Fun In The Sun: 9 Must-Have Summertime Promotional Products To Create A Vacation Experience
Summer vacations ARE BACK! In fact, nearly 85% intend to travel in 2023 with 42% saying they plan to travel more than last summer, according to TheVacationer.com’s Summer Travel Survey & Trends 2023.
Ninety percent of American adults aged 30-44 and 88.43% of those aged 45-60 intend to travel this summer. Even 86.78% of the youngest 18 to 29-year-old generation has intentions to travel this summer. While American adults over 60 years old are the least likely to have intentions of traveling this summer, 73.51% of them are also taking a trip somewhere. In all, nearly 219 million American adults are driving, flying or sailing somewhere amazing.
Whether your customers or employees opt to travel for a much-needed break or choose to remain local for a staycation, one thing is certain: Taking time off from work is essential for employee health and overall career success. In fact, vacations increase mindfulness, improve heart health, reduce stress, boost brainpower and improve sleep, to name a few benefits. (Check out this Forbes article for more.)
But that’s not all. Vacations can help you get a raise, force you to improve workflow and make you a better boss, as noted in this Mental Floss article.
Don’t have to tell us twice: Vacations are good personally and professionally. You know what else is good? Promotions that help people enjoy their time off and tap into that R&R spirit while on the road or when staying at home.
For B2C companies, this means developing campaigns to attract travelers and locals alike—a gift with purchase, perhaps, for retail stores or a thanks-for-visiting swag bag for boutique hotels, spas, museums and other attractions.
For B2B firms, you can incorporate vacay vibes into employee wellness programs that incentify taking time off (and give them tools to do it well!), or plan a fun-filled team building event or sales conference that’s supported with appropriate swag to be used during the meeting and taken home to be enjoyed throughout the summer season.
With the thousands of summertime promotional products, where do you start? We’ve handpicked nine nifty items that can either be used solo or combined to create the ultimate summer promo. Let’s dive in:
Subli-Plush Velour Beach Towel
Whether your customers are chillin’ at a pool party, spending the day at the beach or relaxing in the park reading a book, having a luxe towel enhances the experience. Say hello to the Subli-Plush Velour Beach Towel. It measures a sizable 30" x 60" and features a sheared microfiber polyester face that reverses to 100% cotton terry loops.
It’s customized via sublimation printing, a technique that differs from traditional screen printing in that it uses heat to adhere dyes to textiles. This process ensures that the imprint on the towel won’t fade with time, which means your branding looks just as amazing today as in the future. And since it’s dyed edge-to-edge, the entire towel surface can be used—maximizing your brand image.
Because of their usefulness and durability, promotional towels have an extraordinary long lifespan. After all, whoever heard of someone throwing out the towel?! That’s why they make great, interactive promotional platforms for your brand—soft, portable billboards that include a great design with your logo tastefully displayed for all to see.
If you want to soak up the brand exposure with the Subli-Plush Velour Beach Towel, contact us here for details.
Tropical Sunscreen Tottle With Carabiner
No matter what kind of fun you’re havin’ in the sun, you gotta protect the skin you’re in. Because there’s nothing cute about lobster-red sunburn.
Instead, do your customers’ or employees’ skin a solid (while promoting your brand) by giving this best-selling 1.5-ounce Tropical Sunscreen Tottle With Carabiner and add your custom design to the six-color process label. The result is a must-have summer promo that can be clipped to a tote bag, purse or keychain and reached for all summer long. If you prefer to not have a carabiner, we have your covered for that option as well.
This FDA-compliant broad spectrum sunscreen is SPF 30 and has been tested to protect against UVA and UVB rays. Every batch is made with sunflower oil, grape seed oil, aloe vera gel and vitamin E to keep skin soft and protected. A true winner, winner, no lobster dinner.
Glow up your promos so customers can get bronzed, not burned. Get the Tropical Sunscreen Tottle With Carabiner here.
All-Natural Lip Balm
Whether it’s a chart-topping heat wave in July or a lingering Indian Summer night in September, lip balm is something we simply can’t do without. This All-Natural Lip Balm is a gluten-free formula that contains beeswax, organic sunflower oil, vitamin E, organic extra virgin oil and aloe vera for soft, nourished lips.
The rich and creamy formula comes in traditional beeswax, spearmint or vanilla options as well as the most delicious tropical flavors—mango tango, pomegranate, strawberries and cream, and pearadise—that can instantly transport recipients to an island getaway…without the overpriced airfare (and TSA hassles).
