To younger generations, swag is slang for self-assurance and style. To others, it’s a burglar’s loot or a synonym for “sag”. In business, though, swag takes on a very different meaning and is something every brand should get behind.
Swag means “something we all get”. It’s the promotional merchandise dished out at events and conferences—branded apparel and tools designed to enhance visibility and loyalty.
If you can get your brand on something that consumers use regularly, they become walking billboards for your business, all for the price of a simple product.
Custom swag bags and promotional items are commonplace at trade shows and events, dished out with the nonchalance of grocery store samples. Many of these samples—cheap pens, notebooks, and poorly made apparel—are stuffed in bags and left unwanted at hotel rooms or dumped in the trash.
Good custom promotional swag, however, makes it beyond the event, out of the city, and into the consumer’s home. The difference between forgotten swag and useful swag often comes down to quality and durability.
Custom business swag isn’t just for trade shows and events. Companies dish out swag to promote new products or spread their message. It may include a small, branded notebook with all e-commerce orders or a free branded power bank on all new service contracts, for example.
Some promotional items transcended simple swag and became sought-after products in their own right. Hard Rock Café tees were initially designed to promote the brand before becoming a must-have fashion item. IKEA’s blue bags were a cost-effective and practical way for shoppers to transport goods, but they also became fashionable.
If your brand is strong and you create custom corporate swag using original designs and premium products, you’ll have something that people aren’t just happy to receive, but will go out of their way to get.
The best marketing strategies are ones that spread organically. There’s usually an initial outlay, but then the message spreads, the conversation starts, and before long, thousands are seeing your brand every day, and you’re not paying for any of it.
That’s the power of custom swag for businesses. You pay for the design, the product, and the marketing, but you don’t pay every time someone uses a branded pen or wears a branded hoodie, yet they continue to spread your message.
Custom business swag gets your brand out there. It puts your name and logo in front of more prospective customers.
The more touchpoints a consumer has with your brand, the more likely they are to buy. And if they’re walking around a conference, encountering people carrying your branded bags and wearing your branded apparel, they’ll have those touchpoints before they even reach your booth.
Freebies are a great way of rewarding loyalty, but they also strengthen that loyalty and could encourage customers to spend even more. They reciprocate. You show them appreciation for staying loyal, they show you appreciation for giving them a freebie, and the cycle continues.
Giving your employees custom swag bags will keep them locked into the company’s values and culture. It improves brand cohesion, rewards hard work, and ensures employees continue to promote your brand even after they clock out for the day.
There is no hard and fast rule for custom swag. Many companies make a beeline for pens, notebooks, and tote bags, as that seems to be the norm, especially during promotional events. But while these items can work, the most effective custom swag is the things that no one else is offering, and the things that consumers actually need.
No one needs another low-quality tee with a garish brand emblazoned across the front. They’ll accept it graciously, but it’ll then disappear into the back of a drawer, along with countless other unwanted branded apparel.
The best custom swag apparel features subtle but clear branding and focuses on comfort, style, and durability above all else.
Power banks are ideal for trade shows and events. Brand them, charge them, and hand them out—you’ll save consumers in a pinch, and they’ll remember you while they’re charging their devices.
Quality stationery, webcam covers, and other useful items also make great promotional swag. Think less about how cheap the product is and how big you can make your logo, and more about whether the item is actually useful.
Custom corporate swag bags are curated collections of items given to prospective/loyal customers or employees, usually at conferences and events. They show gratitude, reward loyalty, and increase brand exposure, but only if they hit the right notes:
Clearly, usefulness is key when it comes to custom swag for companies. So, what does that actually mean in specific contexts, and how can you find useful items for your custom swag bags?
It’s better to give one consumer a $30 hoodie than 30 consumers $1 tees. The former should be comfortable, durable, and understated; it’ll find its place in their regular rotation, and they’ll be your walking billboard. With the latter, some will be trashed, others will be repurposed, and the rest will never see the light of day.
You want something that recipients will use alongside or in place of unbranded items, so make sure it’s retail quality.
In today’s fashion-obsessed society, no one wants to wear a hoodie with a massive, printed logo of a local dental surgery or trucking company. But if the design is simple and limited to an embroidered logo on the sleeve, they’ll happily wear it.
Adapt your branding to suit the product. The more visible the item is, the less visible the branding should be. So, minimal branding is best for clothing, but you can go all-out for power banks and chargers.
Just because you renovate kitchens or bake cupcakes doesn’t mean you can’t give away branded apparel. Brand alignment is more about avoiding major missteps, tweaking the design, and looking for better alternatives.
So, if you sell healthy drinks and promote eco-friendly practices, consider durable drinkware (paper straws, metal tumblers), bamboo clothing, and sprout pencils as opposed to plastic pens and polyester tees.
Creativity pays when it comes to custom swag. Oftentimes, you’re dealing with individuals who have received countless swag bags and are hard to impress. If they see something new and unique, it’ll stand out. At the same time, it needs to be practical to leave a lasting impression.
Mini-branded tabletop games are a great example. They’ll generate interest at conferences and keep attendees busy at lunchtime and during networking events. They’ll also take those items home to play with friends and family members.
At Foxtrot Marketing, we can help you find, design, and distribute custom swag, and we can also launch company swag stores to sell your merchandise. We work with you to find the perfect items and create the infrastructure needed to manufacture, distribute, and sell.
Check our case studies to see how we’ve helped previous partners or contact us to learn more.
Custom swag is branded items often used for promotional purposes and given away at events and conferences.
Stationery, drinkware, and apparel are some of the most common custom promotional swag.
You can work with printers/producers and distributors, or contact Foxtrot Marketing and let us do all of the work for you.