Some of our customers are just looking for the kind of promotional gift that makes people smile. The want something with a little more of the feel-good factor, like a toy or something with good humor. People like to receive things at the tradeshow or the company party that serve no real functional business purpose, but are for fun. People take these types of promotional items home to the kids, and the promotion spends years in a household or on the desk making impression after impression.

Custom promotional stuffed animal toys are a good fit to satisfy this kind of request. And the selection has expanded past the standard little teddy bear with the logo on the shirt. here are three fun options.

Giraffe Stretcher Stuffed Animal with extra long legs

Custom Pucker Fish Stuffed Animal - Requires 500 piece minimum

Promotional Stuffed Gorilla

Benders are a unique collectible with a fun and irresistible quality. These fun and addictive toys are almost like poseable stick figures. According to the manufacturer "The Benders are durable plastic coated wire characters that have magnets in their hands and feet. You can bend, sculpt and pose The Benders into nearly any position imaginable. Most Benders come in their own tin."

The magnets make these toys fun for the office, as the benders can hold paperclips and there are all kinds of places to put them within cubicles or on desks and filing cabinets. The website The Bender Times is a tongue-in-cheek place for the avid Benders fan. They are now manufactured by Hog Wild Toys, and the company has a division specifically created for the advertising specialties industry. They come in collectible tins that can be imprinted with a logo, and some of the Benders hold objects or are accessorized with items that can be logoed as well.

One fun little activity would be to make your own stop motion film as these little figures can be posed similar to the wire based figures in Tim Burton's movies such as Corpse Bride or The Nightmare Before Christmas. An example of a little film is at The Bender Times.

Benders for promotional use can be found here. They are great for tradeshows when you want something light-hearted and fun.

Tradeshow Classics

January is a big month in the promotional products industry. It marks the kick-off of the tradeshow season when millions of business people travel billions of miles, don their walking shoes, eat expensive hot dogs, and carry their water bottles as they walk the nation's convention centers to see what is new in the world of industry.

As an exhibitor you have one important goal: to drive as much traffic as possible to your exhibit. Booth placement is a critical component, but a more well-placed exhibit often only comes at more expense or with senority as an exhibitor. However, the tried and true way to drive traffic and ensure the success of your trade show and your message is to offer a promotional item that will be coveted by every attendee and exhibitor on the tradeshow floor.

You want people asking each other out on the floor, "Where did you get that?"

Here are three ideas to get your juices flowing. I will offer additional ideas from time to time:

7" x 5" Illusions Journal Notebook
Logoed Bungee Rockets
The Ad Walker - Toss this fun stress relief item at the wall and watch it crawl down, while displaying your ad.