Promotional Bags: Your Company Details on Parade

The trick to a good promotion is to attach your company details to something useful. Now, there is "private useful" like the promotional toothbrush you use in the privacy of your own bathroom, and there is "public useful" that you use out there where everyone sees you inadvertently parading the promotion.

This is where promotional bags come in. Few of us can get people to wear sandwich boards for us without paying them, but easily collocated promotional bags act in much the same way.

Imagine the happy recipient of your promotional gift arriving at a jazz concert in the park toting your promotional wine bag. People can notice this, especially those juggling single wine bottles and sundry picnic equipment. There it sits on the blanket, sophisticated, serene and discreetly advertising your sophisticated and serene company. What a pleasure.

Here's another promotional bag scenario: extremely cool young thing rollerblades past wearing a backpack with your details on it. All eyes follow the dexterous performer and no-one misses your logo on the bag with the contact details just large enough to see and remember.

These are just some of hundreds of scenarios involving well-chosen promotional bags. The vast array of these promotional gifts can make it overwhelming to choose one particular design; there are so many kinds of bags to choose from.

On the disposable side of the spectrum there is any number of paper and plastic promotional bags for specific purposes that can bring attention to your product. These would be your "quantity not quality" option with a price tag that would fit most company budgets.

For those who want to make a deeper, more profound impact there are many more options. Most companies offer specials on promotional bags that last but are relatively inexpensive to purchase.

Publishing companies and trade show participants make liberal use of this option. The promotional bags are often stylish and constructed out of a tough, durable fabric to hold the growing bulk of tradeshow give-aways. Here is your choice: would you rather be the give away IN the bag or the message ON the bag. There's no real choice if maximum exposure is your goal.

Other choices that won't break the budget are coolers and lunch bags. Prices in this category are still easily affordable and the items themselves get around on a daily basis.

When deciding on the type of promotional bag, choose one that is thematically related to your business e.g. sports bags for sporting goods companies, wine coolers for the beverage industry, computer bags for the computer industry, overnight and weekender promotional bags for the travel industry.

Think carefully about the positioning of the logo on the bag and consider paying a little more to customize a design that works well with the style of bag you have chosen. You want the logo to be both subtle and readable.

Promotional bags are available across a range of pricing starting around $1 a bag (tradeshow bags in tough durable material) to the more costly $30 a piece (messenger bags and golf accessory totes).

Cindy Carrera is a freelance author who's written a number of original articles about promotional gifts and custom promotional products. Her articles offer fresh ideas and creative alternatives for the out-of-the-box marketer.