Top Promotional Products to Enhance Your Parade Presence
Parades are like the Olympics of local festivities. Everyone in town is out and about while small businesses are on display. These events, similar to other outdoor events like beer festivals, present an opportunity for small businesses to flex their creative marketing muscles and make a lasting and meaningful impression on the community.
But when everyone has a float and is quite literally firing streamers into the air, standing out is challenging and requires more than good vibes.
Enter promotional products for parades, a classic marketing strategy for small businesses.
After the chaos of the day’s festivities, you need to give people something to remind them of your business and your participation in the event. A free sticker or tote bag does just that, but those aren’t the only options, and some promotional products for parades are more effective than others.
What Are the Benefits of Promotional Products for Parades?
Picture this: The sun is shining, the crowd is buzzing, and your logo is front and center in the parade. But time always moves on, and the sun eventually sets. As folks go home, are they going to remember seeing your logo in the “thanks to our sponsors” section? Let’s be honest; you need to give people something tangible or engaging.
Promotional products are ideal for parades. They are physical reminders of your brand. They allow your small business to increase brand awareness, and if you can give them something they’ll use, that’s even better. Remember, the idea isn’t necessarily to get parade goers to call you right now. The goal is to increase brand awareness so they will remember and trust your name in their time of need.
How to Effectively Use Promotional Products at Parades
Nailing the right kind of promotional products creates a lasting impression. But it can be tricky. Before ordering a thousand t-shirts, it’s essential to understand your marketing budget and how to best approach these opportunities.
You don’t want to waste resources, but you also don't want to be cheap. Finding harmony between your budget and promotional products is the first step to practical use.
Let’s talk about intelligent strategies to maximize the impact of your promotional products at parades.
- Giveaways: Free stuff is free stuff, and handing out promotional items as giveaways captures attention and generates interest. However, make sure you approach things practically. Create an eye-catching design that’s easy to carry or hold (think stickers or buttons). You don’t want someone to suddenly have to be responsible for carrying something intrusive or annoying.
- Distribute Samples: Most likely, it’ll be hot out there. Effective and popular parade giveaways include simply handing out practical samples. Think about small water bottles with custom labels or hand fans. People will thank you!
- Social Media Contests: To extend the lifespan of buzz around your promotional products, consider organizing social media contests. For example, encourage people to take a photo of your product and tag your business for an opportunity to win a bigger prize.
10 Top Promotional Products for Summer Parades
Yeah, you get it. People love free stuff. But parades have a specific vibe, so you must carefully choose which products you will invest in. Here are our suggestions:
Custom Stickers or Magnets
Never mess with a classic. Custom stickers and magnets are affordable and accessible marketing tools. Simply hand them out and let customers do the rest as they put them on their laptops, refrigerators, or anywhere else. People expect them and want them; sometimes, they even collect them. Create a unique design using your logo, brand colors, or witty slogans. Then maybe your brand will live on someone’s fridge for the next 10 years.
Custom Keychains
Keychains are fun and funky, a way to signal your brand to the world. We recommend adding a little practicality as well. Maybe put your logo on a bottle opener they’ll carry with them forever.
Custom Hand Fans
Help parade attendees stay cool by giving away custom hand fans with your logo. You know those concrete sidewalks are sometimes hot enough to cook an egg. People will be grateful for help cooling down — and they’ll remember it was your business that helped out.
Custom Sunglasses
On that bright blue sky day, your brand can help protect parade-goers’ eyes from the sun. Stylish and useful, the best kind of combination. How’s that for building your reputation?
Custom Tote Bags
Your business won’t be the only one handing out free stuff at the parade. Jump ahead of the competition by providing a tote bag with your logo on the side. People will be able to hold their belongings on the day of the parade and keep using your branded tote in the future. Maybe to the beach, maybe to the store — but always with your brand.
Custom T-Shirts or Apparel
Admittedly, t-shirts and other clothing items are more budget-intensive than other promotional products. That said, if you do have room in the budget, it’s possible to be strategic about how to distribute them — on top of your team wearing them. You can’t give everyone a t-shirt like you can a sticker, but you can create incentives to win one or toss them out here and there into the crowd. (Or maybe work with a local cheer squad and get a t-shirt cannon involved…).
Custom Water Bottle Labels
A hydrated life is a happy one. Similar to above, another way to help out the community around your parade is to simply hand out water. Slap a custom water bottle label on the side with your logo, and people will remember who helped them quench their thirst on that sizzling concrete.
Custom Frisbees
All right, it’s time to take your brand to new heights! (Sorry.) Jokes aside, a custom frisbee is an excellent promotional product for parades. They’re fun, interactive, and great for displaying a logo. It’s like a sticker that flies. Not a bad concept if we do say so ourselves.
Custom Koozies
Koozies are one of those things that you’re always thankful to find around the house — and you never buy them on your own. For a small business, a clever koozie with a nice design is an awesome long-term promotional product. Next summer, someone will be remembering your brand as they enjoy a cold beverage on a hot day.
Custom Flags
However you’re participating in the parade, make sure that your brand is on display. That might seem obvious, but it’s surprising how easy it is to forget priority number one — marketing your brand — when you’ve got about two million other things to worry about. A well-designed custom flag is a sure way to make your brand pop, soaring above the rest of the lot.
This doesn’t need to be a direct giveaway or a freebie, just something that folks see passing them during the parade. So if you invest in a custom feather flag or banner for your craft fair booth, you can use it to represent your business during a parade as well.
Enhance Your Parade Presence with Stomp
Paraders offer small businesses an excellent opportunity to increase brand visibility, connect with the community, and create a memorable experience. Seriously, it’s important to remember that by contributing to a parade, you’re building a connection with your neighbors. People remember those who support them.
For designing and creating custom promotional products for parades or other outdoor events, Stomp has got you covered. We provide a wide range of customizable products, including stickers, hand fans, water bottle labels, and more. Let’s work together and start designing today.
- Nashira Edmiston
