Promotional Products

Wire binding lies completely flat, which suits workshops and writing without a desk. Some hardbacks are made to open flat too, such as the Karst® notebook with its flat-lay binding. Where the product page doesn't state the binding, photos of the notebook open are the best guide.

Lined, plain or squared: which should I choose?

160 pages, because a sheet has two sides. Product pages use both figures, so when you compare two notebooks, check whether each one is counting sheets or pages.

Heavier paper, so check the gsm on the product page. Standard office printer paper is 80gsm, which gives you a reference point, and gel pens, fountain pens and felt tips show through lighter paper more than a ballpoint does.

Not necessarily, because soft touch describes the finish rather than the cover. It means a smooth, velvety surface, and many hardback notebooks have a soft touch cover, so check the product page for whether the notebook is a hardback.

A5 is 148 x 210mm and suits proper note-taking, while A6 is 105 x 148mm, half the size, and suits jotting, pockets and giveaways. Those are the standard sizes, and a notebook's actual dimensions can differ a little, so check the product page.

A5, because it's large enough for session notes and small enough to carry all day. A4 suits training and workshops where people work alongside printed handouts, and A6 suits jotting rather than note-taking.

A5, because it suits meetings, conferences and desks alike. A6 and pocket sizes suit giveaways and site visits, and A4 suits training and workshops where people work alongside printed handouts.

Yes. Our range includes notebooks with recycled paper covers and pages, FSC certified paper, cork and PU covers and stone paper, and the product page names the material for each. Check the cover, the pages and the binding separately, because each can be made from something different.

One they'd buy themselves, such as a hardback from a name they recognise, with a small, discreet logo rather than a large print. Presented in a box or paired with a good pen, it reads as a gift rather than as merchandise.

An A5 notebook they'll use at their desk every day, ideally with a pen loop and a back pocket, and a matching pen. A section at the front for contact details, as on the Mood A5 Soft Feel Notebook, is a useful touch for a notebook that's carried between the office and home.

On products that offer it, yes, and it's worth doing for retail bags and staff gifts where the bag is carried both ways round. A second side is a second print pass, so it adds to the cost per bag. The product page shows the options available on each bag.

Lighter cotton is the usual choice for exhibition giveaways ordered in volume, and heavier cotton suits delegate bags, staff kits and anything that has to carry weight for a full day. The weight in ounces is on each product page, along with the print area, so compare the two together rather than the weight on its own.

A natural cotton tote printed in one colour, with long handles so it can be carried over a shoulder. It's the bag delegates use to hold everything else they collect, so it stays visible around the hall all day, and a bold simple logo will read from further away than a detailed one.

On products that offer it, yes, and it's worth doing for retail bags and staff gifts where the bag is carried both ways round. A second side is a second print pass, so it adds to the cost per bag. The product page shows the options available on each bag.

Lighter cotton is the usual choice for exhibition giveaways ordered in volume, and heavier cotton suits delegate bags, staff kits and anything that has to carry weight for a full day. The weight in ounces is on each product page, along with the print area, so compare the two together rather than the weight on its own.

A natural cotton tote printed in one colour, with long handles so it can be carried over a shoulder. It's the bag delegates use to hold everything else they collect, so it stays visible around the hall all day, and a bold simple logo will read from further away than a detailed one.

A branded fan is one of the few giveaways that solves a problem on the spot, which is why people keep hold of them at outdoor events. The large print area on the bamboo fan also means your brand is visible from a distance rather than only to the person holding it.

The Full Colour Bamboo Fan is made from bamboo and paper, and our product page notes that bamboo is 100% biodegradable and recyclable. The USB and rechargeable models are electronic products and should be disposed of accordingly.

100 units on the Full Colour Bamboo Fan. Minimums for the USB and rechargeable models are on their own product pages.

The Full Colour Bamboo Fan gives you 210 x 380mm across the front in full colour. That's a large print area for a giveaway at this price, with room for a message or a campaign line alongside your logo.

The category holds 6 products across three types: a full colour bamboo hand fan, a USB-C phone fan and a rechargeable handheld misting fan

Yes. Food and drink are excluded from the advertising exception that covers branded gifts, so printed confectionery, branded wine and other consumables aren't treated the same way as a branded pen or notebook for that rule, however well branded they are. They can still be effective promotional products, but if the deduction matters to your decision it's worth knowing before you order.

Filter by price on any category page and set the ceiling to £1. Printed sweets are the most reliable place to look, with branded Love Hearts starting at £0.49 a roll.

Minimum quantities vary by product. Most items in this range start at 25 to 50 units. You'll find the exact minimum on each product page. If you're onboarding small numbers at a time, the bundled gift sets are worth looking at as some have lower thresholds.

A notebook, a pen and a water bottle or mug cover the basics and are used from day one. If your budget allows, a bundled gift set in a branded box creates a more considered first impression without requiring you to source and assemble individual items.

We only use the term eco-friendly on products where the material claim is specific and verifiable. If a product has a recognised third-party certification, that will be listed on the product page. If you need to verify credentials for a procurement brief or ESG report, contact us and we'll provide the relevant documentation.

