Which words are commonly used to search for products with company logos, and what do they all mean?

Promotional Products / Branded Merchandise / Promotional Giveaways/Corporate Gifts / Promotional Products…

Are the most used keyword phrases used to search products that are branded with a logo or slogan and used by business to promote and market themselves both internally and externally.

They can be used for a wide range of business uses, from low cost scatter products to create awareness, through to a high-level gift that is totally in tune with a campaign and its recipient.

Marketeers have a mixed view on the importance of using promotional products, big users tend to see it as an essential part of the marketing mix where others might see it as a secondary after- thought. This is often reflected in the value of the term used to describe it.
For instance, when using the word SWAG product may be perceived as necessary but low importance, whereas Branded Merchandise might be seen as an essential marking tool.

A light-hearted trawl through the world of Branded merchandise…

# Promotional Items or Promotional products – Describe best, products that are branded with logos or other personalised content. They are the most used phrases so therefore perform highest in SEO average monthly searches.

# Merch – Obviously a clipping of the word ‘merchandise’, i.e, goods to be bought and sold (or given away!). The abbreviation is commonly used in searches but means very little unless prefixed with Promotional or Branded. Be a bit careful with terminology, as one online ‘urban’ dictionary also defines merch as ‘a wide spectrum of strains of marijuana’!

# SWAG – A term that originated across the pond, so like many British and American language terms there is room for confusion here, with swag acting as slang for money or goods swiped by a thief. But once capped up as ‘SWAG’ of course it can be seen as ‘Stuff We All Get’ when attending exhibitions and trade shows.

# Product media – Product media a clever new term adopted by the BPMA and hopefully one that can be used within the industry going forward. The word Media is often used in print, TV, press and advertising so prefixing the word product is logical, sounding
more interactive and therefore more engaging.

# Promotional giveaways – Also a well know and used term but does tend to suggest low cost as the word giveaway represents little value.

# Corporate gifts – A bit of an old-fashioned term now although it really paints a picture of something special that might commemorate a client relationship.

Although It’s in the hands of the user to define the importance of the each term this really can be helped by the industry itself by defining and using its terms to suggest quality of product/branding & the service offering.
The product given, redeemed or sold needs to send the right message. They must be quality and respectful, which doesn’t mean they have to be drab and boring, because like all merchandise SWAG included, they need to be memorable, useful, relevant and reflect the associated brands image and values.

For more information and quotations for Promotional Products and related services contact our team.

Make Memorable Merchandise

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Jason Markwick

Having worked in Promotional Merchandise for the last 25 years I have been exposed to all aspects of the industry. Starting out as an account manager working with some of the worlds leading brands, I have learnt to understand the needs of a client, manufacturing processes, and what it takes to deliver a successful promotional campaign that is on brand, on time and within a given budget.