The Top 25 Categories of Promotional Products we Sold in 2022

We have done some research and compiled a list of the most popular promotional products sold last year in 2022. We work with businesses big and small in Australia and are proud to have serviced over 4,000 companies and organisations. As such, this list is an excellent snapshot of the products that worked well as promotional gifts for staff and customers. This list is comprised of products that we sold the most volume of by unit count (and not by dollar value). These 25 promotional products have been standout performers in terms of sales volume throughout the past year.

1. Pens

Inexpensive yet highly effective for brand-building campaigns are customised pens. Companies offer customers branded pens which have proven to be an excellent marketing strategy as they become handy endorsements with their contact details inscribed onto them.

2. Sticky Notes

Sticky notes are another helpful item perfect for offices to spread your logo across workplaces. They can also serve as a means of advertising when placed at strategic places like refrigerators or desks where potential clients notice them. However, there is a saying in our industry; no one ever disposes of a pack of customised Post-it or sticky notes. They are simply too helpful.

3. Notebooks

Customised notebooks are an excellent choice for companies that want to entice people who love any form of writing and keep tabs on tasks or even journaling purposes with branding done according to the customer's preference. Writing on paper is just so soothing compared with typing on a keyboard or tapping on a phone.

4. Reusable Shopping Bags

Reusable shopping bags have been hot favourites amongst businesses and eco-conscious consumers over recent years due to their environmentally friendly characteristics and long-term brand exposure through frequent use in public areas.

5. Bottles

Personalised water bottles are functional, and they look great. Student, office worker, retired, it does not matter. A water bottle is simply versatile as a promotional item and has universal appeal. Water bottles have been popular at tradeshows or as corporate gifts. You will regularly find custom-printed water bottles in any corporate office around Australia. They are so popular that many homes will also have a custom-branded water bottle in their draws. This means incredible marketing exposure for your business.

6. Reusable Coffee Cups/Travel Mugs

Coffee enthusiasts around us recharge them every morning, so creating custom reusable cups offers convenience and acts as advertising billboards in public cafes across Australia.

7. Ceramic Coffee Mugs

Custom-printed ceramic mugs are the classic original promotional product. Custom-branded mugs have been popular for many decades now among companies. We have mugs made from both porcelain as well as ceramic. Brand them simply with a one-colour print or brand them with a full-colour wrap around the logo. Simple, versatile, and very popular amongst Australian businesses.

8. Umbrellas - practicality meets Marketing

Custom-branded umbrellas are the ultimate promotional product. Compact fold-up ones, big ones for golf days or just medium ones for everyday use. It's an investment that serves double the benefits of getting people out from rain and advertising the brand.

9. Lollies – sweet and effortless

Providing a little swag bag full of cute bags filled with complimentary candies often leaves behind positive impressions on potential clients leading to increased awareness about the company's product/services and giving tongues a treat. A bag of custom-branded lollies is always popular at tradeshows and conferences. With events back in full swing, it really is not a surprise that promotional lollies are back in the top 10 list.

10. Caps – always fashionable

Custom-branded caps have been popular for years now due to their fundamental versatility. Worn in numerous settings, they collect hundreds of new eyes daily, making them ideal promotional items. In summer time these caps are incredibly popular. We have caps made from some modern new fabrics, including bamboo and recycled fabrics, that look and feel amazing.

11. Mousepads

With almost everyone working these days digitally, mouse pads have gained popularity once again, serving advertisement purpose whilst daily usage amongst staff members provide consistent brand exposure. Most people prefer to use a traditional computer mouse with their laptops, so the popularity of custom mousepads is no surprise.

12. Tee Shirts

Customised tee shirts are versatile gift options when launching new products/services for bigger groups allowing your team to promote ultra-cool designs representing company culture/mission statements! We screen print or transfer print your graphics onto tee shirts.