Minimum quantities vary by product. You'll find the minimum listed on each product page. If the minimum is higher than you need, there is often a similar product with a lower threshold.

The most recognised certifications are GRS (Global Recycled Standard) for recycled content, FSC for sustainably sourced wood and paper products, GOTS for organic textiles and OEKO-TEX for products tested against harmful substances. If a product in our range carries one of these, it will be noted on the product page. If you need certification documentation for a procurement process, ask us and we'll provide it.

Yes. We have a dedicated range of eco-friendly promotional products made from recycled, organic or sustainably sourced materials. You can browse that range on our eco products page.

Almost certainly. Dispatch is 7 days on our two most popular sweet lines, so a month's notice is comfortable. Check the guaranteed delivery date on the product page to confirm.

Yes. On most of the range the logo goes on the wrapper, the label or the outer packaging in full colour. The Love Hearts label gives you a print area of 63.5 x 31.1mm and the lollipops give you 37 x 37mm.

100 units on both the Love Hearts and the lollipops, which is low enough for a single event or one mailing. Minimums are set per product, so check the page for the item you want.

Branded Love Hearts start at £0.49 per roll and promotional lollipops at £0.61 each, both at a minimum order of 100. Prices across the rest of the range are on the individual product pages.

Hotline Promotional Products supplies branded sweets, chocolate, mints and biscuits across the UK, with 62 products in the range and a free Visual Proof within 20 minutes before you order.

The honest answer is the one that gets used the most times, because durability matters more than the material label. Jute, organic cotton and GRS certified recycled cotton all have a case, and each carries a different kind of claim. What matters when you order is that the standard is named on the product listing rather than just the word eco.

Yes, on products that offer it. Full colour printing handles photographic images and logos with many colours in one process, rather than screen printing them a colour at a time. It works best on smoother fabrics like cotton, and coarser materials such as jute hold bold shapes better than fine detail.

Yes, with one thing to know. Recycling shortens the cotton fibres, so recycled cotton is usually blended with recycled polyester for strength, and the finished bag is comparable in durability to a conventional one. Expect slight colour variation and a marginally more textured surface, and look for the GRS mark on the product page to confirm the recycled content.

They're better at different things. Jute is stiffer and stronger, holds its shape without a gusset and gives you a large print area, which suits shoppers and bold branding. Cotton is lighter, softer, cheaper at volume and takes finer print detail, which suits exhibition giveaways and anything with a detailed logo.

It's the weight of one square yard of the fabric, so a 5oz bag is made from fabric weighing five ounces per square yard. Higher numbers mean thicker, more durable fabric. One ounce per square yard is roughly 34gsm, so 5oz is around 170gsm if you're comparing against a bag quoted in metric.

They're the same fibre at different weights. Canvas is cotton woven heavily enough to hold its shape, typically 10oz per square yard and above, so the bag stands up on its own and lasts for years. A standard cotton tote is lighter, folds flat and costs less per unit, which is why it suits volume giveaways.

A good kit has something to write on and with, something to drink from, something to wear or carry, and something to eat, plus a handwritten card and the practical information someone needs for their first day. A notebook and pen, a mug or reusable bottle, a hoodie or tote bag, and branded chocolate or coffee cover it for most organisations. Add anything role specific, such as a lanyard and badge holder or a laptop stand.

Something small enough that taking one does not feel like agreeing to anything. Pens work because they are useful, cheap enough to offer freely and easy to hand over mid-sentence. The point is not the pen. It is that somebody who has taken one has stopped walking, which is the hard part.

Hotline Promotional Products supplies printed pens across the UK, including the pens on the Pink Sisters Wellbeing Club stand and those used by Spitalfields Music at a university freshers' fair. Send us your logo and you will have a free Visual Proof showing it on the pen within 20 minutes during working hours.

It depends on the space you are given and how far away people will be standing. Pink Sisters used an A2 banner for a community event stand. For a larger hall or a trade show pitch, a full-height pull-up gives you more reading distance. Tell us the stand size and we will tell you what fits.

Usually yes, and often before the giveaways. A banner is the only item on a stand that works on people who have not stopped yet, and the only one that gets used again at the next event. For a group running a regular programme, it is the cheapest item per appearance on the whole stand.

Three things, and only one of them is a giveaway. Something that identifies you from a distance, which is usually a roller banner. Something to hand to people who stop, which is usually a pen. And something for them to carry what they collect, which is usually a bag. Pink Sisters Wellbeing Club ran their Doncaster Council event stand on exactly that combination.

Yes. Metal pens can be laser engraved, which removes a thin layer of the surface to reveal the metal underneath, so the logo is permanent and won't rub off. Engraving is a single tone, so it suits a simple logo or wordmark, and the engraving area is shown on each product page.

A pen they'd be glad to own, such as a recognised brand or a well made metal pen, engraved with a small logo rather than printed with a large one. A matching pen and notebook makes a more considered gift than a pen on its own.

Choose plastic for volume and colour, and metal for pens people keep. Plastic pens cost less per pen, come in more barrel colours and suit screen, pad or full colour printing. Metal pens feel heavier, last longer and suit laser engraving, which can't rub off.

