organic cotton bag:Should Charities Give Out Promotional Products?

Did you know ’cause marketing’ spend is expected to reach $1.84 billion worldwide by the end of 2014? Consider the charities who’ve made themselves internationally known through visible branding:

The Red Cross

Salvation Army

Susan G. Komen

Promotional campaigns are a huge part of any successful charity endeavor and any good fundraiser will tell you it’s important to spend some advertising money to double, triple, and quadruple incoming funds. Marketing as a charity means building brand awareness, educating the public on your mission, and generally raising recognition of your cause.

Promotional products are a fantastic way to accomplish all of these.

donationNot only should you give promotional products to fundraisers and partner businesses to give out, you should have plenty of larger-ticket items to give to big donors and supporters, too. A little gift to say “thanks for caring” goes a long way towards ensuring your biggest donors will remain loyal to the cause for years to come.

If you’re running a charity, a philanthropy, or just want to raise money for a cause, consider these promotional items for a more well-rounded marketing campaign:

Rubber Bracelets

Made famous by Lance Armstrong over a decade ago, rubber cause bracelets are (by some estimations) the most popular promotional item in the world. They’re cheap to make, easy to transport, and they’re appealing to women and men, young and old.

Tote Bags

charity tote bagFor larger donors or participants in a particular event, branded tote bags are a really good way to say thank you. They’re long lasting, carry the logo, and you can fill them with marketing materials and information about other worthwhile causes, too.

Mugs

Coffee mugs, perinneal favorites of the promotional industry, are a great way to remind people of your brand every single morning. Folks love waking up and remembering the good they did whether it was days or years ago!

Apparel

T-shirts, sweatshirts, glasses, and even scarves are an inexpensive way (when ordered in bulk) to get people to wear your logo. It’s a really great idea to print plenty of items in children’s sizes since parents are always happy to dress their kids in free gear.

And of course, your promotional giveaways should mirror your cause. If you’re hosting a 5K consider giving away water bottles. Having a beach picnic to raise awareness of a disease? Give out thermal cooler bags in a raffle. There are plenty of ways you can use a small sum of marketing money to further your cause – in fact, charities are one of the biggest-spending industries in the world when it comes to promotional marketing.