can have one on their person all year. Ribbons can be embossed on pens and printed on the pages within wall calendars. Owners can find any gift and make it part of the cause so customers learn about AIDS and what they can do to prevent its spread.

Doctors can do their part
No industry can raise AIDS awareness quite as high as the medical field can. Doctors advocate good health all year, but December allows them to focus on a particular disease that may not concern many of their patients. It's imperative that physicians encourage their clients to seek testing, especially if they're at risk.

If you work in a practice and are concerned about your patients and their potential exposure to HIV, you should encourage them to learn about the virus and the health risks associated with it. You can also explain the facts to them and give them reminders about staying healthy. You may want to consider distributing promotional wall calendars that recommend regular checkups throughout the year to ensure that patients are thinking about AIDS not only in December, but all year.

Unfortunately, doctors can't diagnose every client before they're infected with HIV. AIDS treatments require massive lifestyle changes, as patients must adhere to strict medicinal schedules and visit their doctors regularly. This can be jarring for victims, as they have to completely adjust their routines to include new tasks that they'd never previously considered. A physician can give a pocket calendar to a patient afflicted with HIV or AIDS, so he or she can see what the new schedule looks like on a daily basis.

Raising AIDS awareness in December can help save lives. While medical research inches closer toward developing a cure, it's important that people stay informed and take precautions so they avoid contracting or spreading the disease.

For small business-to-business companies, giving away functional office gifts could be the key to raising visibility among potential clients. Associates are busy and may have a difficult time staying on schedule. Instead of scrambling to find one on sale in January, employees typically appreciate having a desk planner well before a new year begins.

For consumers who are constantly on the go, a pocket calendar may be more useful. A business owner could emblazon an establishment's logo on every page to create brand constant exposure.

Calendars are an inexpensive marketing tool compared to other platforms such as commercials or print advertisements. These functional giveaways serve as a long-lasting campaign, so business owners will likely see a higher return on their marketing dollar. Potential clients will not only be exposed regularly to the company's brand image, but may even be grateful to receive such a useful gift. 

Other items can also assist with keeping track of finances and still do a good job of promoting business awareness. Promotional pens are one of the most proliferate and popular tools companies can give away because there's never a time when a pen wouldn't come in handy. Figuring out which financial instrument will most benefit customers will help business banks and other industries make an impact with customers.

Jot it down

Writing notes can assist with remembering important dates, keeping track of schedules and planning a budget. That's one of the best aspects of promotional planners – not only do they have a date record, they also offer plenty of space for tracking time and monetary assets.

According to Promotional Product Association International, about one-fourth of all Americans use a calendar or date planner and three times that number appreciate receiving these items as gifts. They serve a practical use as well as being flexible tools, allowing consumers to track a multitude of different elements in their lives in one book. At work or school, with youths and adults, these tools are useful and can be used on a daily basis to assist with routine activities. That's the level of exposure a company wants – when their promotional planners are seen in a number of different places throughout the day, people will gain interest in the business whose logo is printed on the cover.

Having it on-hand

Writing things down at the store, making an entry of money spent or taking down a phone number is impossible without a pen. Banks like to use promotional pens as an advertising agent because they can give them away so easily – consumers come in to make deposits and need something to write the amount on, sign checks and fill out ledgers. Then it's just a simple matter of pocketing the tool and taking it with them.

These items are small, easily carried and inexpensive for businesses to procure, even in large numbers. They can clearly bear any business' logo, come in a variety of colors and styles and are highly visible, according to ePromos. This makes them one of the most popular promotional items a company can invest in, as well as one likely to be passed around and seen by the largest number of people. Similar to planners and pads, these are useful for work or school, can be brought anywhere and are always useful. Keeping track of finances is always easier with a pen handy to make notes, write down expenses or add up receipts. Having something to write on is also necessary, but anything can be a note-taking tool with a promotional pen.

Banks prefer these small, portable, highly effective promotional planners and pen giveaways. Other organizations can experience similar levels of visibility and popularity among customers by giving out these kinds of items. A strong market strategy can help organizations manage their money as well, and promo pens can even be used internally to write down balances and monitor finances.