A plastic push-button or twist pen, printed in one colour, that writes smoothly first time. Giveaway pens get compared with the pens people already own, so a reliable one is the pen that gets kept. Keep the logo bold and simple, because the print area on a pen is small.

A shopper is built to carry heavier loads again and again, often in jute or juco, which stands up on its own, with rope handles. A tote is lighter, folds flat and costs less per bag, which suits giveaways and events. Retailers usually choose a shopper, while exhibitors usually choose a tote.

Yes. The branding method and branding area vary by bag and are shown on each product page, and a free Visual Proof™ shows your logo in position before you order. Keep the logo simple and small, since discreet branding is what people carry outside work.

Yes, for audiences who carry kit, such as sports clubs, schools, gyms and fun runs. It has a large print area on the back, it's carried at eye level in public, and it folds flat, which keeps postage down. For heavier loads, a rucksack is more comfortable to carry.

The usual delays are artwork that needs redrawing, a proof waiting for sign off and changes after approval. Prints that need extra passes, such as several colours, a second side or a light logo on a dark bag, can also move the date.

Choose a tote set up for speed, such as our Express Cotton Tote Bag, keep the print to one colour on one side, and upload a vector logo when you request your Visual Proof™. Approve the proof as soon as it comes back and choose the fastest delivery option shown, checking its date before you pay.

It depends on the bag and the print, and you can check before you order. Enter 200 on the product page and choose your print options to see the current delivery date, then check the options in your basket, where the date you select at checkout is guaranteed. Our Express Cotton Tote Bag, printed in one colour on one side, is the place to start.

Some are and some aren't, so it depends on the product rather than the claim. Certified and recycled materials can cost more, while other eco options cost much the same as their conventional equivalents. Every product page shows the price at the quantity you enter, so compare specific items side by side.

Give away something reusable, such as a steel bottle, a cotton tote or a notebook, and check how each item is packed, since individual plastic bags undo the point. Order only the quantity you'll hand out, and leave the year off the design so anything left over can be used at your next event.

Gifts where every part can be plastic free, such as unlaminated cotton or jute bags, solid wood and bamboo items, notebooks with paper covers and stainless steel bottles with plastic free lids. Check the refill, trims, coatings, linings and packaging as well as the main material, because a card pen with a plastic refill or a laminated bag isn't plastic free.

It means the material can be broken down by natural processes, but the claim is only useful if it says under what conditions. UK advertising guidance expects biodegradable and compostable claims to be backed by evidence and to explain what they mean for disposal, including whether an item needs industrial composting rather than a home compost heap.

Look for a named material and standard on the product listing, such as GRS for recycled content, FSC for paper and wood or GOTS for organic cotton, rather than words like eco-friendly or green. Ask which parts of the product the claim covers and whether the certificate can be shown. FSC certificates can be checked in FSC's public certificate search.

Often, provided the product gets used. Recycled material replaces new raw material, but a recycled item thrown away after one event still took energy, transport and packaging to make. A recycled product used for years is the better outcome, and the share of recycled content should be stated on the listing rather than implied.

The product, the quantity, your logo, the date you need the items by and the delivery address. Your preferred logo version, brand colours and any extra text help the proof come back right first time. On our site, entering the product, quantity and options shows you the price and the current delivery date straight away.

A small number of good quality items that hint at the product without revealing it, presented in a box with a card. One item the recipient would choose for themselves makes a stronger impression than a bag of mixed merchandise. Time the kits to arrive before the embargo lifts, so recipients have them in hand on the day.

Work from a per head figure rather than a product: divide your budget by the number of people you need to reach, and let that number drive the shortlist. Add a small overage, because samples get handed out and more people turn up than register, and a second order means paying a second setup charge. Every product page shows the price at the quantity you enter, so you can test a shortlist against your figure in a few minutes.

Order the components in bulk for a quarter or a year of expected hires and assemble the kits in-house as people join, which is considerably cheaper than ordering individual kits. Your past orders are stored in your account, so repeating the same order is quick and the details don't get lost when the person running it changes. If the order needs approval, you can share a basket so colleagues can review it before anything is ordered.

Ask in the offer paperwork or the pre start email rather than during the first week, because collecting sizes is usually the slowest part of the whole order. Provide a size chart rather than just small, medium and large, since branded clothing sizing varies between products. Order a small buffer in the most common sizes, because a second order means paying a second setup charge.

Work from a per person figure and apply it consistently, rather than tiering by seniority, because new starters compare notes quickly. The per kit cost falls significantly if you order the components in bulk and assemble the kits yourself, since setup costs are the same whether you brand five items or five hundred. Every product page shows the price at the quantity you enter.

The same kit as everyone else, posted to arrive the day before they start. Choose items that survive a courier, such as a hardback notebook, a bottle, a beanie and coffee or chocolate, and avoid anything fragile or bulky. Confirm a delivery address they're comfortable with in advance, because not everyone wants a work parcel sent to their home.

On or before the first day. A kit that arrives weeks into someone's employment does very little, because the point of it's to make the first day feel prepared for. Order against the start date and check the guaranteed delivery date before you pay rather than after.

