Summer doesn’t officially begin until mid-June, but Memorial Day always feels like the traditional kickoff to summer with kids out of school and the days getting warmer. And as the temperatures go up, people go outside.
Whether it’s to keep kids entertained or to take advantage of longer daylight hours, you’ll find people at the pool, the beach, the mountains, sporting events, concerts, and festivals. One thing these all have in common is that they tend to bring together large groups of people. And large groups of people are an opportunity to promote your business to a (relatively) captive audience through promotional items.
Promotional options are almost endless and range from smaller items that people can wear or carry to larger items that have more real estate space to promote your brand. A lot of summer promo items are budget-friendly in nature, which makes it an affordable way to appeal to current and potential customers while also advertising your business to an audience around them.
If you’re trying to get the most bang for your marketing buck, look for promo items that are affordable, practical, and convenient for people to use. Bonus points for something unique that they can use but don’t already have! If your promo item is large enough, it won’t just be the user that gets impressions of your brand, it will be everyone else around them too.
Two of my favorites that are great for brand awareness, budget friendly, and perfect for traveling and going to events are collapsible water bottles and fold-up handheld fans. Almost everyone probably has a water bottle, and probably a fan too, but these versions are more functional because they can be folded down and fit into a small bag or clear tote, and they are both GREAT things to have when it is hot outside. I’ve had countless people ask where I got these items (because they want one too!) when I’m out at sporting events and festivals, which means people are seeing your brand when they’re seeing the promo item.
The cheaper lightweight folding water bottles actually give you more artwork space to include your logo and business information, but there are nicer collapsible and origami silicone bottles available too that have logo placement on the lid.
For handheld fans, you can always order cheaper heavy weight paper ones that are intended more for one-time use, but we recommend ones with nylon material that fold out into a fan – it takes up less space, has a similar amount of space for brand promotion, and is way more durable for a minimal increase in cost. Choosing a durable option that takes up a minimal amount of space provides your customer with a fan they can get multiple uses out of, increasing your brand impressions. If you want to splurge you can do battery powered handheld fans or neck fans that are hands free, but they will cost more per piece and have limited space for adding your logo.
If you adhere to a ‘bigger is better’ philosophy for your promo items, things like umbrellas, towels, and sunshades for cars are practical and give you a lot of space to promote your business – making for highly visible brand advertising.
Anyone who has been outside too long or gotten into a car that’s been sitting out in triple digit temperatures can appreciate having something on hand that will help keep them cooler. There are a ton of options to choose from on broadstrokepromos.com, including umbrellas in all assorted colors and sizes and sunshades not just for the front windshield of a car but also for side and rear windows too.
Hats, sunglasses, and koozies are also great promo options because people often lose these items, give them to others, or like to have multiples on hand so they can store one in each place they might have use for it, like a car or a tote bag for the pool or the beach, so they don’t have to worry about misplacing items when transferring them where they might need them.
If you’re ordering these for regular use by employees there are high quality options that will stand up over the test of time. There are also plenty of budget-friendly options to use for giveaways.
Small consumable items can be a beneficial place to start if you want to explore doing a summer promotional item. Things like sunscreen, hand sanitizer, and lip balm are things people will inevitably use. Promo sizes are travel friendly and often come with carabiners or clips, making them perfect for attaching to carry-on bags, clear totes for events, and pool and beach bags.
These items are all budget-friendly, but the downside is that once they’re used up, they’re thrown away, and the packaging is small so the person who is using it is going to make up most of your brand impressions.
No matter your budget or your promotional preference, there are plenty of options available to help build awareness of your business during the hot and active summer months. Visit broadstrokepromos.com/summer to see some of the most popular items or reach out to our promo team at promoinfo@broadstrokeinc.com if you’d like help putting together a plan for your summer promotional budget.
