Company Swag People Actually Keep and Use
What Counts as Company Swag
Company swag is anything branded that a business gives away: a sticker in a welcome packet, a T-shirt at a launch, a notebook on a conference seat, a tote bag at a client dinner. The word covers cheap throwaways and pieces people use for years, and the gap between the two decides whether the money works. A pen that dies in a week shows your logo for a week. A tote that carries groceries every Saturday puts it in front of a new crowd each time.
Run the keeper test before you order. Ask whether the person would buy the item for themselves, whether it does a job they already have, and whether the logo sits where it looks good. People keep the items that pass all three, and the rest end up in a drawer.
Shop the range
Promotional products
Shirts, totes, keychains, coasters and more, printed with your logo.
Printed Swag That Lasts Past the Event
Five kinds of printed swag earn their place in a bag, on a desk or in a closet. Each one has a daily job that keeps it in use long after the handout.
- Stickers. Laptops, water bottles and notebooks carry them for years. Standard stickers come in dozens of preset sizes on uncoated, semi-gloss, hi-gloss, white vinyl and clear stock, and die-cut stickers follow your logo's outline from 2 x 2 up to 11 x 11 inches.
- Notebooks and journals. A notebook sits open on a desk all day. Deluxe spiral notebooks come in 4.25 x 5.5 and 5 x 7 inches, and leather journals at 5.75 x 8.25 inches come in blue, green, gray, mocha and pink.
- Calendars. A wall calendar stays up for twelve months. Standard calendars print at 8.5 x 11 inches with 24 or 28 pages, saddle-stitched, with an optional hanging hole, from 25 copies.
- Apparel. A soft shirt turns into weekend wear. Premium T-shirts come in white or black, S to XXL, printed in full color on the front, the back or both inside an 8.5 x 11 inch print area.
- Bags. Canvas tote bags in 6oz cotton canvas measure 14.5 x 16 inches with a 1 inch gusset, printed on one side or both.
If your crowd works in tech, our list of tech swag ideas people keep adds wireless chargers and desk gear to this list.
Print picks
Four swag pieces people keep
Live starting prices, so you can plan the kit before you design it.
Standard Stickers From $23.88 Laptop and water bottle stickers from 25 pieces, in five stocks. 
Premium T-Shirts From $21.96 White or black shirts in S to XXL, printed front, back or both. 
Canvas Tote Bags From $22.73 6oz cotton canvas in natural, red or royal blue. 
Deluxe Spiral Notebook From $5.00 A desk notebook in 4.25 x 5.5 or 5 x 7 inches. Swag for Onboarding, Events and Clients
The same budget buys different swag depending on who opens the box. Match the item to the moment and to the person.
Onboarding kits for new hires
A new hire's first day sets the tone for the job. Put a notebook, a few logo stickers and a T-shirt in their size on the desk, with a welcome letter printed on company stationery; our page on custom company letterhead printing covers the papers and sizes for that letter. Order shirts by size from the team list so nobody gets one that never leaves the drawer.
Events and trade shows
At an event you need volume and pieces that are easy to hand over. Stickers and tote bags do both: a tote carries every other piece a visitor collects, and it leaves the hall on their shoulder with your logo facing the crowd. Conference teams can build on our conference swag bag ideas for the rest of the bag.
Client and partner gifts
Clients get fewer, better pieces. A leather journal, a mug with a wraparound print in 11 oz or 15 oz, or a set of engraved coasters on 48pt or 64pt stock says thank you without looking like a giveaway. Keep the logo small and let the object carry the gift.
How to Brand Swag So People Use It
Branding decides whether swag gets worn or buried. A giant logo across the chest turns a shirt into a uniform, while a small mark over the heart or a clean design on the back turns it into a shirt people pick on a Saturday. The same rule holds for a notebook cover and the side of a tote bag.
- Design the item first and the logo second. Pick a color people would wear or carry, then place the brand where it fits.
- Keep the palette to one or two colors. A limited palette looks deliberate on a shirt, a sticker or a bag.
- Give the sticker a shape. A die-cut outline of your logo or mascot looks better on a laptop lid than a plain square.
- Print a line your team repeats. A short phrase from inside the company beats a web address on a shirt.
Check the logo at real size before the run prints. Every order gets a free file check, and a sticker proof at full size shows whether thin lines and small type survive at 2 inches.