A good kit has something to write on and with, something to drink from, something to wear or carry, and something to eat, plus a handwritten card and the practical information someone needs for their first day. A notebook and pen, a mug or reusable bottle, a hoodie or tote bag, and branded chocolate or coffee cover it for most organisations. Add anything role specific, such as a lanyard and badge holder or a laptop stand.

The items can be the same, but the rules around them differ. Within a team, everyone should receive the same thing, because staff open gifts alongside each other and any difference in value is noticed. Client gifts can vary by relationship, and they follow the business gifts exception, while staff gifts run on HMRC's trivial benefits rules instead.

For most businesses the practical ceiling is £50 per recipient per tax period, because that's the limit in HMRC's business gifts exception, and it counts all gifts to that person across the period rather than per occasion. Within that, spend on weight, material and finish rather than on adding more items, since one good thing reads better than three adequate ones. Every product page shows the price at the quantity you enter.

Usually not, because HMRC treats client gifts as business entertainment, but there's an exception for gifts carrying a conspicuous advertisement for your business. To qualify, the branding must be on the gift itself rather than the wrapping, the gift must not be food, drink, tobacco or an exchangeable voucher, and the total cost of gifts to that recipient in the tax period must not exceed £50. Fail any one condition and the entire cost is disallowed rather than just the excess, so check with your accountant before you commit.

The gifts that land best are ones a client will use at work, where they're seen every day: a good notebook, a weighty pen, quality drinkware, a leather or felt folder, or a well chosen gift set of two items. Keep the branding small, since a discreet logo on something good gets used in public while a heavily branded version doesn't. If tax treatment matters, note that food and drink are excluded from HMRC's business gifts exception whatever they cost, while a branded item under £50 can qualify.

Weight and material do most of the work, because people judge an item in the first two seconds by how it feels in the hand. Restrained branding is the second factor, since a small logo on something good gets used in public for years while a heavily branded version gets put away. Presentation matters more than people expect, and usefulness underpins all of it, because a premium item nobody needs is still clutter.

Either works, but decide before you start collecting anything. Company-funded orders are simpler because you order against a headcount and a size list. Staff-funded orders need one deadline covering both the money and the sizes, or you will be chasing two things from the same people twice. It is also worth checking with whoever runs your payroll how branded clothing given to staff is treated for tax, because that can differ depending on whether it counts as workwear or as a gift.

Yes. Minimums on clothing are set per product and sit at the lower end of the range, and they generally apply per style and per colour rather than per order. The simplest way to keep a small order workable is one garment, one colour and one branding position, with the size split providing the variety. The minimum on the product page is the one that applies, and if it is higher than you need there is often a similar garment with a lower threshold.

Embroidery for most company hoodies. It is stitched into the fabric so it does not crack or fade, it holds its colour on dark garments, and it suits the left chest logo that most teams want. Print is the better choice for a detailed or multi-colour logo that thread cannot reproduce, or for a large design across the back. Embroidery is priced on stitch count and print on the number of colours.

Use a private form rather than a group chat, ask for size and fit preference in the same question, and include the sizes above and below the standard run so nobody has to ask for them specially. Give one deadline and say what happens to anyone who misses it. Order a small buffer in the most common sizes if the budget allows.

Settle who is paying, pick one garment and branding method, then collect sizes on a private form with a deadline. Order against the size list rather than a headcount. Size collection is what sets the timeline on a clothing order, so start it as soon as the garment is agreed rather than waiting for the budget to be signed off.

Whether it is single or double walled, because only double walled bottles insulate and stop condensation. The lid type, since a sports lid is quicker to drink from and a screw cap seals better in a bag. The material, including whether plastic is BPA free and what the recycled content is if sustainability is in the brief. And the print area, because a curved surface takes a narrower logo than the product suggests.

A mug if it will live on a desk, because it gets used every day and stays in view. A bottle if people move around, commute or work on site, because it travels and works for hot and cold drinks. If you are buying one item for a mixed team, a double walled stainless steel bottle is the safest choice, since it covers both uses and survives a bag.

The usable print area on a curved product is the panel flat enough to take an even application, which is narrower than the product looks, so wide logos are reduced to fit the panel rather than the product. Simple marks hold up well and fine detail can be lost at the edges where the surface falls away. A wrap-around print covers the whole surface instead of a panel and is the route for artwork that will not sit in one. On stainless steel, laser engraving is a single-colour alternative that cannot fade.

A travel mug is designed to be drunk from directly, fits a car cup holder and opens and closes repeatedly through a commute. A flask is designed to carry a drink sealed, usually holds more, and often has a cup built into the lid. Both are vacuum insulated, so both keep a drink hot or cold. The practical difference is the lid, and whether you want to drink from the item or pour from it.

It depends on the product and on how the logo was applied. A print has to be properly fired or cured to survive repeated hot washes and detergent, and one that is not will dull and lift over time. Check the dishwasher guidance on the product page before ordering, particularly for staff mugs that will be washed daily. Laser engraving on stainless steel removes the question entirely, because there is no ink on the surface to come away.

