Make a bold statement with promotional umbrellas

Promotional items and corporate gifts are proven methods of raising awareness of your brand and building relationships with clients, partners and customers, but it's important to consider the choice of product carefully to ensure you give off the right message. Promotional umbrellas can be one of the best ways to create and sustain working relationships, as well as increase public awareness of your brand, but you need to make sure the products are of sufficient quality to avoid your brand being viewed as cheap or unreliable.



Promotional umbrellas are a great way to get your brand noticed out on the streets, as the wide surface area of extended umbrellas is roughly equivalent to the size of a banner, and thus much more noticeable than other marketing tools such as T-shirts, baseball caps or bumper stickers. Umbrellas can also be used far and wide, meaning you're likely to see your logo popping up in golf clubs, holiday resorts and in many peoples' homes, not just in the rainy weather.

You will usually have a wide range of choice when it comes to producing your branded umbrellas, including the option of using well-established products from various manufacturers. While it will typically be more expensive to produce such premium products, the difference in quality between these and lesser models can be significant - and you want to ensure your umbrellas are reliable and long-lasting, rather than something that will break as soon as there's a strong wind.



It can also pay to spend time carefully considering the style and appearance of your promotional umbrellas, as this could also heavily impact on the way in which they are received. Choosing bold, bright colours may be appropriate if you're creating umbrellas for children, but these are less likely to be used on a regular basis by business people walking to work, compared to something more restrained and stylish. You may also have a choice of the type of handle to use, which could contribute to the lasting impression you make on clients, with lightweight aluminium handles being a popular alternative to heavier wood.



Never forget that one of the primary purposes of your promotional umbrellas is to get your company noticed and create new interest in your brand, so you should ensure your logo and name are clearly visible on the product without appearing gaudy or overly elaborate. If you have space to include an email address or URL, this could also be effective for driving new traffic to your websites.



Paul Buchanan writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.