You see lanyards every day whether at the supermarket, at work, at the doctor's office, at the airport, at the mall?everywhere. If you have ever attended a trade show or convention, you are literally bombarded with all different types and sizes of them. But if you were to ask the average person by what name they are called, you may get responses like "uhhh?ID necklace?" or "neck string?" or "badge strap?" or even "oh that's easy, it's the key chain holder that I spin around my fingers when I'm bored."

Those who have ever purchased these or worked with them in their industry are now smiling because they understand the public's general unfamiliarity with the term "lanyard". It is in fact a broad term that describes any type of accessory strap used to secure a primary item of interest to its user. Examples of primary items include identification, keys, VIP passes, weaponry, sunglasses, a cell phone or PDA, lip balm, and countless others. Most lanyards are worn around the wrist or neck for convenience.
In the last 15 years, lanyards have conjured tremendous popularity as a custom promotional item, amounting to billions of dollars in sales each year. Why are they so appealing and who in the world is buying all these? Well, first off, they are inexpensive to have printed or woven, the material and imprint colors build brand recognition, the printed advertisement is worn just below eye-level and visible to passing viewers, and they usually produce generous ongoing advertising.

To answer the second question, you may be surprised to know that every single industry on the planet has people that buy and use lanyards. They are used for events as small as a family reunion or a day care camp and as big as the World Cup or the Olympic Games. Event planners for organizations, trade shows, conventions, conferences, youth camps represent the typical lanyard purchaser. They gather information regarding price, material, attachments, and production time; then, they coordinate with decision makers and make the final purchase. Other notable buyers include purchasing departments for large corporations, government entities, and charity organizations.

The material used to make lanyards can be just as diverse as the different types that are available. In most cases, lanyards are made from some form of textile material in order to offer printability and comfort. And as most textile production (or any production for that matter) is associated with large-scale factories, it is generally assumed that overseas powerhouses like China, Taiwan, India and the Philippines are the only sources for low-cost lanyards in bulk quantities.

One US-based company that breaks that mold of thinking is Namifiers LLC, with headquarters in Springville, UT. As a wholesale manufacturer of identification and promotional products, Namifiers has pushed the standards of lanyard production with extensive inventory and a same-day print and ship model. Their 80,000 square foot facility hosts a lanyard inventory with millions of pre-assembled lanyard pieces, over 100 thousand yards of blank material, and approximately 2 tons of lanyard attachments and accessories.

Because their clients can opt for any of 16 different types and 15 different colors of lanyards, Namifiers will satisfy a variety of preferences, but can also fulfill large-quantity orders and ship them to customers 6-10 times faster than going overseas. "Production speed carries much more weight now than it did 10 years ago," says Brad Gasaway, Vice President of Marketing. "The value of getting 10,000 printed lanyards on your doorstep tomorrow, as opposed to waiting weeks for them, is a real positive thing. We do that for people, and it has been a tremendous relationship builder for us."

Amid the debates over foreign trade policies and commerce, U.S. businesses and consumers do have extremely valuable and competitive resources to draw from here domestically. Again, much of lanyard production is unfamiliar to everyday citizens, but the product itself is gaining more and more customer awareness in an ever growing market.
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Jeff Edwards writes articles for the Promotional Products industry and features entrepreneurial standouts such as Namifiers LLC. Visit www.namifiers.com for pricing and service information regarding lanyards and custom ID name tags. Their customer support team is accessible Monday - Friday from 7:00am to 6:00pm MST via phone or email 800-990-2492.