Sometimes it’s the product. Sometimes it comes with the product. Sometimes it’s free. Sometimes it’s part of the package. Branded items turn up everywhere — handed to trade show delegates, gifted to loyal customers, used daily in offices, worn by sports fans or sent out with merch bundles. Packed with your products, items like stickers and free gifts enhance the unboxing experience, creating a special moment your recipient will want to share.
Whatever way they reach their audience, it’s the well-chosen, well-planned promotional items that leave a lasting impression. The trick is picking the right ones. We’ve assembled a line-up of practical and appealing items that won’t be tossed in a drawer — or worse, the bin. Here are 10 that get used, seen and remembered.
1. T-shirts
Your budget?: £££
Best for: Teamwear, selling your own designs, staff uniform, content creators, brand awareness
You are: A sports club/society, designer, events co-ordinator, franchise operator, content creator, marketing manager
Pros: Worn repeatedly, visible branding, widely understood as merch
Cons: Higher unit cost, sizing considerations
Been there, done that, got the T-shirt. When a phrase like that catches on, it’s never by chance. The idea that a simple garment can carry a message, mark an occasion or signal allegiance is now second nature.
Some trace the origins of the branded T-shirt to the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, where Emerald City residents wore vivid green tops with “OZ” appliqued across the chest — made striking by the saturated hues of glorious Technicolor. So why not harness some of that Hollywood magic to express your message?
Go-to Tees for content creators
From YouTubers to podcasters, merch-funded content is everywhere. T-shirts offer your followers a way to show their support and keep your brand front of mind. “Buy a T-shirt, it really helps the channel” is a common call-to-action, and fans are often happy to support with a wearable display of loyalty.
Uniform with a purpose
If your team is customer-facing, custom T-shirts help identify staff, reinforce your brand and add polish to your presentation. They help customers feel confident in who they’re speaking to while extending the visibility of your identity.
Merch for music, sport and fandom
T-shirts travel. Whether it’s a club crest, tour date or catchphrase, your supporters become walking adverts. Bands, sports clubs and IP franchises all know the value of wearable merch that goes beyond the event.
A platform for designers
Got a great idea or a strong illustration style? Platforms like Redbubble, Etsy or TeePublic let you monetise your designs and reach a wider audience. Creative professionals and hobbyists alike can add value by turning their art into something tangible and desirable.
Options for activewear and sustainability
If you’re kitting out a team or running a gym, slim-fit activewear offers a comfortable and functional option. And if you’re prioritising sustainability, recycled T-shirts deliver eco-conscious credentials without compromising print quality.
Psst, secret hack: unless you’re a well known aspirational brand, you might want to create a stylish design in order to get your T-shirt into their regular rotation, like our customer Ancoats Guitars.
2. Mugs
Cost/Outlay: ££
Best for: Trade show giveaways, internal use, gift-with-purchase, charity campaigns
You are: A workplace team, event organiser, content creator, charity or cause-led organisation
Pros: Practical, long lifespan, highly visible
Cons: Fragile, heavier to ship
If you can get someone to adopt your mug as their “work mug”, you’ll have earned a place in their daily routine — one that can last for months or even years. It’s a simple but powerful way to stay visible.
Branded mugs come in a wide range of styles, sizes and materials, making them one of the most adaptable options in your promotional mix.
A solid giveaway and more
- Trade show friendly: practical, portable and easy to pop into swag bags for delegates to take home.
- In the workplace: support hydration and coffee breaks while quietly building brand recognition and team unity.
Mugs as merch
They also work well as souvenir merchandise for attractions and destinations, offering a tactile reminder that’s useful and collectable.
Much like T-shirts, branded cups and mugs have long been a mainstay of branded merchandise for creators, clubs and causes. Whether you’re a band, a venue, a sports team or a channel looking to monetise your following, mugs offer a dependable canvas for your logos, quotes and inside jokes.
Novel-tea
As a resale item, mugs invite creativity. If you can land a decent pun or an eye-catching illustration, your mug could become a talking point. Think Etsy-worthy designs — the kind that make someone smile and ask, “Where did you get that?”
We explored some funny printed mugs on Etsy that show just how engaging this format can be — a great starting point if you’re planning to design and sell your own.
Nice cuppa, good cause
If you’re a charity, or your company is getting involved with a good cause, mugs present an opportunity to raise funds while keeping the cause visible in everyday settings. These mugs created for Lady McAdden Breast Cancer Trust helped spread awareness and support a vital message, all through a simple item people use every day.
Psst, secret hack: add sweets, sachets or small samples to create a mini-hamper!
