When people mention branded gifts they may be referring to one of two types. Firstly the type produced by a well know or established brand and secondly the type that can be branded with the customers details.

There is however a third type, that is already branded with an established brand and can also be branded with an additional message or logo along side it.

This has the added advantage of giving your brand an extra lift by associating it with a recognisable, or bigger name.

Most people enjoy being given a gift and this can be used to great effect to impress upon key audiences (staff, customers, suppliers, partners etc.) and idea along with your appreciation.

There are certainly no specific times for distributing branded gifts. As well as defined campaigns organisation can give away branded gifts to welcome new employees, creating a good impression and the start of a positive and mutually beneficial relationship. Such spontaneous giving can even cause business associates to think of extending their business plans.

It must not be forgotten that the purpose of distributing or giving out branded gifts is to build up a good image, spreading goodwill, increasing brand awareness and reaching out your message to your existing or larger and wider audiences. The reason for this is to gain something in return from more donations to more business or more commitment so the choice of gift and how it will be given are important factors in determining the choice of gift.

The experience associated with receiving a branded gifts will remain in the mind of the recipient for some time affecting the trust relationship what the recipient associated with the brand name.

What is notable is that branded goods are showing higher degrees of response that non branded goods. In fact an on-line survey by AdNectar in late 2009 showed a 100x times higher interaction rate, causing companies like Fisher Price, Godiva, Gilette, Procter & Gamble, Trident Gum, and Malibu, to run numerous social media gift campaigns on-line. Even films including Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Price have run gifting campaigns on social media sites, to great success.