Minimums on drinkware are set per product rather than as a company policy, and mugs sit at the lower end of the range, so a small order is usually workable. The minimum shown on each mug's product page is the one that applies to that mug. If the mug you want has a higher minimum than you need, ask us, because there is normally a similar mug with a lower one rather than a reason to scale the order up.

Minimums on tech products are set per product rather than as a company policy, and they tend to be higher than on simple giveaway items because each unit is an assembled electronic product. The minimum shown on each product page is the one that applies. If it is higher than you need, ask, because there is often a comparable product with a lower threshold.

Preloading puts your content on the drive before it ships, which is common for press kits, product documentation and conference materials. Two things make it work better: ask whether the preloaded content can be made read-only so it cannot be overwritten by accident, and tell recipients what is on the drive rather than leaving them to discover it. Be aware that some organisations block USB ports as a security policy, so it is worth checking that your audience can use them before ordering.

It depends on what your recipients use. USB-A is the older rectangular connector and still fits most desktop machines. Many current laptops, tablets and phones have only USB-C, so a USB-A only drive will need an adapter that most people will not have. For a mixed or unknown audience, a dual connector drive carrying one of each is the safer choice.

Yes, but it has to travel in cabin baggage rather than in the hold, because lithium batteries are not permitted in checked luggage. Airlines limit batteries by watt hours rather than by capacity alone, and promotional power banks sit well below the level where approval becomes necessary. If you are handing them out at an event where people are flying home, tell them to keep them in hand luggage.

No, and no power bank does. The cells inside run at a lower voltage than the USB output, so the charge is converted on the way out and some energy is lost as heat. What a power bank actually delivers is roughly two thirds of its rated capacity. That is normal and applies to every product on the market, so compare products on the same basis and avoid promising recipients a number of full charges based on the headline figure.

Ask for the UN38.3 transport test summary, which covers the safety testing every lithium battery must pass before it can be shipped by air, sea or road, and the UKCA or CE declaration of conformity naming the product. The unit should also have built-in protection against over-charging, over-discharging, over-current and short circuit. A supplier who handles branded tech regularly will have both documents to hand rather than needing to source them.

It depends on how the branding is applied. Printed wristbands and screen printed lanyards are among the quicker items to produce, because the decoration goes onto a stock product. Woven lanyards and enamel pins take longer, because the item itself is manufactured to your artwork before anything else happens. Every product page shows a guaranteed delivery date before you order rather than a range of days.

Magnetic fixings do not make a hole in clothing, which matters when staff are wearing their own clothes rather than a uniform, and they are worth the small extra cost for anything worn on good fabric. Pins are cheaper and hold more securely on heavy material. Manufacturers advise that magnetic badges should not be worn by anyone with a pacemaker or an implanted defibrillator, so it is sensible to have a pin version available alongside them.

Tyvek is a tough paper-like material for single-day access control, and it is the cheapest and fastest to produce. Vinyl or plastic bands have a snap or slot closure that survives several days of continuous wear, and a one-time locking clasp makes them tamper evident so they cannot be passed between people. Silicone bands are made to be kept, which suits charity campaigns, memberships and awareness causes rather than entry control.

A safety breakaway is a clasp at the back of the neck that comes apart if the lanyard is pulled or caught, and it is what makes a lanyard safe to wear around machinery, equipment, vehicles or children. Many workplaces require one as standard, and schools, hospitals and manufacturing sites usually will not accept lanyards without one. For a one-day conference it is optional. For anything worn in a workplace, ask for it and check it is included rather than assuming.

When you are ordering very high volume of one single item, when the product has to be tooled because it does not exist in any catalogue, when you control a long lead time, when you have in-house sourcing and compliance capability, or when it is a repeating annual order where the setup cost spreads across years. It is rarely worth it for modest quantities, mixed orders, one-off orders, or anything on a deadline that cannot move.

Usually less than it appears. Most promotional products are manufactured overseas, and what commonly happens in the UK is the decoration rather than the manufacture. "Printed in the UK", "decorated in the UK" and "branded in the UK" all accurately describe products made elsewhere. If provenance matters for a tender or a policy, ask separately where the product was manufactured and where the branding was applied, and expect two distinct answers.

Realistically ten to fourteen weeks door to door, covering sampling and approval, production, sea freight, customs clearance and final delivery. Air freight shortens the middle stage and costs considerably more. Plan around Chinese New Year, when factories close and both the weeks before and the weeks after are disrupted, which can remove around two months of usable calendar. The date moves each year, so check it for the year you are planning in.

The importer, which is you if you bring the goods in yourself. Importing puts you in the legal position of the party placing the product on the UK market, so the requirements around safety, marking and technical documentation become yours rather than the overseas factory's. If you buy from a UK supplier, the supplier holds that position instead. This matters most on anything electrical or battery powered, anything intended for children and anything that touches food or drink.

Freight, import duty at a rate set by the product's classification, import VAT at the standard rate on the goods plus freight plus duty, customs clearance and broker fees, port handling, and delivery from the port. Import VAT is normally recoverable if you are VAT registered, but it still has to be paid at the border so it affects cash flow. Beyond the invoiced costs, budget for samples, currency movement and the possibility of rework if the goods arrive off-spec.

