Top Promotional Products of the Decade

From the year 2000 all the way to 2010, there have been major changes in the world of promotional products. Travel mugs have emerged as one of the fastest growing promotional items available and new features and materials have been used to create and recreate nearly every kind of promotional item. But despite the amazing amounts of change in the promotional marketing industry, many of the traditional items remain strong throughout the decade and the top four performers were "the usual suspects". Here is a list of the top promotional products when combining attributes like number sold, quality provided and more.

#1 Pens - Of course pens are going to win in any competition based on quantity, after all they are the most affordable items and are typically purchased in the hundreds if not thousands. But beyond the quantity, the constant success of these items in terms of promotion has propelled them to the top of the list. Pens continue to be one of the most valuable promotional products because they are easily acquired, distributed and provide amazing amounts of exposure to a broad audience.

#2 Glassware - While this is a broader category than other products on the list, the growing interest in glassware for promotional product marketing and special events has made items like beer mugs, drinking glasses and wine glasses some of the most sought-after products available. Glassware items are extremely elegant promotional products that look great with custom printing or engraving. Glassware items are not only used for promotional product marketing campaigns they are also used as custom barware items at restaurants and as favors at weddings and other special events.

#3 Tote Bags - Tote bags existed before the year 2000, but saw a huge surge in demand over the past ten years. These bags have been propelled by growing interest for environmentally friendly products and their innovative stylish designs. Tote bags are now popularly used as grocery bags, lunch bags, work bags and miscellaneous bags taken on picnics or overnight somewhere. Customizing tote bags for promotional purposes has never been more popular and this trend is likely to grow over the next ten years as well.

#4 Coffee Mugs - Coffee mugs are up there with pens when it comes to traditional promotional products. Coffee mugs have been used in promotional marketing campaigns for decades and continue to be incredibly useful. They were considered the best promotional products available but have shared a lot of their demand with travel mugs which deserve an honorable mention on this list. Though travel mugs have grown rapidly in popularity over the years, it appears coffee mugs remain more popular...for now.