10 Branded Merchandise Ideas for Extra Income

Many brands now rely on digital advertising for their marketing needs. As a result, the global digital advertising and marketing market is expected to grow to $786.2 billion by 2026.

However, this hasn’t made offline marketing tactics, like branded merchandise, obsolete. Promotional products still offer high ROIs due to their effect on the public. In fact, 85% of people who receive promo items remember the brand that gave them out.

Branded merchandise like Bluetooth speakers, flash drives, keychains, and other swag are at first an investment. But if you choose the right promotional products and distribute them to your target audience, you should soon see results.

• What are the benefits of investing in merchandise?
• Bags
• Pens
• T-shirts
• Mugs
• Artbooks
• Earbud cases
• Magnets
• Aluminum water bottles
• Hoodies
• Branded snack packets
• Top branded merchandise examples

What are the benefits of investing in merchandise?

Branded merchandise, aka a promotional product, is any product with your company’s logo or tagline. They create a buzz about the company and help establish brand awareness. Investing in branded merchandise like stickers, straws, umbrellas, and beanies attracts the target audience's attention and boosts loyalty by giving customers a free product they will use in their everyday lives.

Including branded merchandise as part of your brand marketing strategy can help your business create its own identity and convince consumers to use your product or service over those of competitors. It also increases recall value. For instance, if a consumer uses the product daily, the brand’s name is unconsciously registered in their mind. Therefore, they will likely think of your brand next time they need to buy the product.

If you are considering branded merchandise, you should first consider the quality of the products, whether they will appeal to your target audience, and the product's value for the consumers. You can give away generic items like notebooks, power banks, and pens, or create branded merchandise relevant to the product or service you offer. For instance, a bookstore can give away branded bookmarks with each purchase.

Most importantly, the product must be useful to have a lasting impact on the receiver. These factors will help you drive a successful marketing campaign and achieve a positive ROI. You must also keep specific brand performance metrics in mind to measure how your merchandise impacts brand awareness, loyalty, and advocacy.

Bags

Bags are some of the most popular branded merchandise; 73% of consumers own promotional bags and keep them for an average of 11 months. This allows the average branded bag to generate over 3,300 impressions in its lifetime.

Merchandise bags come in various styles, such as totes, backpacks, and drawstring bags. As more consumers become eco-friendly, consider getting promotional bags made from sustainable materials like cotton, canvas, jute, or linen.

A high-quality reusable bag with your branding is a practical and durable promotional product and leaves a lasting impact on customers. Ensure the bag has an eye-catching design to generate maximum brand awareness.

On average, a bulk order for 100 to 499 tote bags costs about $3.96 each.

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Pens

Pens are a practical, budget-friendly, and durable promotional merchandise option. They are a convenient way to spread brand awareness since the consumer looks at the brand name or logo every time they write something. People typically keep promotional pens for an average of nine months. They are also easy to distribute at events, making them a great corporate gift.

Moreover, pens are available in various colors and styles and are quick and easy to make. You can customize the shape, grip, and quality depending on your needs.

If you’re a high-end brand, you can make sturdy metal pens to show your potential customers that you care about quality and service.

You can order customized ballpoint pens for $0.42 to $0.99 per piece, with a minimum quantity of 25 pens.

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T-shirts

T-shirts provide mobile advertising, as they create recall value both for the person wearing them as well as the people around them. Since they have a larger surface area than pens or magnets, they can reach a broader audience, and give you more space to create eye-catching designs or typography.

T-shirts are also versatile. You can give them away as promotional products or gift them to your employees. Employees who receive such company gifts often feel connected to the brand and become business ambassadors.

A customized t-shirt costs about $10.02 per piece if you order at least 200 t-shirts at a time.

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Mugs

Customized mugs are a great promotional product. People use mugs for hot beverages, a pen stand, or even a decor piece on the mantel. Use them as a giveaway for an online contest, distribute them at events, or even gift them to new employees on their first day at work.

In addition, mugs boost brand recognition. Seventy percent of Americans drink coffee weekly, while 62% consume the beverage every day. This means that the coffee mug will make hundreds of impressions in a year and be visible to other people in the household or workplace.

An 11-ounce traditional white ceramic mug costs about $2.29 per piece for a minimum of 145 mugs.

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Artbooks

Digital media might be a large part of everyone’s daily lives, but many continue to use pen and paper to jot notes, thoughts, ideas, plans, and tasks. Drawing, painting, and other forms of art reduce stress, so people using an artbook with your logo will likely form a positive association with your brand.

In addition, artbooks are used in places like classrooms, workplaces, and libraries, offering greater visibility for your brand.

Artbooks are compact and easy to store and carry. Depending on the number of pages in the book, they can last for a fairly long time and ensure your brand is visible to the same person for an extended period.

