Over the last decade, marketing and advertising campaigns have grown and blossomed into a powerful way for consumers to recognize and fall in love with brands and businesses. Because of this, businesses have built strong connections with their customers and clients. While building relationships with clientele is important for business growth and making money, it is the most important to form strong bonds with your employees.
During some strong campaigns, brands have had the opportunity to give out swag or promotional items to engage their customers or potential clients with their brand, products, or services to create a lasting impression. As important as it is to create engagement with consumers, it is equally important that employees feel included in the receiving of business swag.
Providing employees with business swag creates a positive company culture by making employees feel like they belong to a community. Your employees should feel proud to represent your brand in everything that they do. To encourage great company culture, it is wise to invest money in good quality products to give to your employees.
Whether you have someone new joining your company or finding new ways to spoil the team you already have, business swag will make a lasting impression. It can be as simple as new office supplies or as extravagant as something tailored to the person’s interests.
Not sure what kind of business swag you could give to your team? We’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite swag packs to give to your staff, both new and old.
A Starter Kit for New Employees
Starting with a new company can be intimidating. Your new hire probably did some research on your company prior to their interview to learn about your business, but new hires are unaware about what kind of environment they’re about to be a part of. Providing new employees with a swag starter kit proves to that person that you’re glad they accepted your employment offer, that you care about their opinion and happiness at your company, and they get to see your values incorporated into everything you do.
What kind of swag items should be included in a starter kit? A good starter swag box has all of the swag essentials. A comfortable and soft T-shirt, face mask, dad hat, pens, and sticker with your company name on it. Here are a few of our favorite items for your swag box.
1. Unisex Short Sleeved Shirts
T-shirts have been a favorite among swag items for years. They’re useful, comfortable, and relatively inexpensive to mass produce. They’re the perfect way for your employees to represent your brand. Each T-shirt is made with a combination of polyester, rayon, and cotton, making it extremely durable while still being super comfortable. They have unisex sizing, so you wouldn’t have to purchase a men’s t-shirt and a woman’s fitted t-shirt. These shirts come in a wide variety of colors and can feature your company name or logo on the front or back of the shirts, or on the sleeves.
2. Face Mask
While the world continues to find new ways to adapt to a global pandemic, your company needs to as well. Providing your employees with a comfortable, branded face mask means they’ll be wearing your brand in the office and outside of work hours. This cloth face mask is comfortable while still providing some protection against harmful bacteria. It has three layers, is easily folded, and has adjustable ear loops. The mask is durable and will not show signs of deterioration after going through the wash. It comes in four fashionable colors and can have your company name or logo either screen printed or embroidered onto one side of the mask.
3. Dad Hat
Another wildly popular swag item is the dad hat. Dad hats are perfect to represent your brand outside of work hours. They’re comfortable and have never gone out of style. They’re a hit with both men and women alike. These dad hats are made with cotton twill and an unstructured crown, making it comfortable for everyone. It’s low-fitting to provide sun protection. Each hat comes in a wide variety of colors and can feature your company’s name or log embroidered on the front.
4. Pens
Before your employees start their first day of work they should be given some essential office supplies for their work space. One of the most important supplies to give is a good quality pen. Not only will your employees use the pen in office, but there is a strong chance that they’ll take these pens on the go with them, or hand them out as a marketing tool. Your pens should reflect the quality of your brand. Don’t purchase supplies that will break easily. These pens are sleek in design with chrome accents and also double as a stylus for your electronic devices. They twist to reveal smooth, black ink. They come with a comfortable and ergonomic grip to make writing smooth and easy with no skips. The pens come in four professional colors and can be screen printed on the barrel with your company name or logo.
5. Sticker
You may be wondering why we’ve included stickers on our list. Some may see stickers as a childish item, but stickers have grown in popularity with brands because they stick to anything. It’s virtually free advertising. People put stickers on the laptops, water bottles, the back of their cars, on their larger office supplies. Anywhere could be a place for your company sticker. These custom cut stickers are made with professional vinyl material. You can order a few or order in bulk. Each sticker is individually cut out so no material is wasted with large sticker sheets. They’re safe for indoor and outdoor use and are water resistant. Your company name or logo can be printed in full color onto each sticker.
Business Swag Items for Older Employees
When providing swag for older employees, its likely that they already have the swag mentioned above for new hires. Update swag items should be creative and fun. When coming up with more swag items for your staff think first of items they may need that you can customize, and then consider items that are just for fun. Your employees are most likely good to go on office supplies, so here are some other necessities that aren’t thought about as often.
6. Luggage Tag
When your employees are traveling both for business and outside of work, they’re going to need luggage tags to attach to their suitcases. Instead of having your employees go out and purchase their own luggage tags, provide them with a company tag instead. These luggage tags are foldable while storing and protecting your private information and ID. It comes with an adjustable strap to stay securely on your travel items. It is made with faux leather and comes in an array of colors. Your company name can be pad or screen printed onto the front of the tag.
7. Custom Backpack
Backpacks are a great swag item for employees who take their work with them wherever they go. They’re able to store laptops, documents, and other work necessities. This backpack is sleek and modern. It is made with vegan leather crosshatch fabric, has adjustable straps, a top magnetic closure and zippered pockets inside. On the front of the backpack, there is a patch that can be printed, laser engraved, or imprinted with your company name or logo in multiple colors. The backpack itself comes in both blue and gray.
8. Letter Board
Business swag gifts don’t always have to be work related, they can also be fun. To help your employees decorate their space however they’d like, consider giving your employees a letter board so they can put out a creative or fun message to see whenever someone comes into their office. Each board can be laser engraved with your company’s name. Each wooden board comes with small, but durable plastic letters, and a cotton bag for storage. These boards are trendy and something your staff members will actively use. They’re also a fun way to create Instagram content. Post your favorite employee boards on instagram for fun content.
Quality matters when it comes to business swag. Your employees don’t want cheaply made items that will break or cause issues in their day to day lives. Apparel should be fashionable and comfortable so that everyone can feel good about wearing them, while office supplies or personalized gifts should be made of high quality materials so they last a long time.
YouInkIt believes that your swag should be simple and easy to create. All of our swag comes from the same place so that you don’t need to source out multiple vendors for every item that you’d like. We make the process simple while keeping everything tailored to your brand from the products down to the paper that we wrap your items in.
As the customer you pick the items you’d like to be sent out in your swag packs, where you want the boxes to be sent, and then upload your logo or the design you want so our graphics team can make your swag perfect. At YouInkIt, we take care of the rest. We’ll send you proofs of your items and then produce it for you. We’ll also store them for you, so that your closets don’t have to be filled with all of your swag.
Ready to get started? Chat with us today to discuss how we can create the perfect swag for you!
