MarketingYou’re about to create a brand gift, but you want one that can market itself. That’s a valid challenge that isn’t novel at all. If you read to the end, you’ll have all the pointers you need to make your next brand gift a self-marketing success.
Have you ever heard of walking billboards? It’s a marketing strategy where individuals go around with physical objects that advertise a brand.
Primark used this approach to celebrate the reopening of one of its U.S. flagship stores. The campaign had people walking around with gigantic shopping bags filled with clothes, while driving shoppers into the store for a chance to win a $500 shopping spree voucher.
Now, a gigantic shopping bag moving around town isn’t quite achievable for most brands, so they opt for branded merchandise. Totes, T-shirts, Caps, Notepads with bold inscriptions, often the brand name and logo. Does it work? Yes, because 9 out of 10 people recall brands they received promotional products from, and 73% of people are more likely to do business with a brand that gives promotional products.
However, that’s not all there is to giving a brand gift that markets itself. 87% of people keep promotional gifts for more than a year, but there’s only a little you can do with gifts that may not last for that long. A mug may get broken in a few days, a T-shirt will soon get worn out, and a tote will eventually give way.
So, how do you create a brand gift that markets itself? You’ll find these tips helpful.
Read More: Your Brand’s Christmas Gift Could Be the Strongest Marketing You Do All Year
How to Create a Self-Marketing Brand Gift
Before you start thinking of a worthy replacement for mugs and T-shirts, here are some tips to help you come up with great brand gift ideas, especially if the goal is for the gift to market itself.
Think of Why People Would Keep the Gift in the First Place
Your brand gift will only go the mile if it fights through the clutter of generic merch and gets kept. People keep gifts for various reasons, but these are at the top of the list.
- Emotional Connection: 78% of customers say that receiving a personalised gift makes them feel like they are forming a one-to-one connection with the brand. Spinning off that, 57% of consumers will increase their spending with brands they feel connected to.
- Quality and Utility: This is non-negotiable. A well-made item that solves a real problem will stick around. People keep things they actually use, and if it happens to have your brand on it, you’ve earned ongoing visibility through usefulness.
- Scarcity & Exclusivity: If it’s something not everyone can have, something that cannot be bought from a random store, people will keep it because it signals exclusivity.
Make it Something That Lives in Spaces
The idea of a walking billboard is that people take it everywhere. But what if your brand gift not only goes everywhere with them, it lives in their space?
For instance, the lamp by the bedside, the glitter globe on an office desk, the Magsafe charger on the side table, and the fridge magnet that stares back at everyone who enters the room.
These items don’t just market when they’re “out in public.” They become part of the environment, woven into daily routines. That’s hundreds of micro-impressions and recall chances in every glance.
Design for Discretion (But Make it Recognisable)
Overbranding with logos and brand names plastered everywhere is not the only way. What if you create a brand gift that represents a core element of your brand?
Think of a branded keychain designed like a bottle for a beverage brand or a lamp designed like your logo, like this one we created for Providus Bank. It’s all about subtle but recognisable branding.
Make it a Conversation Starter
The best gifts have an element that prompts questions: unusual functionality, clever design, and premium quality. It just has to be something that makes people pick it up and ask what it does.
These conversation moments are gems for brand recall. When someone asks about your gift, the recipient becomes your brand ambassador, telling the story of how they got it and what your company does.
Read More: Before You Approve Your End-of-Year Corporate Gifts, Read This (So You Don’t Waste Money)
Tailor it to Your Audience’s Interests or Lifestyle
With brand gifts, one size doesn’t fit all. Different audiences need different approaches. The same thing applies to various clients; give gifts based on their lifestyle and pain points.
What would make their work easier? What fits their aesthetic? The more you understand their daily life, the better you can integrate your brand into it naturally.
Make it Pound-Worthy
This is the ultimate test for brand gifts that market themselves: Would you pay for it? Would someone proudly use this in their most visible moments? Would they bring it to a trendy coffee shop without embarrassment? Would it appear in their Instagram story organically? Would they display it on their desk during an important client call?
If the answer is yes, then you’ve successfully created a brand gift that will market itself (your brand).
The Bottom Line
This checklist has brought many corporate gifts to life – from the logo-inspired Providus lamp, to the Huawei Magsafe Charger and Krispy Kreme keychain. Creating corporate gifts that spark conversations is always our priority; brand recall and visibility are constant ripple effects.
Every time we set out to create a custom brand gift, the first thought is: How can this object advertise the brand without words, without overbranding, and without sacrificing functionality for aesthetics?
Read More: Christmas Without Clutter: 5 December Gifting Ideas That Actually Strengthen Your Brand
When you nail that, the marketing happens automatically. People use your gift because they want to, display it because they’re proud of it, and recommend you because the gift itself tells them everything they need to know about your brand’s values and quality.
That’s how you create walking billboards, and that’s marketing that pays dividends for years to come.
Want to design something memorable for your audience? Reach out to us at enquiries@createyourmeta-iv.com, and we’ll help you craft brand gifts that market themselves—no billboards required. If you’d rather customise an existing product, you can view our catalogue or visit our website to get started.
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