13. Polo Shirts

In addition to Tee Shirts, customised polo shirts are prestigious attire & make excellent tradeshow gifts adding class, besides being a great way to show appreciation towards hardworking staff members too. Generally, polo shirts look best with a branding method called embroidery which uses thread to create a branded logo.

14. Face Masks

Since the Covid-19 pandemic hit, disposable protective face masks sales skyrocketed; realising opportunities, brands started investing more in custom-branded masks, ensuring client safety by enforcing corporate branding globally. The pandemic restrictions may have eased, but many work locations still require facemasks.

15. Hand Sanitisers

Customised hand sanitisers carry essential properties paired with promoting messages, so there has been an unprecedented rise in demand over the past year, making them one of our top contenders in 2022 marketing frontlines. Perfect giveaways at events /trade shows, customers can imbibe confidence in sellers that care about customers' well-being during pandemic times.

16. Lip Balm

Like custom-branded hand sanitisers, lip balms can be customised and used anywhere! If the weather is cold or hot, lip balms have always been popular amongst men and women. In Australia, the weather is always dry, so lip balms are always popular. We found many clients purchased large quantities of lip balm as part of a more extensive gift set.

17. Backpacks – utilitarian

Backpacks were popular pre-pandemic, and they were popular in 2022 as well. Branded backpacks serve a fantastic function because they are so versatile. The most popular use for our promotional backpacks is to carry exercise clothing, shoes and equipment. Branded designs last years while functionality is highly appreciated by clients who could always benefit from extra storage space

18. Compendiums

Such a practical product. The ideal product is both functional as well as aesthetically pleasing for professionals. Our customised compendiums, combined with stationery items and pockets & compartments, make them very practical. Display your brand name and market it to the world with pride.

19. Stress Balls - For Angsty Times

With ever-increasing stress levels at the workplace or otherwise in this fast-paced lifestyle era, custom-branded stressballs appear to provide moments of respite helped further when paired with ideal marks on it. In addition, its calming effects can help recipients associate brands positively, which renders better brand recall value overall.

20. Golf Balls - more thoughtful gifts

I have attended conferences in the past where I have been given custom-printed golf balls. Even though I do not play golf, I did find the gift quite thoughtful, and as a desktop ornament, it looked pretty good. Golf balls made it to the list. Is it me, or is golf having a resurgence in the past few years? I have a lot of friends who now play this game.

21. Hoodies

Bulk promotional hoodies are comfortable. They come in great colours, and the branding area is enormous. When it is cold, most people reach for a hoodie first before they reach for a jacket. So it is no surprise it came in at number the number 21 spot. Most businesses, with the exception of brands that need to be extremely conservative, have considered using hoodies as part of their promotional item mix.

22. Uniforms: Embrace Unity

Corporate uniforms have never gone out of style and likely never will. For companies with public-facing team members or for events where identifying staff is essential, a uniform is a way to go. We supply both formal and corporate uniforms, as well as casual and comfortable.

23. Powerbanks- popular functional favourite!

Have you ever noticed that smartphones seem to run out of batteries during emergencies? This is where power banks become very useful. The incredible amount of different functions a Smartphone can perform means it is constantly turned on. So a promotional power banks custom branded with your logo is a smart and ideal way to market your brand.

24. Phone Wallets

This surprisingly popular product has now cracked into the top 25 list for 2022. These promotional phone cases and wallets attach to the back of a smartphone device. You can use the wallet to carry credit cards, bus passes, security passes, train passes, etc. Low in cost, these serve well as promotional items for handing out in large quantities.

25. Tote Bags

Customised tote bags are useful for all kinds of shopping trips around town, whether groceries or otherwise, doubling as convenient swag bag items giving product/service promotions that are a helping hand.

So what do you think of this list? Is it a list you expected, or were there some surprises you did not expect? Here at Cubic Promote, we eagerly anticipate what type of promotional products will come up tops this year. I know from experience that the traditional promotional pen and shopping bags are always at the top of the list. However, I hope that our range of eco-friendly products will crack the list of the top 25 items, as that product category has always been my favourite.