Gifting eco-friendly books people can use as notebooks or artbooks will leave a good impression on the receiver. Printing between 500 and 1,000 notebooks costs $5.27 per piece.

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Earbud cases

With true wireless earbuds expected to account for two-thirds of the earbud market, earbud cases make for practical promotional items. People usually carry their earbuds to the gym, out for a walk, or at the grocery store. Earbud cases also help you reach a tech-savvy target audience.

The cost of printing over 100 customized earbud cases is $17.95 per piece.

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Magnets

People use magnets for a variety of reasons. Apart from being decorative items for the refrigerator, magnets help hold reminders, unpaid bills, and your child’s recent artwork.

Customized magnets are a great marketing product for small business owners. Realtors can give them to potential house buyers, home repair services can hand them out to their loyal customer base, and restaurants and bars can gift magnets to help promote their brand.

Magnets are light, easy to distribute, and long lasting. On average, a person opens their fridge at least 10 to 12 times a day, meaning you can create close to 4,000 impressions per year.

Customized magnets cost $0.66 each when you order 500.

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Aluminum water bottles

Water bottles are one of the most common items used by people of all ages. You can distribute them as branded merchandise at a school fair or trade show event, at the end of a marathon, or during music festivals. When you have your company name and brand logo on drinkware, the person walking around with it becomes your ambassador.

In addition, investing in aluminum or stainless steel water bottles demonstrates that the company is eco-friendly and committed to a sustainable future. Aluminum water bottles are also lightweight, easy to carry, and devoid of chemicals.

Each aluminum bottle costs $4.58 when you order more than 576.

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Hoodies

Hoodies are a popular form of apparel. Apart from the obvious warmth, they provide comfort, style, and versatility. With a hoodie, you get a lot of artistic freedom and space to place your branding in unique ways. You can get creative and include quirky designs and quotes relevant to your brand.

Like t-shirts, branded hoodies can be gifted to employees on special occasions like birthdays or company events to make them feel valued and appreciated. In fact, giving gifts to employees increases employee retention by 41%. In addition, the employees will automatically become marketing spokespersons for the company when they wear the hoodies in their personal lives.

Customized hoodies cost $15.35 each when you place an order for 500.

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Branded snack packets

Branded snacks at a trade or corporate event are an excellent way to ensure your brand name is at the top of people’s minds. You can set your logo or brand name on the front and back sides of dry fruit, cookie, or chips packets.

Leave these branded snack packets for people to munch on and attract their attention. For example, you can distribute them at a grocery store, outside camps and parks, next to vending machines, and at schools and colleges.

Placing a bulk order of 500 custom granola bar packs will cost $1.50 each.

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Top branded merchandise examples

Some top brands have grabbed the right opportunity and sold or distributed promotional merch to loyal and potential customers. The products were in branded colors and fonts, carefully displayed the company logo, or showcased their famous catchphrase.

Taco Bell Puzzles

When people suddenly found themselves locked at home in the middle of a pandemic, Taco Bell introduced jigsaw puzzles along with their delivery orders. As a result, their customer base was entertained at home, and the puzzle pieces came together to form the Taco Bell logo and name. This created a stronger brand identity.

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IKEA Bucket Hats

The IKEA blue polypropylene bags are iconic and can be recognized from a mile away. When bucket hats came back in fashion in 2020, IKEA hopped on to the trend by making bucket hats of the same color and material as their shopping bags.

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Quarter Keychains

Aldi, a leading retailer known for requiring customers to insert a quarter each time they use a grocery cart, sold quarter keychains with their branding. Since most people are likely to take their car or house keys with them when they shop, they would automatically take their attached keychains. This way, customers wouldn’t run into an issue because they forgot to bring a quarter for the cart.

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Design creative merchandise with the help of a professional

When investing in branded merch, you want to ensure the design is unique and striking. The products should look good and be of high-enough quality that your customers are excited to use them. Hiring a merchandise designer from Upwork’s Project Catalog is a quick and budget-friendly way to get one-of-a-kind designs for your brand merchandise.

With Upwork, you can view the talent’s work background and read verified reviews to help you choose the right professional for any job. After you’ve shortlisted the freelancers you want to work with, send out invitations (you can send 30 invitations per project at one time).

As a client, you can also use collaborative tools like chats and video calls to stay up to date with tasks and review files regularly. In addition, Upwork enables you to set up invoices and make payments safely.

And if you’re a talented designer, we’ve got tons of jobs awaiting you on our platform. It’s easy to sign up and get started.

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Upwork is not affiliated with and does not sponsor or endorse any of the tools or services discussed in this article. These tools and services are provided only as potential options, and each reader and company should take the time needed to adequately analyze and determine the tools or services that would best fit their specific needs and situation. Price ranges are current at the time of writing and may change over time based on each offering.