3. Bags
Cost/Outlay: ££
Best for: Retailers, schools, clubs, trade events, environmental messaging
You are: A shop owner, school, charity, festival organiser, exhibitor
Pros: Sustainable, reusable, visible in public, practical
Cons: Requires thoughtful design, quality matters
There’s a huge range of promotional bags to explore. If you’re a purveyor of top-quality or organic produce, a stiff branded jute carrier gives off the perfect vibe. If you’re off to a tech conference, branded neoprene laptop pouches are smart and protective. For retailers, exhibitors and ambitious brands, a tote is a triple threat: on trend, sustainable, and the perfect canvas for your design.
For internal use
Branded bags inspire confidence and cohesion from dressing room to board room. If you’re looking to foster pride in your school, college or sports clubs, kit bags in your colours draw the team together. Conference bags will give your sales team a polished presence during expos and client visits.
Out and about
Externally, bags help your brand travel. Retailers benefit from sending customers back out into the world carrying their logo. At trade shows or events, they can serve a dual purpose — containing giveaways while promoting your brand on the move.
Eco expectations
While expos were once awash with plastic carriers, today’s expectations are different. Environmental optics matter, and many trade show venues now require or recommend eco-conscious materials like cotton, jute or calico.
A bag is for life…
Bags for life are perhaps the most familiar format for branded bags — durable, reusable and often spotted in supermarket queues. Since 5 October 2015, large retailers in England have been legally required to charge for single-use plastic bags, helping usher in an era where sturdy, reusable bags became the norm. A “bag for life” can take many forms — from heavy-duty jute to foldaway fabric — all offering strong print potential and repeated exposure for your brand.
The tote trend
The humble tote dominates the scene right now. Examples from brands like the V&A, the New York Times or Penguin Books have trended hard, becoming must-have items that signal intellect, taste or social awareness. While you might not have the cultural clout of these brands, injecting the right blend of aspiration and sophistication might see your tote design showing up in all the right places.
Psst, secret hack: why hand out an empty bag when you can pre-load it with a flyer, voucher or an additional promo item?
4. Water bottles
Cost/Outlay: ££
Best for: Health and fitness brands, sports clubs, merch sellers, eco-led campaigns
You are: A personal trainer, gym owner, school, eco-conscious business
Pros: Useful, repeat exposure, positive associations
Cons: Bulky to ship, printing method affects durability
We all know we’re supposed to be drinking plenty of water, so helping colleagues, clients and customers with a handy branded bottle is the right thing to do. From simple flip-top bidons to Instagrammable stainless steel Stanley Cups, there are plenty of opportunities to align your communication with their hydration.
Spouting off
When you need to keep a lid on it, these are the options you might want to consider:
- Push-pull spouts are favoured by sporty types, and dominate both the pitch and the peloton.
- Flip-tops are also popular among athletes who prefer a flick of the thumb to a quick toothy tug.
- Screw-cap bottles and twist-on, twist-off lids offer more security for those with two hands free.
Choose to infuse
For a sports bottle with a twist, you could print your message on an infuser bottle, letting your audience create their own invigorating beverages. The easy-access infuser section twists off along with the base so you can load up with fruit and clean up easily when you’re done.
Materials
Plastic often gets a bad rap, so if you’re going down this route, consider using recycled or recyclable options. Prevented Ocean Plastic is a great option — material recovered from within 50km of coastlines and waterways, helping to stop it from entering the ecosystem.
For outdoor types like hikers and climbers, aluminium screw-cap bottles are a solid choice — lightweight, thermally efficient and secure. Stainless steel bottles are heavier but prized for durability, one of the key selling points behind the Stanley Cup phenomenon…
The Stanley phenomenon
These tumblers blew up on TikTok and Instagram as the cup of choice for influencers. You can read our blog about their rise. Available to engrave, Stanley Cups offer an opportunity to align your brand with one of the most visible hydration trends of the moment.
Psst, secret hack: pre-fill and pre-chill! Being sure to observe food safety legislation, you can give out a refreshing drink with your bottle.
5. Hats and headwear
Cost/Outlay: ££
Best for: Uniforms, giveaways, merch, fan engagement, sports events
You are: A sports team, brand manager, music promoter, festival organiser
Pros: High visibility, worn in public, all-season formats
Cons: Sizing can vary, some styles are trend-dependent
What better place to keep your brand at the front of their minds than at the front of their heads? Printed or embroidered headwear is a great way to top off a staff uniform or give fans and followers a visible way to show support. Whatever the season, there are plenty of styles available, ready to be emblazoned with your message.
Caps for all occasions
Whether it’s a baseball cap or trucker cap, these styles offer a natural forward facing panel for your branding. They’re ideal for casual uniforms, giveaways or merch, and have long played a role in everything from product launches to political campaigns. A sea of matching caps in the crowd always signals an enthusiastic level of support.
Visors for your vision
For fitness brands, health clubs and outdoor attractions, sun visors strike the right balance between function and visibility. Branded visors for staff offer a clear sign of presence so they stay recognisable and approachable at all times.
