Five Ways to Use Promotional Umbrellas

By Gareth Parkin

Working out the best way to use your promotional items can be a difficult process. When it comes to tricky items like umbrellas, thinking up effective ways to distribute them is often quite tough. Here are five different ideas for using promotional umbrellas to get you started.

Promotional Umbrellas for Client Gifts
One of the things that makes an umbrella a great promotional gift is simply that everyone finds them useful, regardless of their age, sex or profession. You can give a well-made promotional umbrella to any client and know that they'll appreciate the gift and use it as often as necessary. These can be given to both new and existing clients, and the recipients of your umbrellas will be reminded of your thoughtfulness on every rainy day.

Promotional Umbrellas for Employee Gifts
Keep promotional umbrellas on hand to give to new employees. They'll appreciate being made to feel welcome with a gift, and you'll generate many more times than the umbrella is worth in advertising exposure when your employee uses the umbrella.

Promotional Umbrellas at Trade Shows and Conventions
Large and colorful items are ideal to use at trade shows, conventions and other industry events where you want your promotional items to stand out from the rest. Even if you consider these items too expensive to give away to everyone who visits your booth, they can be used for decorating your booth and for giving to people who schedule product shows or further appointments with you. Note that these items will work best if your business focus has something to do with umbrellas-for example if you sell a line of beachwear or pool accessories, use beach umbrellas; or use golf umbrellas if you sell golf clubs and related accessories.

Promotional Umbrellas at the Beach or Golf Course
Take your promotion to the beach or golf course with promotional golf or beach umbrellas. At the beach, you could set up a promotional competition, for example. A sand castle building competition and promotion could invite people to enter by building a sand castle-then distribute your beach umbrellas to every entrant, and use some additional promotional products for prizes for the best three or four entries. On the golf course, you can give promotional golf umbrellas or other golfing accessories to business associates you play a round with.

Promotional Umbrellas as Purchase Incentives
Promotional items such as promotional umbrellas can be used as purchase incentives for a retail store. In a purchase incentive program, you offer free items with a purchase totaling over a certain amount, or with the purchase of a larger more expensive item that you want to sell. For example, if you sell outdoor furniture in your store, you might offer a free beach-style umbrella with every purchase of an outdoor furniture set.

Note that some umbrella styles are unsuitable for an online purchase incentive-you'll probably have fairly hefty shipping costs if you're giving large umbrellas away online. If you want to use promotional umbrellas for an online purchase incentive program, use mini umbrellas that can fold up into a smaller size to make them more convenient and less expensive for shipping.

Gareth Parkin is the co-founder of Ideasbynet, the UK's leading online promotional umbrellas and printed promotional umbrellas company based in the north of England. Established in 2001, he has taken the UK gift market by storm by the application of modern business thinking and the latest search engine marketing techniques. For more details visit www.ideasbynet.com