What is the definition of SWAG?
Many may be deceived by this acronym’s meaning, and if you try to look it up, you will be bombarded with hundreds of options and definitions (of varying appropriateness levels!). We at Merchology may be a bit biased, but we consider our definition to be superior in significance and value. After all, we do consider ourselves the experts on this particular subject...
What are we talking about, exactly?
From the Science Lab of Merchology: Swag
Stuff We All Get
These are company- or group-branded items that are distributed to employees, clients, and other stakeholders. The exact item may change from group to group, but their goals are typically the same; "swag" items are used as awareness builders, rewards, thank you gifts, and as fun keepsakes for memory value. You may have encountered swag without even realizing it - handouts at parades, conferences, trainings, recruiting events, or your company's office supply cabinet. Even your old college sweatshirt is considered swag... after all, it has a custom logo of your school on it, right?
The Merchology office is a huge fan of swag items, even more than your typical office. You cannot go a day here without seeing some kind of new interesting pen, notebook, mug, fleece, hat, tote, power bank or some other item with the Merchology logo on it. We use swag items as welcome gifts for our new hires and a token of appreciation for our business partners who travel far to see us. We also LOVE seeing the items come through that our customers are ordering and how their logos turn out. We consider ourselves logo geeks!
Keeping fresh swag items present in our office help us keep an on-brand, consistent office atmosphere. These small reminders can go a long way when promoting your brand inside and outside your organization. These are some of our personal Merch favorites that are particularly on brand with our company colors:
- Moleskine True Orange Hard Cover Ruled Large Notebook (5" x 8.25")
- Moleskine Black Classic Click Roller Pen
- ETS Grey Monaco Ceramic Mug with Orange Lining - 16oz
- Gemline Orange Captain's Boat Bag
One of our favorite swag categories to watch is brandable technology. These items tend to be trendy, practical, and can display your company extra professionally. Some of our favorite promo tech items are:
- Fitbit Black Alta Wireless Activity & Sleep Wristband
- Brookstone White Boost Power Bank (4000 mAh)
- Norwood White Oval USB Flash Drive- 8 GB
There's no question that swag is a large part of the corporate branded world, as we use it daily and are influenced consciously or sub-consciously by its presence. It is a useful tool to promote your brand and is wide-reaching and versatile enough to reach all types of people. Now that you are equipped with excellent swag knowledge and a list of some of Merch's favorite products to check out, you can start working on your company’s collection of totes, mugs, pens and tech! Let us know how we can help.