Many Australian business owners are constantly looking for affordable ways to attract new customers, and promotional products are a budget-friendly solution that is often considered. But, many often ask themselves the same question: is this actually doing anything, or am I just chucking money away?
Fair question. Marketing budgets are tight, especially for small and medium Aussie businesses, and nobody wants to spend on something that just feels nice without actually pulling its weight. So let’s skip the sales pitch and have a proper look at what the data says about promotional products. The good, the useful, and the bits worth knowing before you order your next batch.
The recall numbers are hard to ignore
Here’s the big one. According to research from the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI), roughly 85% of people can remember the name of the business that gave them a promotional item, even up to two years after they got it.
That’s a seriously high number when you stack it against other forms of advertising, where recall tends to fade within days, if not hours.
Why does this happen? Simple. A digital ad flashes on someone’s screen for a second or two before they scroll past it.
A branded stubby holder sits in someone’s esky, garage, or kitchen drawer for months, maybe years, quietly doing its job every single time it gets pulled out. There’s no algorithm to dodge and no ad-blocker that can switch it off. It’s just sitting there, doing its thing, again and again.
That repetition matters more than people realise. Marketing has always worked on the idea that people need to see a brand multiple times before it sticks. A promotional item does that automatically, without you having to pay for every single “impression” the way you would with online ads. Which is appreciated in a world of never-ending digital distractions!
People actually keep this stuff
It’s one thing for a product to be memorable. It’s another for people to actually hang onto it. On that front, the numbers are also pretty solid. Around 83% of people say they keep a promotional item for over a year.
That’s twelve months of your logo sitting in someone’s life, for the cost of a single item you probably paid a few dollars for.
Compare that to a Facebook ad, which might get a second and a half of someone’s attention before they’re back to scrolling holiday photos. There’s just no comparison in terms of value over time.
This is where useful items like stubby holders punch above their weight. A stubby holder isn’t a novelty gift that gets shoved in a drawer and forgotten. It’s something people genuinely use, especially over an Aussie summer. Every time it comes out at a barbie, a footy game, or down the beach, your brand goes with it. It’s not just sitting in a cupboard; it’s doing laps around backyards and boat trips all season long.
The cost-per-impression argument
If you want to get properly nerdy about it, marketers measure this stuff using something called “cost per impression.” Basically, how much you’re paying every time your brand gets seen by someone. Industry data from ASI Central puts promotional products at a cost per impression as low as one-tenth of a cent, which stacks up favourably against pretty much every other advertising channel out there, including digital ads and traditional media.
Put simply: once you’ve paid for the item and the branding, every single time someone sees it after that is basically free advertising. A stubby holder that gets used every weekend over a whole summer could easily rack up hundreds of “impressions” for the price of one item. Try getting that kind of value from a boosted social media post.
ROI figures worth paying attention to
For the business owners who like their decisions backed by dollars and cents, here’s a stat worth sitting with: PPAI (Promotional Products Association International) research points to an average ROI of 344% for promotional product campaigns.
Now, no marketing channel is a silver bullet, and results will always depend on how well you target your audience and how good the actual product is. But when you’re comparing a $3 to $6 stubby holder against a paid ad campaign that might run you hundreds of dollars a week with results that vanish the second you stop paying, it’s easy to see why so many small businesses lean on promo products, especially around EOFY, Australia Day, and footy season.
It’s a big industry here in Australia
This isn’t some fringe marketing tactic either. The Australasian Promotional Products Association (APPA) is the industry body covering Australia and New Zealand and represents a sector that generates well over $1.5 billion a year in direct sales across the region. That’s not small change, and it tells you plenty of savvy business owners, from local tradies to major corporates, keep coming back to promotional merchandise year after year because it genuinely delivers.
Why stubby holders specifically make sense?
Not every promotional item is created equal, and this is really the crux of the whole conversation. The data consistently shows that the products which perform best are the ones people actually use in everyday life, not the ones that get glanced at once and binned.
That’s exactly why stubby holders work so well for Australian businesses. Think about it:
- They’re genuinely useful, especially between November and March when half the country is at a barbie, the footy, or down the coast.
- They get shared around. A cold drink holder doesn’t just get used by the person who received it. Mates borrow it, pass it around the esky, and see your logo while they’re at it.
- They’re affordable enough to hand out in bulk, meaning more brand impressions for your marketing dollar.
- They stick around. A good neoprene or sublimated stubby holder can last for years, not weeks.
If you’re weighing up promotional merchandise against other advertising options, the research is pretty clear that usefulness and longevity are what drive results. A stubby holder ticks both boxes better than almost anything else on the market, particularly for a country that loves a cold drink outdoors as much as we do.
What about BIC lighters?
Here’s a promotional product that doesn’t get talked about enough: the humble custom BIC lighter. It ticks every box the data says matters. It’s small, cheap to produce in bulk, and genuinely useful, which means people actually hang onto it instead of binning it after one use.
A lighter doesn’t just sit in a drawer either, it travels. It ends up in utes, work bags, kitchen drawers, camping kits, and mates’ pockets after it gets borrowed and never returned (which, let’s be honest, is half the charm).
Every time it’s pulled out to light a barbie, a smoke, or a candle, your logo gets another look-in. Because BIC lighters are a trusted, well-known brand already, customers tend to trust the quality of the item too, which reflects well on your business.
They’re also perfect for pubs, servos, camping stores, and tradie-focused businesses wanting something practical rather than gimmicky. For the price, it’s hard to find a promotional item that gets handled, seen, and shared around as often as a good lighter does.
Don’t forget shirts, hats, and tote bags
Stubby holders and lighters are brilliant, but they’re not the only useful items worth considering. Branded shirts and caps turn customers and staff into walking billboards, and because people genuinely wear them, out and about at the shops, the gym, or the school pick-up, they rack up serious brand exposure over time.
Tote bags work the same way. They’ve become an everyday essential for grocery runs and market days, especially with more shoppers ditching plastic bags, so a sturdy branded tote gets used far more often than people expect.
The common thread with all of these items, just like stubby holders, is genuine usefulness. Nobody keeps a promotional item they don’t actually need, but they’ll happily wear a comfy cap or reuse a solid tote bag for years.
If you’re building out a promotional range beyond drinkware, apparel and bags are a smart, proven way to extend your brand’s reach without overspending on gimmicks nobody wants.
So, does it actually work?
Based on the data, yes, genuinely, measurably yes. High recall rates, long product lifespans, low cost per impression, and solid ROI figures all point the same direction. Promotional merchandise isn’t just a feel-good freebie; it’s a legitimate marketing channel with numbers to back it up.
The trick is choosing the right item for your audience. Something people will actually use beats something flashy that ends up in the bin. For most Aussie businesses, especially those wanting to build local brand recognition around sponsorships, trade shows, or customer giveaways, a well-made stubby holder, a custom BIC lighter, or branded apparel is hard to beat. They’re practical and keep your brand in people’s hands (quite literally) all year round.
If you’re thinking about your next promotional push, it might be worth asking not “does this work?” but “which product is going to get used the most?” Based on what the data’s telling us, that question matters a lot more than most businesses realise.
Ready to spread the word about your Business with long-lasting Promotional Products?
This is our most popular Stubbie model: Deluxe Full-Colour Stubby holder with Base
Our dependable BIC lighters are available here: Custom BIC Lighters
Our range of custom shirts and hats is over here: Branded Promotional Merchandise