A good cotton tote or a proper conference bag, rather than a cheap non-woven one. Most of a delegate bag's contents are used once and discarded, so the bag itself is the item that survives and carries your event's name afterwards, which makes it the right place to put the budget. Weight matters, because a heavy bag gets left behind, and the bag should not be sealed, since delegates want to see what is inside.

Only if it gets kept. Cost per impression is the price divided by the number of times the item is seen over its life, and at this budget the price barely varies while retention varies enormously. An item that is thrown away generates no impressions at all, so it is not cheap value, it is no value. Spending the full budget on quality rather than on extra quantity generally produces the better result.

Choose one item that passes the usefulness test rather than several that do not. Keyrings, a decent pen, sticky notes and small practical accessories all work at a low unit cost and get taken home. Consider adding branded sweets separately as a way of stopping people at the stand, since that is a different job from the item they leave with. Avoid novelty products and anything printed with the year.

For pulling people to an exhibition stand, yes, and few things do it better. For lasting brand recall, no, because they are eaten and gone, so treat them as a footfall tool rather than as a keepsake and budget for them separately. If you are giving confectionery as a client gift rather than an event giveaway, note that food and drink are excluded from the exception that makes branded gifts deductible.

Usually higher than on more expensive items, which surprises most buyers. Setting up a branding run costs roughly the same whether the product is thirty pence or thirty pounds, so a very cheap item needs many more units before the run is viable. If you need a small quantity, moving up a price band is often more productive than searching for the cheapest possible product. The minimum on each product page is the one that applies.

Not usually. They are picked up, squeezed a couple of times and left behind, which means they fail on usefulness, on visibility and on how long they last. If the appeal is a low unit cost with a good branding area, a keyring or a better quality pen costs about the same and is still in use a year later. Stress balls have a place in specific contexts, such as health and wellbeing campaigns where the object itself relates to the message.

Keyrings, a decent pen rather than the cheapest one, sticky notes and small notepads, bottle openers, and small practical accessories such as cable organisers and phone stands. What they share is that each does a small everyday job, gets used where other people can see it, and lasts. Items failing those three tests get thrown away regardless of how little they cost.

Golf towels, pitch mark repairers, ball markers and headcovers, because each lives in a bag or a pocket, gets seen by playing partners every round and lasts for years. At the prize tier, umbrellas and bags do the same. The exception is anything printed with the year, which guarantees the item is discarded once the date passes, so leave the date off if the event is annual.

The item every player receives at registration, before the round starts. It is the giveaway tier of a golf day as opposed to the prize tier, so it is bought for the whole field on cost per unit and on whether it is useful during play. Printed tees, balls, a pitch mark repairer, a golf towel or a bag tag are the usual choices.

Yes, and the base model matters as much as the print. Branded balls are printed onto stock balls, so you are choosing which ball as well as which logo. Golfers have opinions about balls, and a logo on a cheap base model tends to become the ball somebody is happy to lose over water, while a logo on a model people would actually play gets played. Ask which base models are available before deciding on quantity.

Something that looks worth competing for when it is handed over and gets kept afterwards. Golf umbrellas, golf bags and holdalls, premium drinkware and engraved awards all work. Budget per prize rather than in total, because a golf day usually has five to eight categories once you count longest drive, nearest the pin, best individual, best team and the raffle. The prize does not have to be golf equipment, since most players already own plenty.

A tee gift for the whole field, bought on usefulness during the round rather than on impact. Printed tees are the standard because golfers lose them constantly. A pitch mark repairer with a ball marker, a golf towel or a bag tag all work at a similar level and last considerably longer. Presenting them together in a small branded bag at registration reads better than the same items loose on a table.

For an organisation people have not heard of, yes. A logo is only useful to somebody who already knows what the name means. Intact's tote bags carried information about its programmes alongside the logo. Keep it to one clear line, because a bag covered in text is a bag nobody carries.

It depends on the mug, because minimums are set per product rather than by blanket policy, and every product page shows its own. Small runs are normal for us: we have printed 50 drawstring bags for a volleyball club and 50 cotton totes for a community group. Tell us the mug and the quantity and we will tell you straight away whether it works.

A small branded badge or emblem, often adhesive or pinned, used to carry a logo on clothing, kit or race gear where a full print is not practical. The Lucy Rayner Foundation used them alongside water bottles for its Run Reigate team.

Something to eat or drink, something worth keeping, and the practical information runners need afterwards. Keep it short: if two items do the same job, cut one. The bag itself is usually the thing people still have a year later, so it is worth more of the budget than any single item inside it.

They are heavier, they last longer and they are kept rather than left behind, which is usually what you want at a seated event where guests are assessing everything on the table. If you need documented environmental credentials, ask us about the specific product and we will tell you what certification it carries, or tell you plainly if it carries none.

Minimums are set per product rather than as a company policy, and a stocked notebook branded to your artwork will usually have a lower minimum than one manufactured to your specification, because only the branding step is a custom one. The minimum shown on each product page is the one that applies. If it is higher than you need, ask, because there is often a comparable notebook with a lower threshold.

