With all of these choices, the type of product is probably one of the first decisions you’ll want to think through when considering promotional products. First think about your target market and what type of product will tend to best appeal to them or meet their needs.

A common debate among marketers deals with the uniqueness versus utility of the customized giveaway. Have you ever marveled at some of the very unique, one-of-a-kind ad specialty gifts you see at trade shows and conferences? They create a much greater sense of immediate excitement and buzz at the show than the traditional personalized pen.

The trade-off though, is once the show is over, that buzz fades and that unique product which created so much excitement may not receive too much attention due to its lack of real usefulness.

Now compare that with the more common use of promotional pens as giveaways. Although, not as likely to generate the same high level of initial excitement as other less useful but unique gifts, these quality logo pens usually end up on the recipient’s desk and are used quite extensively.

Let your market and the goals of your promotion drive your decision on which type of product to use. If you’re looking more for a shorter term, high-excitement impact, the very unique product will work better for you. However, if you’re hoping for a longer connection between the recipient and your brand, you’ll want to consider personalized pens, mousepads, magnets and notepads.

Try to place your promotional products in your booth or tabletop where they are visible, obviously free for the taking, yet arranged in such a way where it’ll be easy for you to engage with the visitor and begin the information gathering or sales process.

Finally, if you want to track the productivity of your ad specialty products consider placing a unique 800 phone number your company owns on the product. Then, as calls come into your office on that 800 number, you’ll know that they were a result of the use of your promotional product.