What's more, the use of a regular health-related item will show other casual viewers that a company has an interest in the care of its customers. This consideration can boost visibility even more when a customer brings a promotional water bottle to work or the gym, where people are likely to see the item and gain interest in the company. The more these items are used, the better a recipient will feel, and the more free advertising a company gets.

There are more items than just bottles and sports-themed giveaways for companies to consider, too. Knowing which will work for you and your customers is crucial to making these initiatives work.

Healthy notes for success

Keeping track of personal records is important for tracking progress, noting problems and improving on past performance. These notes need to be kept in a central place and be easily accessible and quickly updated for personal improvement. Some clinicians use online resources for this purpose, but there are those who prefer to have a physical record that they can look at continually to come up with plans and monitor progress.

That's a great reason to give away promotional planners or notepads, which offer a brand message as well as plenty of space for notes and other records in a timed format. Offering a giveaway that keeps track of dates, helps monitor progress and carries a corporate theme will tie together the need for personal fitness with the interests of an organization. This will also continually remind customers, as well as casual viewers, that the business that handed out the item has an interest in the well-being of its customers. Connecting on such a personal level will ensure that the company becomes part of the family, a valued member of the community and a regular staple of the neighborhood.

A glass of success a day

Keeping promotional items in the kitchen usually means that businesses are looking for cooking utensils that will make an impact in a consumer's drawer. Making regular trips to the dishwasher should mean more than just facilitating a trip from here to there. The experience should continue beyond a momentary preparation step. That's why promotional cups are such a staple of many businesses.

These items are also popular for health reasons, as drinking enough water and getting plenty of water-soluble vitamins like Vitamins C and D and potassium are crucial to personal well-being. When consumers drink protein shakes or other nutritional beverages, they will be reminded of the corporation that supplied the item, according to the San Francisco Chronicle pointed out. That helps reinforce the impact of the organization on the person's perception of health.

It's also beneficial when it comes to viewers outside the home, those who may not be intimately aware of the company whose logo is printed on the side of a promotional mug. Sparking interest and boosting visibility will spread the message that the company is concerned about consumers' health and wellness, as well as a business that values its customers enough to give them tokens of appreciation.

The nice thing about a promotional calendar is that not only will a consumer see it every day, others will also be able to view it regularly as well. Each month provides a new opportunity to advertise the business logo and another of its products or services, or else a company can have the same image every month to reinforce the same corporate message.

Corporations that want to create a unified culture within the workplace can also take the first step with corporate gifts of wall calendars. These will present a consistent vision of employee loyalty throughout the office as each desk will have some business message present in an aesthetic way.

A different advantage

Since a company can totally layout its own calendar design, the options are only limited to what the organization can come up with. A Gather article pointed out that businesses can use these as a way of drawing attention to a specific day or series of events important to the company even without accompanying it with an image, making broader array of planners more appealing for use.

Having a date-keeping tool readily on hand will make consumers and employees associate the business with timeliness and organization, qualities that should be part of the corporate culture and are easily boosted with promotional planners. These can be handed out as workplace incentives or given to existing customers. Businesses can also give them away at conference or public events to draw new clientele and raise awareness of the establishment.

Many design options

Many different aspects can be customized with wall calendars, meaning every part of the consumer experience has the ability to be engineered by careful corporate design choices. Color, images, size and branding choices will affect the way a customer and employee use the item on a regular basis.

Promotional Merchandise Online wrote that balancing these decorating options with the overall function of the item give the promotional calendar the best impact in terms of a giveaway at any event. Viewers both within the organization as well as casual viewers should be able to get some part of the brand's impact just by looking at a well-designed calendar or planner. The company can also specify certain dates, highlighting calls to action when certain events the issuing organization feels are important and can help drive business should be looming. Accountants might consider tax season a prime time to put reminders on their promotional calendars for clients to contact them for assistance, for instance.

Melodika wrote in a recent article that these calendars, apart from being functional, also come in a variety of viewing designs that can make them more appealing to different audiences. Tear away pages, stand-up features and interesting shapes can all make a promotional calendar really stand out on a client's desk or in an employee's work station. These tools are versatile, affordable and will have staying power with recipients who turn to them to plan their everyday and upcoming activities.