We don’t currently offer individual name personalisation on our branded notebooks. Our notebooks can be branded with your company logo, artwork or message, with the available print options shown on each product page.

Paper weight matters more than page count. Lighter paper is cheaper and fine for a pencil or ballpoint, but a fountain pen, gel pen or marker will ghost through to the reverse. If the notebook is a client gift, assume the recipient owns a decent pen and choose heavier paper. On page count, a moderate number of pages in good paper beats a thick notebook in thin paper, and it costs less to ship. Both figures are on each product page.

Hotline Promotional Products supplies printed keyrings and trolley coins across the UK. Every product page shows its own price at the quantity you enter and its minimum order before you speak to anyone.

A trolley coin is a small printed token on a keyring that releases a supermarket trolley. As a branded item it is unusually effective for the cost, because it stays on somebody's keys for years and is handled most weeks rather than looked at once and put away.

Hotline Promotional Products supplies printed stress balls, fidget toys and desk items across the UK. Southampton Children's Hospital's Long Term Ventilation team uses full colour printed stress balls and Tangle puzzle toys with children in clinic. Send us your artwork and you will have a free Visual Proof within 20 minutes during working hours.

For children, for art and craft use, and for anything where a pen would be the wrong tool, yes. Pencils are also usually cheaper per unit and lighter, which matters if the item is going in a posted pack. For a business audience at a desk, a pen is still the more useful item.

Hotline Promotional Products supplies printed lanyards across the UK, including the full colour RPET lanyards worn at the Hospital Broadcasting Association's centenary event. Lanyards are the highest-visibility item at most events because they are worn all day by everyone in the room. Send us your logo and you will have a free Visual Proof within 20 minutes during working hours.

Telling people apart. At an event bringing together people who have never met, a badge marks out committee members, award winners, first-time attendees or station groups at a glance. They are among the cheapest branded items available and they solve a problem a lanyard alone does not.

It starts at 5 units on some products. A Parker IM Core Rollerball Pen has a minimum of 5 and a large Moleskine Classic Notebook has a minimum of 10, so targeted gifting to a small list is practical.

A large Moleskine Classic Notebook starts at £15.88 per unit and a Parker IM Core Rollerball Pen at £27.81. Prices for every product in the range are on the individual product pages.

A promotional product is chosen to carry your brand at scale, and a corporate gift is chosen to land well with a specific person. The Big Brands range sits in the second group, where the quality of the product matters more than the cost per unit.

It depends on the product and each product page shows the available methods. Pad printing suits small or curved surfaces such as a pen cap, and screen printing suits flatter surfaces with more room, such as a notebook cover.

It varies a great deal. A Parker pen cap gives you a print area of 40 x 6mm and a large Moleskine cover gives you 91 x 186mm. Check the print area on the product page before you settle on a product, and request a free Visual Proof to see your logo at actual size.

Dispatch is 8 days on the Moleskine Classic Notebook and 10 days on the Parker IM Core Rollerball Pen. Every product page shows its own guaranteed delivery date before you order.

It depends what you want them to do. If the goal is reach, a lower-cost product across more people does more. If the goal is that one specific person remembers the gesture, a product they'd have bought themselves does more, and it stays in use for years rather than weeks.

Almost certainly. Dispatch is 7 days on our two most popular sweet lines, so a month's notice is comfortable. Check the guaranteed delivery date on the product page to confirm.

Printed sweets are usually the answer. At £0.49 a roll with a minimum of 100, branded Love Hearts are among the lowest cost per unit anywhere in our range.

Yes, and they're one of the better options for it. Watch the weight against your postage band. An 11g roll of Love Hearts behaves very differently in a mailing from a box of biscuits.

Dispatch is 7 days on both the Love Hearts and the lollipops. Every product page shows its own guaranteed delivery date before you order.

Yes. On most of the range the logo goes on the wrapper, the label or the outer packaging in full colour. The Love Hearts label gives you a print area of 63.5 x 31.1mm and the lollipops give you 37 x 37mm.

100 units on both the Love Hearts and the lollipops, which is low enough for a single event or one mailing. Minimums are set per product, so check the page for the item you want.

Branded Love Hearts start at £0.49 per roll and promotional lollipops at £0.61 each, both at a minimum order of 100. Prices across the rest of the range are on the individual product pages.

Hotline Promotional Products supplies branded sweets, chocolate, mints and biscuits across the UK, with 62 products in the range and a free Visual Proof within 20 minutes before you order.

Around six weeks before you need them, which for a July event means placing the order in May. The bamboo fan runs 22 days to dispatch on its own, before you add proof approval and delivery.

A branded fan is one of the few giveaways that solves a problem on the spot, which is why people keep hold of them at outdoor events. The large print area on the bamboo fan also means your brand is visible from a distance rather than only to the person holding it.

The Full Colour Bamboo Fan is made from bamboo and paper, and our product page notes that bamboo is 100% biodegradable and recyclable. The USB and rechargeable models are electronic products and should be disposed of accordingly.

100 units on the Full Colour Bamboo Fan. Minimums for the USB and rechargeable models are on their own product pages.

