Promotional products are fantastic tools for engaging with customers. These items allow companies to provide valuable tools that will market an organization to the recipient as well as her friends, family and coworkers, for as long as the product is in use. Consequently, these devices offer quite a bit of value compared to their relatively low cost.
There is only one thing that can make promotional products more effective as marketing items – attaching team or school spirit to them. Spirit items are essentially branded promotional products that have been re-purposed to also spread the word and increase enthusiasm for a particular group of athletes. Whether at the high school, college or semi-professional level, companies can help to sponsor sporting events, give free marketing materials to people and increase their own levels of brand awareness. Here are some of the best promotional products that can be easily transformed into spirit items.
T-shirts
A custom t-shirt or any other type of promotional apparel is probably the most common personalized marketing tool. These items should be created to support a sports team or university first and foremost, but can also include the name of the company that provided them in a less prominent location. After all – it’s the sports name and logo that draws people in. The logo or brand image of the private business (or businesses) responsible for it are incidental, but can still spread the word about an organization.
Duffel bags
Promotional duffel bags are effective marketing tools simply because there are few people who couldn’t use an extra one at some point in their lives. A free duffel bag can be used for the gym, to take to sporting events, as an in-flight carry-on or simply for long car rides. They provide plenty of space for logos, making it easy to include both a sports team’s insignia and those of one or more private businesses.
Pocket calendars
Unlike national major leagues, most college and minor league sports don’t play regularly enough for people to memorize their schedules. There also aren’t vast media empires constantly reminding people about when the next match is going to be. Consequently, tools that help make this possible are fantastic for raising the spirits of a fan base and providing fodder for promotional images. Pocket calenders can be used often for personal information, but they are likely most valuable to customers when they’ve had a team’s game schedule pre-printed on the appropriate days.
Stress relievers
There are few moments as intense in a person’s life as when a beloved team isn’t doing very well – especially against a bitter rival. A stress reliever is a great way to help take that edge off of fans as well as to remind them about the phenomenal products and services that a certain business makes available. After a few weeks of tense, white-knuckled stress, people will have no trouble remembering a company’s name, image or logo.
Sports bottles
Sports should encourage people to lead more vigorous lives, but many people instead choose to use sports as a way to relax. Help to end the trend of unhealthy sports fans by giving them water bottles printed with their favorite local team’s mascot. This will keep the name of a sponsor or organization in their minds as they consider starting a fitness regimen.