On-brand on-site with embroidered beanies
Beanies are great for industries like construction, where workers are outdoors even in the cooler months. Teams will welcome the warmth while appearing professional and cohesive. Off the clock, they make great accessories for bands and brands beloved by the skater or surfer crowd.
Bucket hats and festival flair
Bucket hats have a playful summer vibe that plays perfectly at festivals and outdoor events. They’re ideal for merch stalls — especially for attendees who underestimated the sunshine or anyone who wants to take away a memento of their day.
Psst, secret hack: keep track of your headcount with different coloured hats to indicate roles like crew, security or volunteers.
6. Pens
Cost/Outlay: £
Best for: Trade shows, office supplies, giveaways, mass distribution
You are: A marketer, startup, training provider, event sponsor
Pros: Low cost, practical, easily distributed
Cons: Not always kept long-term unless well made or designed
When we visited the Your Business Expo in Milton Keynes, we asked dozens of attendees what kind of swag they loved collecting at trade shows. The most popular answer, by a huge margin, was the humble pen.
It’s no mystery why. Pens are light, useful and remarkably good at sticking around. Whether they end up in a pocket, a pencil case or a communal pot at reception, branded pens get picked up, passed on and put to work.
The write choice
Pens are ideal for trade shows, but they’re equally suited to internal use, from front-desk stationery to branded supplies for staff. They’re compact, affordable and practical, making them one of the most cost-effective promotional tools available.
Styles and materials
Plastic corporate or promotional pens remain the most common choice, but metal pens offer a more premium feel, particularly when paired with engraving. So, if you’re involved with construction or safety, a plastic pen in hi-viz orange or yellow will look the part. Alternatively, if you operate in the financial or legal sectors, a metal pen might feel more weighty and appropriate.
There are also eco-conscious options like the cardboard pens, which use recycled materials while still providing a comfortable writing experience. Ideal if your brand has a clear environmental mission, or you simply want to show that you’re making considered choices.
Colours and finishes
Plastic and coated metal pens are typically available in a wide range of colours, making it easier to find a match that aligns with your brand palette. If your brand uses a specific and recognisable shade, it’s worth reviewing the available colour swatches early in the selection process.
Print locations
Most pens offer two main print areas: the barrel or the clip.
- The barrel, which provides the largest canvas, ideal for bolder logos or longer messages. See examples among our Promotional Pens range.
- The clip, which can be used for subtle branding or supporting text such as a web address, as seen in our corporate pen range.
Print methods
There are several options when it comes to applying your design:
- Engraving: Best suited to metal pens, engraving cuts through the coloured coating to reveal the base metal beneath, often resulting in a refined, understated effect. It works best for wordmarks or short text.
- Pad printing: A good fit for logos in one or two colours. Pad printing doesn’t support gradients or photographic imagery, so bold vector artwork is recommended.
- Screen printing: Ideal for full-colour designs, screen printing works especially well on white plastic pens, where colours stay vivid and legible.
Psst, secret hack: pair pens with a branded notebook or notepad as a more useful and substantial gift.
7. Power banks and wireless chargers
Cost/Outlay: £££
Best for: Premium gifting, internal staff use, event handouts for VIPs
You are: A tech brand, training provider, event sponsor, employer with remote teams
Pros: Extremely useful, long retention, seen daily
Cons: Higher budget, slower production turnaround
A truism has clearly emerged as we’ve discussed promotional products: the more useful the item, the more staying power it has. While they may not spring to mind immediately, power banks and wireless chargers are immensely useful. Get some printed up, and you can expect them to display your message to grateful users whenever they need a boost.
Power banks
Power banks are an item that most recipients will treasure — a neat backstop when you run out of juice on the go. They come in a variety of shapes, sizes and power ratings. With ample opportunity for printing, your branding will be plain to see when the power bank saves the day.
Wireless chargers
Similarly, wireless chargers are a great canvas for a logo or graphic, plus the nature of the device means they’ll always be somewhere convenient, like a desk or a nightstand, keeping your message on permanent display.
Psst, secret hack: these items are so damn useful, they’ll become targets for office pilferers! Offer personalised print eg. “Stolen from Jane!”
8. Notebooks and notepads
Cost/Outlay: ££
Best for: Meetings, onboarding packs, giveaways, internal stationery
You are: A business owner, HR lead, training provider, charity, B2B marketer
Pros: Practical, durable, great surface area for branding
Cons: Paper preferences vary, not always carried on the go
Another customisable promo product that your audience will thank you for. Somewhere to jot down ideas, sketches and to-do lists. What’s the difference between a notepad and a notebook? Well, we class a notepad as a glued, stapled or wirobound pad, and a notebook as something with a hard cover, but we’re not too strict about it. Both options let you display branding on the cover and provide reams of room for recipients to take notes.
