By gsoskey@hubspot.com (Ginny Mineo)

Research shows that company swag can be a highly effective tool for boosting engagement. In fact, in one recent study, 61% of survey respondents agreed that promotional products help build brand awareness, and 58% reported that they loved getting swag.

That being said, through my experience as the head of marketing at two different tech companies, I’ve found that not all swag is equally well-received. What does it take to make sure that you invest in creating swag that people will actually like?

In this article, I’ll start by explaining what company swag is and how to order it, and then I’ll dive into some of my favorite ideas for company swag.

What is Company Swag?

Broadly speaking, “swag” refers to any kind of gift or product that companies give away for free in order to drive engagement and brand awareness.

In many cases, swag is used as a sales tool. For example, giving gifts to clients can be a great way to make sure existing customers feel valued — and to keep your brand top-of-mind. Similarly, many companies give out small, branded items such, as pens or pencils, to prospective customers at conferences or other events.

However, swag isn’t just a sales tool. Another important application of company swag is as a tool for retention and employee engagement.

Whether as a welcome gift for new employees, a holiday gift for an entire team, or a congratulations gift for team members who’ve reached an anniversary milestone, giving employees swag helps them feel appreciated.

Plus, if the swag is something they can use or wear in their day-to-day lives — like a water bottle or hoodie with your company’s logo — it allows them to serve as ambassadors of the company wherever they go.

How to Order Swag

Clearly, company swag can be hugely valuable — but it’s also easy to get it wrong. Specifically, when it comes to ordering swag, it’s vital to make sure to consider the budget you can afford to invest, the quantity of swag items you’ll need, the best vendors to work with, and the lead time it’ll take.

Budget

The first important consideration to keep in mind is budget. While you may be tempted to launch straight into designing and ordering your swag, I’ve learned firsthand that it’s critical to start by making sure you know how much you can spend on the project.

In some organizations, there is already an established budget for swag, whether on a monthly or annual basis. That said, even if the budget is set, it’s still essential to avoid making assumptions: I recommend getting explicit approval for the exact amount you plan to spend to avoid running into problems or misaligned expectations down the line.

In other cases, there may not be a predefined budget. For example, I worked with a startup that had never ordered swag before, so my boss wasn’t sure how much we should be spending on it.

If you don’t have …read more

Source:: HubSpot Blog

Author: Aaron