Your marketing plan should include more than just brochure printing and television commercials. People like free stuff, no matter what it is, and they won't care if that stuff has your name written all over it! This fact provides the perfect opportunity for you to give away promotional products, or gifts, that have your name stamped all over them.

Giving away promotional items are an effective way to boost your brand image and generate awareness of your company. Here are some tips on how to give promotional gifts that will create a lasting impression.

How to choose a gift
You should consider three factors when deciding what kind of gift to give: quality, creativity and how the gift will enhance your brand image.

Quality
Quality should be the first thing on your mind when you are trying to decide what kind of promotional gift to give. You need to think about how the gift will portray your business, while also thinking about how well the recipient will enjoy the gift. So, you need a gift that is of quality to you and the recipient. You know what you like, but you probably need to research what your customers like. You can find this information informally, by asking people who peruse your store, or more formally, by printing full color brochures with gift options and asking customers what they would prefer.

Quality is most important because if you give a gift that falls apart in a few days, this sends a signal to your customers that quality isn't important to you. Customers will conclude that your product is also of poor quality. So send something that is of quality material.

Creativity
If you give pens or a notepad of paper with your logo at the top, they're going to get lost among all the other items just like those. Find a gift that helps you stand out from the crowd. For example, if you run a tutoring company, give away calculators that have your logo on them. Everyone can use a calculator, and calculators can be high quality items. Every time a person uses that calculator, they'll be reminded of your company and the fact that they got this calculator as a gift, which will promote feelings of good will toward your company.

How will it enhance your brand image?
Quality and creativity are basically how you will evaluate how this gift promotes your brand image. If you can come up with a quality product that will be seen as quality to the customer, and you pair that quality with something creative - your brand image will improve. However, if you give away something poorly made, and isn't original - like pens, your brand image has a good chance of either staying stagnant or declining.

You don't need to break the bank
With all that said about quality and creativity, bear in mind that you don't have to spend a ton of money to get quality products. With quantity discounts, the more you order, the higher discount you can get. There are plenty of brochure printing companies that also print on gift items. You can peruse through a company's full color brochure or Web site to get some ideas. Also, many companies will negotiate with you to come to a price you can both agree on.

However, it's important to note to not cut costs just for the sole reason of saving money. If you give a cheap gift, it could negatively impact your image than if you hadn't given a gift at all.