Notebooks
Hardcover notebooks offer a more substantial feel and a longer lifespan. They’re ideal for meetings, client gifts or branded stationery that feels a touch more premium. You can browse our range of branded notebooks here.
Notepads
Notepads are a cost-effective option for giveaways, internal use or inclusion in welcome packs. Easy to produce in bulk and simple to brand, they’re great for day-to-day utility. View our selection of custom notepads here.
Page formats
For inside pages, you can go with lined, grid or blank depending on your target audience. You can even mix it up with a combination of the three for maximum versatility.
Psst, secret hack: Take advantage of the fact that you can customise each page by adding inspirational quotes, useful advice, conversion table or some subtle branding.
9. Stickers
Cost/Outlay: £
Best for: Packaging, giveaways, e-commerce, campaign materials
You are: A maker, brand builder, digital seller, events organiser
Pros: Low cost, fun to use, adds personality
Cons: Not permanent, small surface area
A firm favourite across sectors and generations, stickers are fun, versatile and surprisingly effective. Whether you’re promoting a product, embellishing packaging or adding value to a giveaway, a well-designed sticker can go a long way.
A treat in the box
Sending out products to customers? Throw in a branded sticker as a surprise. It’s far more fun than just finding an invoice, and you never know where it might end up. From laptops to lunchboxes, stickers tend to travel. It’s also a great way of enhancing the unboxing experience.
Custom shape stickers
Modern laser cutting technology means you’re no longer limited to basic shapes. Custom shape sticker sheets let you break free from the circle, square or rectangle — offering more distinctive, design-led forms that match your identity.
Foil stickers
Add a flash of glamour with foil stickers. Whether you go gold, silver, glitter or holographic, a shiny surface can make your design pop and bring perceived value to the packaging or product it’s applied to.
How to design stickers
If you’re unsure how to prepare your artwork, our step-by-step guide covers everything you need to know — from bleed and resolution to supplying vector files for cut lines.
Individuals, sheets or rolls?
Stickers can be supplied in several formats depending on your needs. Individual stickers are ideal for giveaways, especially when you’re adding one per pack. Sheets are efficient for mid-sized runs, while rolls are best for larger quantities and automated application. You can even specify orientation to make peeling and sticking easier, or to suit your labelling machine.
Psst, secret hack: with the right sticker, practically anything becomes a promo product. A toolbox? A frisbee? Slap a sticker on it and it’s branded in an instant.
10. Beer mats
Cost/Outlay: £
Best for: Bars, events, giveaways, QR code placements, inserts
You are: A brewery, brand activator, charity, venue, marketing team
Pros: Affordable, memorable, great print area
Cons: Shorter lifespan, not suitable for all industries or audiences
And finally… don’t write off the humble beer mat. It ticks a lot of boxes for a promotional product: useful, low-cost, endearing and synonymous with good times. If you’re in hospitality, you’ll be no stranger to a branded beermat or coaster, but even beyond the beverage, they’re great at soaking up attention.
Not just for hospitality
While traditionally associated with pubs and breweries, beer mats have potential far beyond the licensed trade. For all kinds of businesses and organisations, they work like a flyer with staying power — pocketable, practical and likely to stick around as a quirky coaster on desks or coffee tables.
Surprisingly affordable
Printed beer mats can cost as little as 4p each in larger runs, making them a smart choice for high-volume giveaways or inserts where cost per unit matters.
Round or square?
Beer mats typically come in two shapes: round or square. Both feature a generous print area and plenty of space for messaging or design-led branding. The format you choose can help reinforce the look and feel you’re going for.
Don’t forget the B-side
While you can save a little on time and budget with single-sided printing, double-sided beer mats are the better option. They’re made to be flipped, so why waste the opportunity? You could repeat your message on both sides, or use the reverse for additional details. That’s ideal for when you’re using them as a kind of ‘super-flyer’, with a bold hook on one side and follow-up info on the other.
Psst, secret hack: for added collectability and interest, why not print multiple designs that create an image when put together like tiles?
Final thoughts
If you’re just starting out and want maximum visibility on a shoestring, go for low-cost, high-impact options like stickers, pens or beer mats. These formats are easy to distribute, memorable and cost-effective at scale.
For mid-range campaigns, especially if you’re exhibiting at events or assembling merch bundles, look at mugs, notepads, water bottles and hats. These offer daily-use value while providing a generous canvas for your brand.
And if you want to make a bigger splash, T-shirts, power banks, notebooks and wireless chargers bring staying power, premium feel and a chance to show your audience you’ve thought it through.
Choose wisely, design with care and keep your audience in mind. Because when promo products work, they don’t just get noticed — they get kept.