Each tube comes with a white cap and full-color label. Give it a summertime vibe by incorporating your organization's name and logo into a tropical themed design.
Because lip balm is so versatile, it can be used as an accompaniment to any summer-themed campaign. Use them to promote destination sales meetings, or include them as part of a health and wellness kit.
If you want your brand to be on your customers’ lips, place your order here.
Deluxe Cooling Towel
Summers are hot, hot, hot. But who doesn’t love being outside! So how can you help your target audience beat the heat? Give them a Deluxe Cooling Towel so they can enjoy all the outdoor activities under the sun.
If you’ve ever endured a Texas summer, you know cooling towels are the best invention. Ever. Made from a Polyester material, these towels retain water while remaining dry to the touch to provide cooling relief. Simply wet, wring and wear.
In less than 20 seconds the towel will be an average of 30 degrees colder than the surrounding air. Drape it over your shoulders or around your neck; the PVA material allows cool air to stimulate cooling and help lower the body’s core temperature. And the towel keeps its cool for one to two hours—or longer—to keep recipients from overheating even in a long, hot sweat sesh.
The Deluxe Cooling Towel is generously sized at 30” x 11 3/4” and is offered in eight colors: Blue, green, grey, navy blue, orange, pink, red and yellow. Standard imprint is across the bottom edge, but you can opt for a larger imprint in the center of the towel.
Cooling towels are a natural fit for gyms, fitness organizations, crossfit centers and hot yoga studios. Nonprofits that host a 5K walk or 10K run could use the towels as a part of the race swag in addition to t-shirts. Larger running organizations could use them in their online stores as a profit center, promoting the towels as a part of training programs for marathons and half marathons.
Youth sports teams could use them as fundraisers for baseball, softball, soccer, football or track teams. High schools could also get their booster clubs involved to promote and increase sales.
Pet-related businesses—vets, groomers, pet sitters, doggy day care centers, etc.—could use the towels as a giveaway to help keep pets, and their parents, cool. Companies with a corporate wellness program could use them as part of the program swag.
But you don’t have to be in a sports-related business or have a sports-themed marketing campaign to put these cooling towels to work for you. Construction firms or lawn care companies could use them as a component of a safety program for employees. Or businesses of any kind could use them in a direct mail program with a “cool” theme. Mail them folded in an envelope, or roll them using a mailing tube to add even more dimension to the campaign.
Cooling towels are definitely hot when it comes to summertime promotional products. If you agree, see them for yourself here.
Malibu Sunglasses With Microfiber Cloth And Pouch
Sunglasses are the quintessential summer item. Functional yet fashionable. And for those with sensitive eyes (or those who want stylish shades to match every outfit), you can never have too many pairs. Who’s with us?
The Malibu Sunglasses With Microfiber Cloth And Pouch are the must-have accessory for the summer. These shades have that Malibu classic style and are offered in 30 different color options to keep those peepers safe on sunny days. The included logoed cinching glasses pouch and microfiber cleaning cloth to keep those lenses clean while showing off that brand image even more.
Use them individually as a handout for trade shows, sporting events, outdoor promotions or festivals (be sure to have a selfie station to capture the fun for social media) or combine the fashionable frames with other summertime promotional products (like the ones in this post!) to create a more comprehensive gift for corporate team building events, sales conferences or employee onboarding welcome campaigns.
Keep in mind that with sunglasses, bold decoration or imprints with URLs or phone numbers may not be appealing to all recipients because of the overt nature of the advertisement. Save this contact info for the pouch and cleaning cloth. Instead, a more subtle imprint for the sunglasses can make them more appealing to the audience, increasing the likelihood of them being worn and appreciated for years to come.
If the future of your summer promos is so bright that you’ll have to wear shades, then get these Malibu Sunglasses With Microfiber Cloth And Pouch here. Just promise that you won’t wear them at night, k?
Sun Fun Value Flyer
Does anything say summer fun as much as throwing a Frisbee in the park? Thought you’d agree. And what if this flyer could change colors as you play? OMG yes.
Introducing the Sun Fun Value Flyer. This summertime must-have measures nine inches in diameter and actually changes color when exposed to sunlight. Yellow changes to green, frosted morphs to purple, light green transforms to blue, light blue converts to violet and frosted switches to red.
It’s magic! Ok, not really. Rather, it’s chemistry. Since thermochromic additives are included in the plastic, this allows the flyer’s pigment to reversibly change from one color to another, elevating a simple product and making it significantly more desirable.
