13 Products You Didn’t Know That You Could Brand

Whether it’s T-shirts, koozies, water bottles, or custom bags, there are so many promotional products available to promote your brand. While you can spend days pouring through product catalogs, you can also expand your horizons without limiting your branded products to what’s on those pages. 

The goal of promotional products is to delight and excite your audience—so why not really knock their socks off? If you’re ready to go against the grain, try using these 13 unique promotional products to grow your brand. 

1. Bikes and beach cruisers

We aren’t taking you for a ride—you really can add your logo to a bike or a beach cruiser. Just choose an available bike model, customize the colors, and affix your logo to it. 

We guarantee that your audience will love going home with a new bike. Just make sure they have a way to transport it! If you’re at a conference, you can offer to ship the bike back to the customer’s home if it’s too bulky. 

Best for: 

• Event giveaways & contests
• Unique awards & recognition
• Fitness or outdoor brands
• Fan stores

2. Name-brand goods

You don’t have to settle for white-labeled products if that isn’t what you want to do. Plenty of beloved retail goods are available for your promotional product campaigns, including: 

• Vans shoes
• RTIC coolers
• Nike shirts
• Apple Watch Bands

These can often add to your budget, but you’re sure to impress your audience by rolling in with complementary products from brands they already know and love. 

Best for: 

• Immediate brand recognition
• Connoting value

3. Drones

Consumers spent $1.25 billion on drones in 2020. There’s clearly a lot of demand for these tech gadgets, and now that drones are much more affordable, they’re a great addition to your promotional product mix. 

By the way, you can really impress people by using the drone to deliver your swag bags. Be sure to let your customers know that the drone is included—and give them the instruction manual!

Best for: 

• Technology sector
• Board meetings with B2B decision-makers
• Brand activations & influencer events

4. Pool floaties

Did you see that KFC created a Colonel Sanders pool floatie? This isn’t limited to KFC; any brand can create its own version of a pool floatie. If you have a mascot, you can convert it into a hilarious (and functional) promotional product like this to make a big splash.

Best for: 

• Giveaways
• Contests
• Poolside events
• Brands with mascots

5. Custom comic books

They say that you should position your brand as the hero of the story. What better way to tell your story than with a custom comic book? Create your own superhero, trusty sidekick, and supervillains to make a cheeky piece of promotional material that folks won’t soon forget. 

Best for: 

• Graphic novel & pop culture events
• Quirky brands
• Collectible items for company milestones

6. Candles and perfume

Did you know that our sense of smell is most directly related to memory? In other words, if you want your customers to remember you, use special scents to forge fast connections. You can do that with custom-branded candles with totally unique aromas. 

You can also create your own perfume! Some brands take this seriously and create fabulous scents. Other brands, like Burger King, develop a silly, viral product that customers clamor for. 

Best for: 

• Beauty brands
• Brands with storefronts (even better if you’re a brand like Subway that’s known for a particular smell)

7. Alcohol

Depending on your audience, you can also create a line of branded alcohol. We’re dead serious: Arby’s created its own french fry-flavored vodka. Alcohol can be a little tricky, so make sure you check recipients’ IDs before giving away bottles of your own branded libations. 

Best for: 

• Food brands
• Brands that market to adults

8. Quilted blankets

There’s nothing cozier in the world than snuggling up under a blanket. And yes, you can create a high-quality quilted blanket featuring your logo. Why not throw in a mug and loose leaf tea for ultimate coziness? 

Best for: 

• Home goods brands
• Corporate gifting
• Events held during the winter or in cold locations 

9. Live plant kits

Succulents are all the rage right now. With a live plant kit, you can both brighten people’s day with a gorgeous plant and ensure your brand has a permanent place in their home or office. It’s a win-win!

Best for: 

• Eco-friendly brands
• Employee appreciation efforts & work from home kits
• B2B settings

10. Custom shoes

A brightly colored pair of kicks can do a lot of selling for you. Give away name-brand shoes, like Vans or Converse, that feature your logo front and center. You’ll need to either get your customers’ sizes beforehand or order a variety of sizes to accommodate everyone, so keep that in mind!

Best for: 

• Pre-scheduled meetings and demos
• Contests or giveaways
• Event gifting stations

11. Gaming headsets and consoles

How do you feel about creating a custom PS4 skin with your logo and colors? Or a quirky pair of gaming headphones? Both types of merchandise are brandable, so if you cater to the gaming crowd, these products make for fantastic giveaways. 

Best for: 

• Gaming companies
• Tech companies

12. Smartwatches

Smartwatches like the Apple Watch are a hot commodity at conventions. But did you know that you can add your colors and logo to popular smartwatch bands? Instead of promoting just the Apple brand, you can get extra mileage with every branded smartwatch you share with your audience. 

Best for: 

• Contests or giveaways
• Wellness program prizes
• Conferences

13. Nail polish

You might not be able to cram your logo into a nail polish bottle, but you can certainly transform your brand colors into a custom set of nail polishes. For example, brands like Target could roll out a red and white nail polish collection in their iconic colors. Since you’ve already gone to the trouble of choosing intentional brand colors, nail polish is a great way to delight your clients.

Best for: 

• Beauty brands
• Women’s brands
• Event swag bag items
• Brands for teens and tweens

Promotional products should turn heads

More traditional promotional products like T-shirts and water bottles certainly get the job done. When you want to really think outside the box, promote yourself with more unusual branded items. 

These 13 choices are a great starting point, but the sky’s the limit! Get in touch with Boundless to brainstorm out-of-the-box promotional products and Inspire Brand Love™ moments with your customers.