8 Trends for Promotional Products in 2021
Don't Overlook These 8 Hot Trends for Branded Merchandise
Trends come and go—but these eight trends have been making a huge impact for the past year or so—and looking to make a larger impact in branded merchandise for 2021.
1. Smaller Qty, Better Quality: One of the most noticeable trends we’ve been seeing is that clients have been ordering fewer gifts, but choosing higher quality ones instead. For example, we had a client that usually orders 5,000 branded charging cables at a time for handouts and direct mail. Last week, they hosted their own virtual conference and ordered 265 branded tech kits (power banks, earbuds and stereos) that they are having us ship out to each client that participated in their 4-hour virtual meeting.
2. Direct Drop Shipping: As employees continue to work at home and with customers making fewer, if any, personal sales calls, we have been shipping gifts directly to each employees’ or client’s home. Out of sight should not mean out of mind.
3. Kitting: We have created more custom kits for clients than anytime that I can recall in my 35+ years in the industry. This would include specially curated kits, a variety of items packed and kitted together, and even head-to-toe apparel kits (golf cap, hoodie, t-shirt, sweatpants, socks and custom printed tennis shoes).
4. Custom Packaging: Since there have been fewer personal contacts, clients are asking for more of a branded experience. We have been creating full color mailer boxes with foam inserts, wood boxes, lunch boxes and more to better showcase a client’s brand – and to make the experience more memorable when they receive their branded merch.
5. Retail Brand Names: Client’s have been asking to co-brand with national retail brands—so we have responded with such brands as Herschel, Osprey and OGIO promotional backpacks as well as Carhartt, Skullcandy, Camelbak, Moleskine, Nike, Thule, Coleman, Anker, Igloo, The North Face and many more.
6. Personalization: It is one thing to get a branded gift; it is an entirely different feeling when the gift ALSO has your own name personalized onto it. We have added over 200 more gifts that can be individually personalized with each person’s name. This trend is only getting hotter.
7. Custom Product Design: For the past 25 years we have created custom molded and custom designed electronics and bags. Over the past few years, we have added custom created apparel—from jackets to polos to create a one-of-a-kind gift option.
8. Sustainability: Becoming more environmentally-friendly has become a trend that I can definitely get behind. We have seen a huge increase in the use recycled materials and fabrics made from water bottles (RPET)—on everything from backpacks and apparel to the growing use of bamboo on phone chargers and audio equipment
As the branding and marketing industry are starting to rebound from a slower 2020, I hope these trends can be useful to you.
Let me know how I can help in any other way for any of your branded merch and swag needs.
Happy Promoting!
