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If you're looking for a great promotional product for your business, you can start with a true standard of giveaways - promotional keyrings. Keyrings are second in the list of most popular forms of promotional merchandise, beaten to the top only by promotional pens. This makes them a big seller here at Total Merchandise.
So why exactly were key rings invented? Well, the earliest documentation of keys was over 3,000 years ago in Ancient Egypt. Egyptians realised they needed some sort of security for their homes and created a basic locking system for security purposes. For some, this was just a wooden peg, whilst others created a bolt. These were the fundamental building blocks for the locks and keys we have now. The Roman's had a go at creating a lock next, using bronze and iron to create their designs. However, whilst they were similar to the locks and keys we have now, any key would fit any lock. There were no complex procedures to stop thieves if you had the same lock you would be able to use your key. This was the same right up until the Seventeenth Century.
In the Seventeenth Century, a man called Robert Barron manufactured the first ever double lock. These were adapted by several other companies right up until the locks we have today. However, there was still no need for key rings at this point. People only started to use key rings as they started to have more keys which needed to be kept together. This meant key rings or split keys, were created in 1922 by G Herluf Johnson. It was originally just a small ring which holds keys together. Whilst we consider them now to be very simple, back then they were considered a sign of wealth and everyone wanted one.
Not long after this, in the 1950s and 1960s, people started adding other accessories to their key rings, creating key fobs. Following the Second World War, plastic manufacturing techniques improved, so key fobs became more prominent. From then on, they were used more and more as a way of promoting a business. They have developed even further since then, some key rings are multi-purpose doubling as a bottle opener, torch and even USB Memory Sticks!
Keyrings are very popular promotional products, as they combine being useful with branding and provide longevity of brand awareness. We have a wide selection of key rings so for any advice on what's best for your marketing campaign, just give us a call.
