Another year down and we're already into February 2018 so now is a good time to look back at what happened over the last 12 months in the wonderful world of promotional products marketing. As always the promotions industry tracks the general trends within society and this year has been no different on that score with a range of novelty and practical items making the cut as successful product devices.

With a  broad spread of clients in almost every industry the orders and requests made by Fresh Promotions clients are a good indicator of the overall well-being of the market and the trends which marketers are following. Through 2017 there was an upswing in requests for promotional products amongst major marketing companies. Here are some insights into the products ordered and the direction in which marketing companies were heading with their promotional activity.

Classic promotional ideas like mugs and pens were as strong as they have ever been over the last 12 months but the real growth in sales has come from traditional products with a revised twist. This tends to confirm much of the promotional market is about innovation and novelty as we have always understood. A successful promotional product is one which has genuine utility and this is why classic products which have a value beyond their ability to simply carry a logo will always be top of the pops when it comes to promotional marketing.

Perhaps it is the climate of Australia, or maybe it is a trend towards eco friendliness but one of the most popular items this year has been insulated metal drink bottles. Combining the technical aspects of a thermos flask with its high level of vacuum insulation, the new range of metal bottles which have proven to be extremely popular are copper lined which improves the level of insulation offered and adds a further layer or integrity to the engineering. Available in ranges from 500ml through to a large 1litre size this range of insulated, double walled promotional bottles is proving to be a hit with consumers and marketers alike. The fact that they can be branded with either laser engraving or screen printing of your logo is another reason for them to have become popular marketing items.

And perhaps it's also a sign of the times that while our minds are engaged with the endless stream of flickering images which appear on the screens that the fidget cube and similar fidget products have become a popular branding device in 2017. With the local media taking notice of this trend and with tens of thousands of people making them part of their daily lives the likelihood of people coming in contact with one of these amusing novelty products is higher than ever and as a result the canny marketers amongst us have rushed to take advantage of the general appreciation and publicity they have generated. At the end of the day this is what most motivates the promotional marketing world, that ability to take advantage of general consumer and societal trends and apply them in a tangible, genuine manner to the overall task or brand development.