2013 Top Ten Marketing Items

As we ring in the new year, we take a look back at the top ten marketing items of 2013. This list is based on sales as well as Catch Fire’s favorite picks.

#10 Lip Balm

As low as .74 cents each, this tropical flavored SPF 15 lip balm contain Vitamin E, UVA/UVB, Aloe Vera, are PABA Free and are made right here in the United States. This is the perfect way to tell your clients you appreciate them while hosting those summertime events that take place outdoors. The customized label allows you to completely brand it to your company’s look and feel – a constant reminder to your clients that you appreciate their business.

#9 Sports Schedule Magnets

Football, Basketball, Hockey, Soccer – there is practically an endless amount of possibilities from styles, sport, and team. Our clients prefer to Colorado Rockies and Broncos season schedules, but you can order any professional or college team in a magnet that sticks on your client’s refrigerator. They come in multiple styles and sizes. Not only will your contact information be right in front of them on a daily basis, the affordability of these marketing pieces make them a great value to your marketing strategy.

#8 Kwik Stick Calendars

The Kwik Stick Calendars are our favorite calendars for low marketing budgets. You can easily buy real estate on your client’s computer monitor, or desk. Not only will the client appreciate the quick reference calendar for dates, it will not leave a mark and can be easily moved around time and time again.

#7 Notepads

Notepads make an awesome gift to clients. They are the easy to reach, space saving way to constantly remind your clients that you are there to help them. And, as these notepads come in pads of 50 sheets, their limited shelf life actually serves as an advantage to your marketing efforts. Don’t forget to call your clients to see if they could use another notepad after about a month to six weeks of initially giving it to them. While you have them on phone, you can begin to discuss larger business ideas with your clients. We could go on and on about the benefits or ordering your custom notepads.

#6 Embroidered Clothing

Embroidered clothing is great for a couple of reasons. First giving your employees a nice article of clothing can show them that you appreciate them and helps build the internal corporate brand and culture that defines great marketing. Second, it shows the professionalism of your organization. Bonus: There are 100,000’s of styles of clothing from jackets, to shirts and ball caps – the possibilities to grow your companies look with embroidered clothing is endless!

#5 Stylus Pens

Writing Instruments continue to dominate the promotional products industry. “Pens” is the #1 web searched term for promotional products. This is largely because they are inexpensive, and people who receive pens tend to hold on to them for months to even years. This year, the Stylus pen gained popularity as it doubles as the writing instruments and a stylus to be used on your touch screen devices.

#4 Mugs

Personalized drinkware was all the rage in 2013! Custom mugs come in a variety of shapes and sizes – and allow full color designs in most cases. In addition, Travel mugs and water bottles were huge this year. With this trend growing, we predict an increase in sales of drinkware for 2014.

#3 Tablecloths

The Tablecloth/Table Drape is a great way to rock your Tradeshow. These are full sublimated – which means full color! We have created stunning designs for our clients to ensure that their table pops out in a crowded trade show. Look professional and gain respect from potential clients. This is the “must-have” item for all trade show goers!

#2 Customized Business Gifts

In 2013, we had a lot of interest in customized, unique business gifts. Giving personalized business gifts – or gifts any time of year is a sure fire way to let your customer know that you appreciate them. Some of these gifts were inexpensive, and some had a little nicer value to them. It all depends on how you want this gift to be used by your client. Because these did tend to lean on the higher end, the great and unique thing about them was that they were often customized for the recipient! How often to you hear about a marketing plan that customized the products towards the recipient? The recipient won’t soon forget who gave them such a great gift – and are sure to send referrals your way!

#1 Specialty Business Cards

Business Cards. Where do we start about the popularity of business cards, even in today’s digital era? The solid feel of a business card printed on 14 PT or 16 PT card stock can never be replaced by electronic business cards. They are a necessity in today’s business world and yet they have come a long way from the cards of old. Specialty business cards are increasing in popularity throughout 2013 and are estimated to all but replace “traditional” business cards. Some of the things that make specialty cards are unique paper selection – there are 100’s of paper stocks you can decide on. What about using Spot UV, Gold/Silver Foil or having silk laminated business cards? Akuafoil is another popular way to highlight the most important information. Our best advice to you when ordering business cards is to consider having them stand out – they are more likely to be retained by prospective clients.

We hope you enjoyed this list of the top ten marketing products of 2013! Although there are many, many more marketing products (such as banners, postcards, and tote bags), that we didn’t have time to mention in this blog we hope that this list gave you some ideas for 2014 as you move forward with your marketing efforts. If you have any questions about how to order these products, or wish to create your own unique marketing plan, please contact us as we are happy to help you.