The Swag I Choose

There are days I am literally tripping over samples in my office.   If I’m honest, I’m going to say that happens most days. Ok, every day.  There are boxes and bags and more boxes filled with samples that I need.  They cover the desk and floor, fill up drawers and hide out in the closet.  But they aren’t just in my office. Oh, no. They spread out over the rest of my world too.  The kitchen, bathroom, car, my purse, laundry room, garage.  They.are.everywhere.  But I do it for you,. I need to test and try out all the swag so I can make recommendations to you. See the sacrifices I make for my clients?

Sometimes these get packed up and shipped of to a client that I think will like them or whose brand could benefit from a particular product.  Often they are added to the closet for future use.  Sometimes they end up in file 13 (that would be the trash if you didn’t already know that).  There are also those “keepers” that I can’t bear to stow or give away. The ones that are useful, functional and have a purpose in my life and I keep around.  But, then there are the ones I love. The ones that are so useful they become my “Chosen Few”.  My go-to’s.

In marketing your business and making the decision of what promotional items are going to work well for your logo and brand, either of these last two categories are where you want your swag to end up- The Keepers or The Chosen Few.  If you can keep your name in front of clients & prospects every day, your ROI is going to be greater.  At Barefoot Swag we help you consider your audience, the needs and what swag ideas will work best.  We don’t want you to just have “something to give away”, we want you to have the “right” item to showcase your brand.   The perfect item for your brand and target audience might not be the perfect item for the next person. We will help you look at the options and make that decision.

Here are some of the swag items that have made it to my Chosen Few list that you might want to consider as well:

1. Scissors with Magnetic Holder– these are heavy duty, well made scissors that are perfect for the office or kitchen (where mine reside).  They hang out on the side of the refrigerator so they are handy to open packages, cut string, snip herbs, cut wrapping paper & tape- pretty much anything.  The handles have a gripper to help with stubborn jar or bottle lids.    And I just pop them in the dishwasher to clean them then they slip right back in the magnetic sheath (which offers a larger full color imprint area) and hang out until I need them again.
2. Backpack. I do love my backpacks.  I have this one that is my carry on when I travel and also works perfect as an overnight bag.  Then this one is packed with all the items for a group I volunteer with so I have everything together and can just grab my bag for meetings and know what I need is already in there.  And then one for the car– dog items, first aid kit, hiking items, etc.  One cannot have too many backpacks.
3. Notebooks. I love notebooks even more than backpacks.  We did this one with our logo and I love it so much it sits on my desk and I’m resisting writing in it.  Or this one is the perfect size for desk, home, travel, trade show handouts.  And this one with stone paper is the smoothest writing paper ever.  It is waterproof, tear proof and smudge resistant.  Notebooks are handy for the home, office or car.  No one is going to throw away a notebook so your branding will be seen.
4. Stainless steel bottle and mug.  I am constantly filling up a bottle with water before I leave the house and this one is my favorite.  It keeps the water cold for hours, even if it sits in the hot car.  And the stainless steel doesn’t leave a funky taste.  And for the desk this is the one I grab first.  Even for hiking I use the the double wall stainless steel bottle- I need my water cold!
5. Sling Grip.  I don’t know what I did before this thing. Other than drop my phone a lot. Seriously one of my favorite new swag ideas to come along in a while.
6. I eat at my desk a lot. Two meals a day and sometimes a snack.  This bowl keeps me from overdoing it with portion control.  Veggies and hummus or chips and salsa are staples and  I don’t have to balance multiple containers with this little guy.
7. I love the tech tacos to keep cords organized when traveling, in  my purse, or in a drawer (how do cords get so tangled just relaxing in a drawer).  And this super cute metallic gold one is my current favorite.
8. Another thing I love is wine.  This wine opener is a great custom gift idea and does a fantastic job of quickly opening a bottle.  Pair it with this wine cooler bag for a corporate or holiday gift or even a closing gift.  And a bottle of wine to make it even more personal.
9. I can’t list my favorite things without at least some apparel. I haven’t bought a t shirt is years.  Next Level and Bella + Canvas are two of my favorite all around brands. I have others that I like specific styles or for specific purposes, but my closet holds a lot of these two brands.
10. And last, but not least, a power bank, a.k.a mobile charger. I carry one when I travel and keep one charged all the time in case of a power outage.  This one came in handy a couple weeks ago when I was trying to work using the mobile hotspot on a phone with a quickly dwindling battery.  2200 mAh is enough to charge a smart phone fully once.  This one will charge a tablet or can charge a smart phone multiple times.  There are so many options when it comes to power banks- there are combos with bluetooth speakers, earbuds, ones that will stick to your phone, have a flashlight or the logo lights up.

    I know I’m forgetting something that I will remember as soon as I hit publish!  Let me know what your favorite swag items are.  We love to hear different perspectives on why you like what you do.

    Need help finding the perfect swag ideas for your brand and your budget?  Give us a call or email us today and we will put some ideas together for you.

    sales@barefootswag.com     866-247-4320

    www.barefootswag.com

 

Building A Consistent Look

Building a brand and creating a program or promotion with a consistent look is often difficult.  Finding a variety of products in different price points to coordinate with logo colors, events and even your print marketing is downright impossible sometimes.  And if those items need to have options for both men and ladies the choices dwindle down even further.

That is why we love the Duet Collection of products. These items are stunning and absolutely impressive (don’t let the PVC material deter you).   With a variety of colors and styles to choose from, we add your debossed logo for a subtle message and elegant look.  Either the  rectangular tote or the more casual tote make beautiful, upscale swag bags, meeting gifts or speaker gifts.  The business card holders and stash tray are reasonably priced gift items that work for both men and women, yet still have a high perceived value.  My personal favorite is the large carryall tote which has so many uses- from carry on bag to business bag to giant purse, this bag is awesome.

The wine tote makes an elegant table favor, room drop gift or closing gift for Real Estate Agents- fill it with a favorite bottle of wine or other beverage of choice.  An excellent choice for gift with purchase, room drop gift or swag bag option is the cosmetic bag.  The luggage tag is small enough to use in a direct mail piece to convention attendees, travel agents or as a swag item at trade shows.

While any of these items can stand alone, the coordinating colors and styles make it possible to combine multiple items for a truly impactful promotion, giveaway or gift.  Or for a long term promotion, select a few items in the same colors to use over a period of time, building on the theme and colors to create a matching set.  And if you need gift boxes or other packaging we can add that as well to really add the wow factor to your swag.

If you want to create an item (or set) to match your corporate colors, let us know- we can discuss what will be necessary to turn your exact colors into stunning promotional swag.

sales@barefootswag.com       866-247-4320

http://www.barefootswag.com