Whether you’re giving the Sun Fun Flyer to customers or using it internally for employee-related campaigns, add even more value by including a card with all the games you can play—KanJam, Tic Tac Toss, Fricket and more (see all the ideas here). These are perfect games for family reunions, beach or park outings, company picnics, team building events or networking icebreakers. Gyms and fitness studios could even use them for an unexpected workout.
If you want your target audience to get their hands on your brand, give ’em Sun Fun Value Flyers. Get all the details on these summertime promotional products here.
Inflatable Palm Tree Lagoon Floating Coaster
We’re all about choosing super-useful branded merchandise for your promotions because usefulness is a key indicator of the item being kept and used, thus giving you the brand recognition and awareness that you desire. However, sometimes there are summertime promotional products that are too fun to be ignored.
Enter the Inflatable Palm Tree Lagoon Floating Coaster.
Picture the scene: You’re hosting any kind of summer event, from an employee appreciation luncheon to a customer reception to a birthday party. It’s outdoors and there are fountains and wading pools…filled with these floating coasters to greet the guests. They will go WILD.
This ridiculously awesome seven-inch beverage accessory snugly holds a 12 ounce can or stadium cup (we can imprint those, too!) to keep favorite beverages within reach. If there are any summertime promotional products that can instantly create a tropical party atmosphere, they’re these floating coasters!
If you want people to talk about the swag you gave away in the summer of 2023, get to ordering the Inflatable Palm Tree Lagoon Floating Coaster. Like right now. Right here. Your guests will L.O.V.E. it!
Sheer Striped Tote Bag
No summer campaign would be complete without a tote bag to hold all the essentials for outdoor activities. The Sheer Striped Tote Bag will become your favorite summer tote because it’s fantastically functional and super stylish.
Available in five brilliant hues—blue, lime, orange, red and yellow—this eye-catching bag is made from a combination of nylon mesh and 210D polyester. It features a large front pocket and 25" reinforced handles so you can carry around all kinds of summertime promotional products (like all the ones in this post!).
B2C companies can use it alone or combined with other branded merch for campaigns that include a gift with purchase, a reward for loyalty programs or special packaging for a premium incentive.
B2B organizations can fill it with a selection of summertime promotional products for use at sales conferences, education seminars, team building events or employee wellness activities.
If you’re ready to get a handle on your next summer promos campaign, see what makes the Sheer Striped Tote Bag terrific here.
Point Loma Folding Event Chair With Carrying Bag
Whether you’re sitting on the sidelines watching the kiddos play soccer, around a beach campfire making s’mores or on the lawn listening to an outdoor concert, portable folding chairs bring comfortable seating to wherever it’s needed.
There’s hardly a more comfortable solution than the Point Loma Folding Event Chair With Carrying Bag to protect your hiney from getting grass-stained and dew-damp.
This sturdy folding chair is constructed with a steel tubing frame (holding up to 300 pounds) and is made from durable 600D polyester and comes in either black or blue. It comes complete with its own drawstring carrying bag for easy transport and storage.
And the best part: Where some folding chairs only have one cup-holder, this one comes with two, making it easy to keep extra drinks or snacks off the ground. Go ahead; grab that second red Solo cup and crank up some Toby Keith. We won’t judge. But this folding chair isn’t only about the comfort. It’s also a powerful branding tool. You can imprint the chair front, the chair back and/or the carrying case. Trifecta!
If you add your logo to the chair front, why also imprint the back? Imagine this: You’re sitting in your branded folding chair at an outdoor concert. The band is jamming away on stage, the music is soaring through the air, there’s a sea of people behind you and each one of them is looking at…the back of your chair. Why? Because the outstanding logo and eye-catching color scheme have stolen the show.
In addition to being excellent corporate gifts for VIP customers or for use in employee appreciation programs, these folding chairs are ideal incentives for fundraising campaigns and raffle drawings.
If you want a highly visible billboard for your brand plus a comfy seat for your seat, then don’t miss out on the Point Loma Folding Event Chair With Carrying Bag. Get all the details on this summertime promotional product here.
Give The Gift Of Summer Fun
With longer days and more opportunities for recreation, summertime is the perfect time to connect with customers and employees through branded merchandise. It allows you to strengthen the bonds you have with your audience because you’re giving items they can use when having fun and making memories.
The nine summertime promotional products featured above are a great place to start, and there’s so much more. Check out this video.
Our concierge service can work with you to select the items your customers or employees will love and remember for summers to come.
Contact us at hello@corporatespecialtes.com or book an appointment at https://meetings.hubspot.com/corpspec/chat-about-swag for a quick call to get started.
Don’t let summertime pass you by!