The Full Colour Bamboo Fan runs 22 days to dispatch, so allow around six weeks in total once you include proof approval and delivery. For a July event, order in May. Every product page shows its own guaranteed delivery date.

The Full Colour Bamboo Fan gives you 210 x 380mm across the front in full colour. That's a large print area for a giveaway at this price, with room for a message or a campaign line alongside your logo.

The category holds 6 products across three types: a full colour bamboo hand fan, a USB-C phone fan and a rechargeable handheld misting fan.

The Full Colour Bamboo Fan starts at £1.26 per unit at a minimum order of 100. Published price bands run £1 to £3 for hand fans and £3 to £10 and above for USB and rechargeable models.

Hotline Promotional Products supplies printed pens across the UK, including the pens on the Pink Sisters Wellbeing Club stand and those used by Spitalfields Music at a university freshers' fair. Send us your logo and you will have a free Visual Proof™ showing it on the pen within 20 minutes during working hours.

It depends on the space you are given and how far away people will be standing. Pink Sisters used an A2 banner for a community event stand. For a larger hall or a trade show pitch, a full-height pull-up gives you more reading distance. Tell us the stand size and we will tell you what fits.

Three things, and only one of them is a giveaway. Something that identifies you from a distance, which is usually a roller banner. Something to hand to people who stop, which is usually a pen. And something for them to carry what they collect, which is usually a bag.

Hotline Promotional Products supplies printed wooden golf tees across the UK. We supplied the 70mm printed tees given to golfers at check-in at the first Phegsdann Charity Golf Day, in aid of The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. Send us your logo and you will have a free Visual Proof within 20 minutes during working hours.

Something cheap enough to hand out freely and useful enough to survive the walk home. Spitalfields Music used printed pens, which gave students a reason to stop at the stand and something to remember the charity by afterwards. Tote bags and stationery work for the same reason.

Dispatch varies by product and branding method, sometimes by a fortnight between two bags on the same page, so rather than quote a range we show a guaranteed delivery date on each product. That is the date we deliver on or before, and the clock starts when you approve your Visual Proof.

Minimums are set per product rather than by blanket policy, and every product page shows its own. They exist because setting up a print run costs the same whether you print 50 bags or 5,000, which makes very small runs uneconomical. If the minimum on a bag you like is higher than you need, ask us, because there is often a similar product with a lower one.

The price per bag depends on the fabric, the print and above all the quantity, and it falls as the quantity rises, because setting up a print run costs much the same at 50 bags or 5,000. Every tote bag product page shows its own price at the quantity you enter, before you speak to anyone.

The price per wristband depends on the print, the finish and above all the quantity, and it falls as the quantity rises, because setting up a print run costs much the same at a hundred wristbands as at five thousand. Every product page shows its own price at the quantity you enter, before you speak to anyone.

Mostly for the participants rather than the public. A wristband is worn by the person given it, cannot be put down and stays in their eyeline for the length of an event, which makes it a reminder rather than an advert. Brain Research UK gave them to marathon runners as a prompt to reconnect with why they were running.

Hotline Promotional Products supplies branded silicone wristbands and event badges across the UK. We supplied the wristbands worn by more than 300 Brain Research UK runners at the 2026 TCS London Marathon, handed out at registration at London ExCeL. Send us your logo and you will have a free Visual Proof showing it on the product within 20 minutes during working hours.

Hotline Promotional Products supplies printed tote bags across the UK, including the branded cotton totes used as welcome packs at Obimi CIC's Pause and Reset wellbeing day in 2026. Send us your logo and you will have a free Visual Proof showing it on the bag within 20 minutes during working hours.

Yes, and a bag is usually the only tidy way to do it. Obimi's Pause and Reset packs carried wellbeing products, information and gifts donated by several sponsors in one branded tote, which presents a mixed set of contributions as one considered welcome rather than a handful of loose items.

A bag holds more, survives the day better and has a life afterwards, where a folder is usually recycled within the week. It also carries the things other sponsors or partners have contributed, which is difficult to present well otherwise. Obimi used branded cotton totes as the welcome pack for their sold-out Pause and Reset wellbeing day.

Usually the fix is fabric weight, print size or shape rather than a different product. A heavier cotton feels different in the hand, a print sized for the panel looks deliberate where a scaled-up logo does not, and a gusseted bag holds its shape instead of hanging flat. All three are visible in a Visual Proof before you order.

One thing people use during the day, one thing carrying the information they came for, and one thing worth taking home. Obimi's Pause and Reset welcome packs held wellbeing products, information packs, practical resources and gifts from sponsors, in a branded cotton tote. If two items in your pack do the same job, cut one and spend the difference on the bag.

The price per bag depends on the fabric, the print and above all the quantity, and it falls as the quantity rises, because setting up a print run costs much the same at 50 bags as at 5,000. Every bag product page shows its own price at the quantity you enter, before you speak to anyone.

Bamboo fans are made from bamboo rather than plastic, and they are rigid and reusable rather than disposable. If you need documented environmental credentials for a procurement brief or a sustainability report, ask us about the specific product and we will tell you what certification it carries, or tell you plainly if it carries none.