PROMO | 5 MIN READ
The Numbers Are In: Promotional Products Still Beat Every Other Form of Advertising
Written by Michael Strack
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Think about the last branded t-shirt you got at an event. Or the pen sitting on your desk right now with a logo on it. Or the tote bag you keep grabbing on the way out the door. You probably don’t think of those things as advertising, and that’s exactly what makes them so effective.
The Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) just released their 2026/2027 Global Ad Impressions Study, and the data is clear: promotional products work. Not in a “we think they probably help because we sell them” kind of way, but in a “the numbers are overwhelming and it’s not even close” kind of way.
People Actually LIKE Promo
Here’s the big one: 75% of U.S. consumers have a positive opinion of promotional products. That ranked higher than TV ads, internet ads, mobile ads, and social media ads. First place across every advertising format ASI evaluated.
We live in a world where people pay for ad blockers, skip YouTube ads, and scroll past sponsored posts without even registering they’ve done it. But hand someone a branded fleece jacket or a tumbler? They keep it. They use it. And they remember who gave it to them.
78% of consumers said they’d have a more favorable view of a company after receiving a promo item, and 76% said they’d be more likely to do business with that company. That’s roughly 8/10 people walking away from your branded giveaway thinking better of your business.
What People Want to Receive (and What Actually Drives Business)
What gets people most excited? T-shirts came in at 55%, fleece jackets at 52%, and food gifts at 51%. Bags, drinkware, blankets, and caps were close behind.
Things change a little when the question is framed differently: When asked which products would make someone most likely to do business with the advertiser, the rankings shifted. Food gifts jumped to the top at 92%. Blankets hit 87%. Fleece jackets and desk accessories both came in at 83%.
We can see a pattern here. The items that make people feel something (a warm jacket, a nice snack, a cozy blanket) tend to outperform the cheaper transactional giveaways when it comes to actually driving business. That doesn’t mean pens and stickers don’t have their place. It means matching the product to the moment matters. We help clients think through that all the time, whether it’s picking the right giveaway for a client event, an employee onboarding kit, or a trade show booth.
Eye-Popping Impressions
ASI calculates lifetime impressions for each product category by looking at how long people keep items, how often they use them, and how many people see them in the process.
Fleece jackets and outerwear generate an average of 9,000 impressions over their lifetime, more than any other category. Bags come in at 4,900. Caps and hats hit 4,000. T-shirts rack up 3,500.
Now think about what those impressions cost. A branded bag averages about $0.001 per impression.
Pens land in the same range. Even a fleece jacket, which has a higher upfront cost, comes in at about $0.004 per impression. Compare that to what you’re paying per click on Google Ads or per thousand impressions on social media, and the math really ain’t mathing.
Quality and Values (And Origin) Are Part of the Equation More Than Ever
One of the more telling sections of the study looked at what influences whether someone would actually purchase a branded product. Quality topped the list at 55%, followed by design at 50%. Being from a company they love came in at 42%, and Made in the USA was right behind it at 41%.
That Made in the USA number keeps growing. 79% of consumers said they’d view an advertiser more favorably if the item was domestically made. 74% said the same about sustainable products. 73% responded positively to socially responsible items.
This tracks with our own customer conversations as well. When you source a promo item that’s USA-made or eco-friendly, it can change how the person receiving it actually perceives the brand. The data confirms what we’ve been seeing in real conversations with our customers.
So What Does This Mean for You?
People keep promotional products. 84% of consumers hold onto a branded bag for at least a year. Half would keep a blanket for more than five years. 87% keep a fleece jacket for more than a year. These aren’t items that hit the trash can on the way out of the convention center. They go home, they get used, and they keep working for your brand long after the event is over.
People use promotional products. 77% of drinkware recipients use theirs at least once a week. 64% of writing instrument recipients use them daily. Every use is another impression, another moment with your logo in someone’s hand or on someone’s back.
If you’re planning for an upcoming event, a recruiting push, a client appreciation campaign, or even just thinking about how to stay top of mind with your best customers, promo is one of the most cost-effective ways to do it. The research keeps confirming it year after year.
We love helping clients figure out which products make the most sense for their goals and their budget. If you want to talk through some ideas, give us a call or shoot us a message. That’s what we’re here for.
