Customers offer winning promotional item ideas 

By Laurie Frees

Need inspiration for your next promotion? You’re in the right place. Our customers are always coming up with creative ways to use branded items. From celebrating team members and elevating events to building awareness for causes that matter, 4imprint customers share the promotional item ideas that earned them #SwaggingRights.  

Recognition and rewards 

Whether recognizing an achievement, rewarding participation or marking an important milestone, a well-chosen promotional product can make moments more memorable. 

• “We gave the laptop sleeves to students in our night school program as a practical end-of-the-year giveaway!” — Eli 

• “We got these t-shirts for our employees to recognize Mental Health Awareness Month.” — Roxie 

• “I ordered 100 purple power banks customized with the logo of our Post Prom party to use in gift bags for the Senior Prom students that attended the afterparty. They were a huge hit and the students were happy with their gifts. 4imprint made ordering so easy, including a reorder when I realized we were going to need more. Thank you so much for great customer service and a great product!” — Diane 

• “Custom Sardinia Pint Glasses for our 5k run prizes were a hit!” — Amy 

Event swag  

Custom promo items can take an event from good to great. Whether welcoming attendees, giving people something useful to take home or adding more fun to the experience, these customers nailed it.  

• “We were looking for a fun give-away item to use at our gala. These chip clips were perfect! They arrived on time and looked great. We paired them with small bags of chocolate and everyone loved them.” — Beth 

• “Stuffed [tote bags] with donated company swag for networking/event giveaway.” — Karla 

• “Beautiful, glossy, and high quality! Much better than they look like in photos! We can’t wait to give these [bag tags] out at our charity race!” — Keith 

• “We ordered branded sunglasses to donate to a nonprofit event swag bag, and our experience was fantastic from start to finish. The logo looked amazing and the sunglasses were a huge hit!” — Jenna 

Building brand awareness 

From membership drives to customer outreach, these organizations used promotional products to boost visibility and make connections.  

• “We are using these pens in the office and giving them away to customers and potential customers. Great pens!!” — Robin 

• “We used our hand fans for two purposes - to promote our wedding barn The Ruby Loft on one side and a local non-profit that serves children on the other side. We had hundreds of fans walking around the County Fair - to include the Fair Queen and her escorts - advertising for us and serving a worthy cause at the same time.” — Kenneth 

• “Our equine lawyer, as a sponsor at prominent horse shows, provides backpacks for participants to keep show goodies and giveaways. This item has become a signature for the lawyer.” — Rose 

• “The restock order of our Friends of the Mercer Public Library wine glasses are a perfect addition to the launch of the 2026/2027 Membership Drive!” — Julia 

Everyday essentials 

Promotional products are more effective when they become go-to favorites for recipients. These customers found items people were happy to wear, carry or use repeatedly. 

• “We love using the sunglasses and gel pens for giveaways and raffles! Since summertime is right around the corner, having the sunglasses be used for giveaways at events will be great. The gel pens write so smoothly that even our own staff members beg to have one, so I believe we will keep that under our "favorites" list for future reorders!” — Ann 

• “We are using these custom Shed Rain^® umbrellas for a special fundraiser supporting Keyser High School Athletics! Ainsley Friend, an Athletic Queen Candidate, is leading the charge to raise school spirit and crucial funds for our sports programs. Every umbrella sold helps support our student-athletes and keeps our fans dry in the stands, no matter the weather. Go Golden Tornadoes!” — Jessica 

• “Love my new cardigan!! It's great for those chilly indoor events!” — Adina 

• “We gave away a pallet of beans at a BBQ Competition and these green bags were the perfect size to hold 2 cans. It was fun to see all the lime green bags in the crowd of people.” — Jennifer 

Share your winning promotional product ideas 

Do you have a promotional product success story? We’d love to hear it. Visit our #SwaggingRights page and tell your story.  

Laurie Frees

Laurie Frees is a merchandising category manager at 4imprint who specializes in apparel. With over 25 years of experience in merchandising and product development—plus four years in the promotional products industry—she brings deep expertise in fabric construction and logo application. Laurie manages the product assortment across all apparel categories, including T-shirts, polos, outerwear, dress shirts, sweatshirts and more. Her role includes tracking trends, building supplier partnerships and analyzing data to guide decisions. With a strong focus on products made from sustainable materials, Laurie helps drive innovation in core apparel offerings that customers rely on to showcase their brands.

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