Promotional item trends

We always enter a new year with big goals – which forces us to think about the bigger picture. As time passes, it is easy to get stuck in the weeds, so the midway point of the year is an excellent time to slow down and remember the big picture from January.

As we enter the second half of the year, we decided to look at many of the trends in our industry that we documented in January.

While life has changed dramatically since then, many of the trends have stayed the same. That said, a few new promotional product trends popped up. Here are three that you should be aware of for the remainder of 2021:

#1. Virtual Life Is Here To Stay

Video meetings, Zoom calls, FaceTime and new platforms for virtual conferences and meetings – technology continues to bring us together in 2021. How does that translate to promotional products? Now there are even more reasons for getting your brand into the hands of people out of the office. For example:

Promotional products for virtual conferences
Branded gifts for virtual happy hours and celebrations
Technology for your employee’s home offices

Need ideas for these types of events? We have a large list – just let us know more about your event and we can personalize our recommendations for you!

#2. Personal Health

In our opinion, the most obvious effect of 2020 was a focus on staying healthy – not touching your face, washing your hands, using hand sanitizer, etc. We truly wondered what would happen with demand for personal health products as vaccination levels grew and employees returned to their workplace.

Earlier this year, we would have said personal health product demand would decline. That said, our business has proven us wrong – there is absolutely an opportunity to provide people with multi-function personal health products.

Here are two of our favorites:

A UV Sanitizer desk clock with wireless charger uses UV-C light technology without chemicals or mercury for sanitation to kill 99% of microorganisms tested. This item can sanitize anything that fits inside: phone, keys, etc.

We love this water bottle: durable, double-wall stainless steel vacuum construction with copper insulation, which allows your beverage to stay cold for 48 hours and hot for at least 12 hours. The construction also prevents condensation on the outside of the bottle. The best part? It comes with a screw-on, spill resistant lid with stainless steel top and attached with durable multi-functional no contact tool. This keychain tool can be used to avoid touching buttons on an elevator or at the ATM, carry shopping bags and more!

#3. Renewed Appreciation For Employees

While there is never a bad time to thank your employees, we can all admit that the last year has been crazy. Based on the business we have seen recently, many of you agree that now is a good time to show your appreciation.

A good way to do this? We like high end brand-name gifts or options that have a give back component to benefit a larger cause. Two of our favorites:

The Telluride Packable Insulated Jacket keeps you warm AND looks out for your health. On top of its stylish retail design, this jacket contains a removable No Contact Keychain in the right pocket, which lets you turn door handles, press elevator buttons and use ATM keypads without touching them. Win, win!