Whether it's fashion, art or beauty... consumers are always following trends, and even more importantly creating trends. Promotional Merchandise is no different, our customers create trends, and other customers follow suit. We're almost half way into 2014 and some big trends have come about in the promotional merchandise world. For you followers out there, keep an eye out on these two top trends for your upcoming campaigns.
Brands who send out the same branded gifts or promotional items year after year will start to appear dull in the eyes of their customers and clients. No matter what business sector you are in, you can always find a way to mix it up and add a little excitement to your corporate gifts.
The world is going green. We've seen this trend creeping up over the past couple of years, but now it is in its peak. Everyone, businesses and customers, corporate giants and family owned retailers, they all have one thing in common and that is that they want to be more environmentally friendly. No-one wants to be left behind on this trend as it can be seen to affect your brands reputation if you're not telling consumers that you care about the environment and you want to improve your environmental sustainability. Promotional merchandise is a great way to promote this new found love of the world to your customers and clients. We do everything from jute shopper bags and recycled plastic pencils to wooden USB sticks.
It has also become apparent to us that in 2014, people want to have more fun. Maybe this was a new years resolution? But we have seen a huge trend in businesses ordering gifts that are much more fun for the consumer. It's a great brand tactic to follow this trend as your customers will see you as more approachable, and can take to talking about you like a friend as opposed to a corporate business. Fun promotional items are also more likely to be memorable for the consumers... which company would you remember most – the one that gave you a branded pen or the one that gave you a branded frisbee?
Remember that it's not just us that need to be aware of these trends. Every business can use their analytics to find out more information about what their customer wants, what they are doing, and where they might be heading. You can use this to your advantage and use your findings to choose a promotional item that starts a new trend in your industry.