Promotional products bearing corporate logos are becoming increasingly popular among marketers seeking alternate ways to reach consumers. Long a staple of so-called "goodie bags" given away at
business functions and conferences, such products have gained new prominence in a fragmented media universe where capturing consumers' attention has become more difficult than ever. Sales of
promotional products--useful, often cheap things that bear a company logo--reached a high of more than $18 billion last year, according to Promotional Products Association International. They were up
4 percent, the association said, while TNS Media Intelligence reported that other forms of ad spending rose 3 percent. Experts point out that many such items are inexpensive but have the advantage of
staying power. They stick around consumers' homes or offices for months, subtly burning a brand name into a user's brain. Others are more short-lived, but amusing or crass enough to be memorable. At
a recent trade show produced by Advertising Specialty Institute vendors proved that you can slap a logo on almost anything. There were many variations on the perennial favorites: clothing, pens, and
brightly colored water bottles and mugs. There were also flashing badges, iPod covers, flashing plastic ice cubes, rubber duckies, stethoscopes, tattoos, umbrellas and jar openers. One of the latest
things is a toaster that imprints a logo on bread, the sort of thing a hotel might love.
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