Australian councils give out useful items like pens, tote bags, notebooks, water bottles, and lanyards at community events.
Giveaways help promote council programs, support campaigns, and make volunteers easy to identify.
Councils choose practical, affordable, and eco-friendly items so people keep and use them after the event.
Across Australia, councils run many community events, such as festivals, movie nights, youth programs, and workshops. To connect with locals, they hand out branded merchandise that matches the event. Lately, councils have been choosing practical giveaways that people can use and take home. Here’s a summary of the most popular giveaways that councils order for community events around Australia.
Why Councils Use Branded Merchandise?
Local governments use branded merchandise to connect with the community and raise awareness about public services. For example, at a workshop, you might hand out notebooks printed with your logo and the cause you want to highlight.
Councils also use these items to:
Promote council services and initiatives.
Encouraging participation in community programs
Supporting health and safety campaigns
Providing useful items during public events
Reinforcing council branding in the community
What Are Their Go-To Giveaways?
Some products are especially popular with Australian councils because they are affordable, practical, and work for people of all ages.
These giveaways are also some of our best-selling items for 2025. They remain popular because they are practical and easy to hand out.
Outdoor Event Merchandise
Many council events take place outdoors, such as in parks, along the foreshore, or in town centres. For these, councils pick durable and easy-to-spot merchandise.
Popular outdoor items include:
Branded umbrellas
Reusable water bottles
Sunglasses
Caps and bucket hats
Picnic blankets
Reusable shopping bags
For Community Awareness Campaigns
Councils often run programs about health, recycling, road safety, or environmental awareness. Branded merchandise helps reinforce these messages.
Campaign Type
Common Merchandise
Environmental programs
Reusable bags, bamboo products
Road safety
Reflective items, keyrings
Public health
Water bottles, fitness towels
Recycling initiatives
Kitchen caddies, magnets
Community safety
Torches, first aid kits
For Kids and Families
Family-friendly events often have activities for children, and councils usually give out merchandise made for kids.
Common Children’s Giveaways.
Colouring sets
Stickers
Frisbees
Drink bottles
Lunch boxes
These items are usually packed into gift bags, so children can keep them and carry them around during the event.
Volunteer and Staff Merchandise
Community events often depend on volunteers. Councils usually order clothing or accessories to make volunteers easy to spot.
Item
Purpose
Branded T-shirts
Identifies volunteers
Caps or hats
Sun protection at outdoor events
Lanyards
Staff identification
Tote bags
Carrying event materials
For Setting Up an Event
In addition to giveaways, councils order items to help set up their events. These include:
Marquee tents
Feather flags
Table covers
Wristbands for entry control
Badge holders
We custom print these items with the council’s logo to make them stand out during the event.
Preference for Eco-Friendly Merch
Many Australian councils now focus on sustainability when choosing promotional products. Popular eco-focused items include:
Bamboo drinkware
Recycled plastic water bottles
Reusable shopping bags
Wheat straw stationery
Compostable food containers
Suppliers now offer more eco-friendly merchandise to support council sustainability goals and policies. This matches the community’s expectations to reduce waste and care for the environment.
How Councils Choose Merchandise?
When choosing items for community events, councils usually look at four main factors.
Factor
Why It Matters
Practicality
Items must be useful to residents
Budget
Events often require large quantities
Audience
Families, seniors, youth or mixed audiences
Sustainability
Increasing focus on eco-friendly options
Practical items that people use often give councils the best long-term visibility.
Typical Quantity Planning for Council Events
Since community events attract large crowds, councils usually order merchandise in bulk.
Event Size
Typical Merchandise Order
Small community event (200–500 people)
300–600 items
Mid-size festival (1,000–3,000 people)
1,500–3,000 items
Large public festival (5,000+ people)
3,000–10,000 items
Why Practical Items Work Best?
Good event merchandise is practical, works for all age groups, and is easy to carry. When chosen well, these products do more than promote an event. They help councils connect with locals, encourage people to join more community programs, and keep local initiatives in people’s minds long after the event.
Charles Liu is the Founder and a recognised authority in the promotional products and uniforms industry in Australia. With over 20 years of experience, he has guided Cubic Promote to work with over 15,000 Australian organisations. His specialty is helping Aussie companies select the right products that stay within their budget. He also specialises in sourcing and assisting brands and government agencies in selecting corporate gifts for VIPs and high-profile clients. A regular contributor to industry blogs, Charles shares his expert insights on using branded merchandise to achieve business goals. Charles’s deep understanding of industry trends and strong supplier relationships make him a trusted figure in the sector, continually influencing the development of both products and uniforms that deliver tangible, measurable results. Connect with Charles on LinkedIn