Sizes and price
Standard sticker specs and pricing
Real configurator numbers for the swag piece most kits start with.
| Quantity | Price Per Unit | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | 95.5¢ | $23.88 |
| 50 | 72.9¢ | $36.44 |
| 100 | 42.7¢ | $42.72 |
| 150 | 32.7¢ | $49.01 |
| 200 | 27.6¢ | $55.29 |
| 250 | 24.6¢ | $61.57 |
Ordering Company Swag in Bulk
Bulk pricing is where swag turns affordable, and each item drops at its own rate. Standard stickers cost $42.72 for 100, about 43 cents each. Premium T-shirts cost $1,272.88 for 100, about $12.73 a shirt. Canvas tote bags cost $630.31 for 100, about $6.30 a bag.
Plan the calendar as well as the budget. Standard stickers print in 3 business days, T-shirts and acrylic keychains in 5, and canvas tote bags and wall calendars in 7, so order the slowest piece first. Notebooks and leather journals are ready in 1 business day, which makes them the fix for a last-minute gift. Browse the full promotional products collection for keychains, coasters, mugs and chargers.
Print it
Canvas tote bags
6oz cotton canvas, 14.5 x 16 inches, from a single bag.
Is Company Swag Worth the Spend
Swag pays off when it stays in use. Divide the price of an item by the months someone will use it, and a $6.30 tote carried every week beats a cheaper pen tossed on day two. The cost per sighting of your logo falls every time the item comes out of a bag or goes on a desk.
Spend less on volume handouts and more on the few people who matter most. Stickers and totes cover an event crowd, and journals, mugs and coasters cover the clients you want to hear from again. If you give away printed pieces often, stickers, tote bags and T-shirts compared sets the three most common options side by side for a trade show.
Wally sorts the swag that stays
A daily job beats a big logo
Wally holds each piece up and asks one question: would anyone use this next week? The tote that goes shopping, the notebook on the desk, the sticker on the laptop and the soft shirt with a small logo go in the kit. 4OVER4 prints stickers from 25 pieces and shirts, totes and notebooks from one.
Browse promotional products →Which Swag Fits Your Budget and Your Crowd
Pick by who receives it. New hires get a starter kit of a notebook, stickers and a shirt, an event crowd gets stickers and totes by the hundred, and clients get one good journal, mug or coaster set each.
Explore more
More swag and giveaway ideas
Promotional products, bag ideas for conferences and the tech swag list.
Collection Promotional Products Keychains, coasters, mugs, shirts and totes for your brand. 
Product Canvas Tote Bags A bag people carry every week, printed one side or both. 
Article Tech Swag Ideas Chargers and desk gear for a tech crowd. 
Article Conference Swag Bags What to put in the bag attendees take home. 
Guide Stickers vs Totes vs T-Shirts The three trade show giveaways, compared. 
Alternative Company Letterhead Stationery for the welcome letter in a new hire kit. 
Category Stickers Printing Every sticker shape, stock and roll format. 
Category Notebooks Printing Spiral notebooks, journals and 3D covers. Build a swag kit people use
Pick pieces with a daily job, keep the logo modest, and 4OVER4.COM prints stickers from 25 and shirts, totes and notebooks from one.
Company Swag Questions From Teams Planning a Kit
What is company swag?
Company swag is branded merchandise a business gives away to staff, event visitors or clients: stickers, T-shirts, notebooks, tote bags, mugs, calendars and similar items. The best swag does a job the person already has, so it stays in use and keeps the logo in view for months instead of days.
Which swag items do people keep the longest?
Items with a daily job. Tote bags go shopping every week, notebooks and journals sit on a desk, wall calendars hang for a year, and stickers stay on laptops and water bottles for years. A soft T-shirt with a small logo becomes weekend wear. Novelty items with no use end up in a drawer.
How many pieces do I have to order?
It depends on the item. Premium T-shirts, canvas tote bags, notebooks and leather journals print from one piece. Standard stickers and acrylic keychains start at 25, and standard calendars start at 25 copies. The price per piece falls as the quantity climbs, so price two or three quantities before you order.
What swag works best for employee onboarding?
A small kit a new hire uses in the first week: a notebook, a few logo stickers, a T-shirt in their size and a welcome letter on company letterhead. Order the shirts by size from the team list, and keep a few extra kits for the next start date.
How far ahead should I order swag for an event?
Work back from the slowest item. Canvas tote bags and wall calendars take 7 business days, T-shirts and acrylic keychains take 5, and standard stickers take 3, before shipping. Notebooks and leather journals are ready in 1 business day. Order two weeks ahead and there is room for a proof round.
Is company swag worth the money?
It is when people use it. Divide the cost of each item by the months it stays in use: a tote at about $6.30 in a run of 100 that goes shopping every week costs less per sighting than a cheap giveaway thrown out the same day. Spend on fewer, useful pieces and keep the logo modest.
