Spread Your Business Message With Branded Gifts

Small e-commerce sites often rely on positive word-of-mouth and Web sites to advertise their online ventures. Another cost-effective way to positively reinforce your brand is to invest in promotional items that feature your brand or company logo. Many businesses use branded items as gifts to thank clients and customers, or to hand out at trade-shows and other events.

When it comes to corporate gift-giving, most businesses have a list of loyal customers and clients. Using products that feature your logo makes for a unique gift that also doubles as prime advertising. The good news is that business branding for the holidays can be quite affordable, even for small businesses on a tight budget, thanks in part to entrepreneurs like Steve Civitello.

As the owner of Drumwork, Civitello has been involved in graphic design and promotional products for over 13 years. Civitello caters to smaller businesses and 'Mom and Pop' type shops who want affordable branding - but in smaller quantities. When looking for promotional items, some businesses may be turned off by the hefty price tag and minimum thousand-unit orders. Instead, Civitello offers smaller order minimums of 250 to 300.

Makin' A List, Checkin' It Twice
Before deciding on what products to use with your logo, businesses first need to decide who the recipient will be. For general free-for-all give-away items, businesses can choose tens of thousands of cheaper branded products such as calendars, key tags and stick pens. Online businesses can easily slip these into shipping boxes along with a customer's order or sent to loyal customers on an e-mail subscriber list.

The cost of promotional branding depends on the quality and quantity of items ordered. Through Drumwork you can get a mid-range quality retractable pen with single-color branding for around 40 cents each when you buy pens in quantities of 300. Civitello said that calendars are also popular for general giving, and those can also be purchased on a small business budget; with some designs being even cheaper than basic pens.

Go for Quality for Your Favorite Customers
While pens and key chains serve a general give-away need, when it comes to branded gifts this holiday season, a basic pen just won't do. If you are looking for gifts for special members or customers, Civitello recommends that  you stay with smaller items so you can realize better quality. Nicer executive branded pens start at a dollar each and go up to several dollars each.

While the cost might be higher, Civitello says that people tend to have a possessive nature about good pens, and the gift will be an item that a person really uses and wants to keep. The bonus, of course, is that it reminds your customers of your business every time they use it. According to Civitello, other items such as branded travel mugs, USB flash drives, agendas, sports bottles and duffels are also popular, yet quite inexpensive branded gifts for clients.

When it comes to giving gifts to VIP customers and your employees, there is no end to the wonderful branded items you can find. You can really get into the holiday spirit with business-branded wine glasses, gift baskets with an assortment of coffee packs and branded mugs, clocks, watches and more.

Innovative Branding Trends for the New Year
For companies looking to brand their business with new and innovative gifts, several worldwide brands are offering up their own products for use. One unique promotional item can be found on My M&M'S. Using Oddcast's recently launched PhotoFace technology, through this Web site you can personalize the popular M&M candy with photos and messages, or you can have M&M candy customized with your business logo and corporate message.

After designing your M&Ms online at the Web site, you can then choose from several packaging types including different occasion gift bags, signature gift boxes, champagne flutes and dispensers. The personalized candy can also be ordered in bulk packages for those who would prefer to repackage on their own.

The cost of using a famous brand to promote your own does not come cheap. Ordering the 1.7-ounce bags of branded M&Ms will cost $91.80 for a minimum order of 20 bags. At a price of $4.59 per unit, these gifts, while truly unique, will mainly be reserved for VIP clients and employees, rather than handed out as a free-for all.

Possibly taking a cue from Mars and its customizable CandyLab product, Kimberly-Clark, the makers of the Kleenex tissue brand, also have a MyKleenex Web site where you can customize your own box of Kleenex for $4.99 plus shipping, with discounts given only on orders totaling more than 500 cartons. Like My M&Ms, the branding is presented to consumers, but can certainly be used by businesses looking to make an impression on clients and employees with their own logo and corporate message this holiday season.