The mercury may still be climbing, but “by the time Labor Day rolls around, companies that have their act together are planning for holiday gifting,” says Lee Marvin, senior business development manager for promotional marketing at Curtis 1000 (asi/172755), a distributor based in Hugo, MN. “And they keep us pretty busy through November and into the first week or two of December as well,” he adds with a laugh.

It’s pretty simple: Distributors have to know which promotional items will be this year’s hot holiday gifts – the products that will be received with such surprise and delight that a lasting impression is a given. While holiday gifts tend to be a little pricier than ones bestowed throughout the rest of the year, they’re still budget-conscious and quite doable. In addition, these items typically reach across demographic divides and appeal to a wide variety of people.

Before it gets any later in the year, here are seven trends to follow for successful holiday promo gifting, along with a few tips on how to make an impact in the most clever and creative ways. All that’s left to do is sign the card.

1. TECH

Without a doubt, “tech is the number-one category corporations are turning to for gifting,” says Corey Wolfe, director of sales at Links Unlimited (asi/67617), a supplier based in Cincinnati, OH. Smart home devices are the standouts in this arena, with digital assistants (think Amazon Alexa and Google Home), video doorbells and 360-degree motion-detecting cameras leading the charge.

Smart home products will be huge this holiday season, like the Ring Wi-Fi motion-activated security camera (8SF1P7-WEN0) from Links Unlimited (asi/67617); catalog.linksunlimited.com

Mobile tech, like Bluetooth speakers and higher-end earbuds and headphones, along with high-capacity power banks to juice them (as well as every other device you’re carrying around), will also be huge this season. Sharon Steed, national sales manager for Hirsch Gift (asi/61005), says JBL speakers like the Party Box and waterproof Flip 4 have been popular and will remain in demand this coming holiday season. She also predicts that AfterShokz headphones will move quickly; they use bone conductor technology so the user gets a crisp audio experience while still being able to hear what’s going on around them.

Why It’s Hot
For distributor Lee Marvin of Curtis 1000, it’s a no brainer: “You can’t go wrong with tech. Everybody uses it, everybody has it, and if they don’t have it, they want it.” He continues: “Nobody who gets this kind of gift will just put it in a drawer and forget about it or wonder what they’ll do with it. It’s a home run.”

How to Use Creatively
Marvin suggests putting a ribbon around a box of really nice earbuds, saying, “I heard a lot of good things about you this year.” Or, include a card with a video doorbell that reads, “I’ve had my eye on you, and you’re doing a great job!” Also consider offering a suite of hot tech products and let the recipients choose the item that most entices them.

2. RETAIL BRANDS

A holiday gift needs to be special enough to make one final impression before the year is out, which is why recognizable high-end brands will always be well received. These items won’t be as cheap as a throw-away pen, but they’re not necessarily cost-prohibitive either. 

You can never go wrong with a retail brand, especially with sunglasses. Check out the sleek Ray-Ban Erika (top, 0RB4171-600068/54) and Blaze (0RB3574N-001/7159) styles from Links Unlimited (asi/67617); catalog.linksunlimited.com

Why It’s Hot
Brian Camp, marketing director for the San Francisco office of Creative Marketing Concepts (asi/170631), says it’s all about the perception that accompanies the product. “Our clients want something that speaks quality,” he says, “and that often means a retail brand.”

Retail brands can fit into any activity and passion of the recipient. Take camping, which is on the rise among millennials. Outdoor products, such as a Coleman lantern, are right up their alley, says Lindsey Schultz, lead marketing coordinator with IMAGEN Brands, parent company to Vitronic (asi/93990) and Crown (asi/47700).

How to Use Creatively
For a gift that will please everyone, Wolfe suggests a new pair of sunglasses; you can’t go wrong with a name like Ray-Ban or Oakley. For added cachet, Wolfe helps clients set up websites that allow recipients to shop for the style they’d prefer. Plus: “You don’t even need to put a logo on a gift like this. It’s something that will never be forgotten.” If you must, put some messaging on the case or cleaning cloth.

3. KITTING

“Kitting has been around forever,” says Jacques Marais, national director of sales for San Jose-based Creative Marketing Concepts. There’s a reason for this, according to Brian Potter, partner and VP of sales at Promotional Consultants (asi/300790), a distributor in St. Louis: “Kitting and other custom packaging options offer a way to enhance the value of a product in the eyes of the recipient.” It provides a “total gifting experience,” he adds, and it’s a clever way to get a bigger bang for your buck. “A microfiber cloth for cleaning screens or glasses costs only a dollar,” he says, “but when it’s placed in a special envelope or case with full-color graphics and tons of messaging, it’s more gift and less giveaway.”

Offer the total gifting experience with a kitted gift, like this retro lunchbox with two 12-oz. stemless wine glasses (KIT806) from Tekweld (asi/90807); tekweld.com.

Why It’s Hot
“With experiential marketing taking off and packaging prices coming down,” says Marais, “it’s easier than ever to customize the presentation of your product, and to control, to some extent, the experiential aspect of gifting as well.”

How to Use Creatively
In the past, Marais notes, clients debated an experiential gift versus a physical one, but “now they can do both, if executed correctly.” He mentions Bouquet Bar, a supplier that’s capitalizing on this trendy combo by providing a plethora of options (from succulents and roses to snacks and lotions) that fit into little cubes, which are then housed in one main gift box. Add a special touch by including “something interactive” as a delivery means, Marais adds. “Maybe a short quiz in which recipients give information on their preferences by answering indirect questions so they, individually, receive a box with product they would actually like without spoiling the surprise of what the gift is.”

4. PERSONALIZATION

The best gifts are uniquely customized, so it’s no surprise that personalization has emerged as a significant trend; Creative Marketing Concepts’ Brian Camp predicts it will explode in 2020. Rob LoCurto, marketing director with Tekweld (asi/90807), headquartered in Hauppauge, NY, likes personalized high-end drinkware, such as double-walled stainless-steel travel mugs. “No explanation needed,” he says. “They keep drinks hot or cold. Everyone knows it, and everyone uses them.”

A personalized journal with the recipient’s name will be an instant hit, such as this hard-bound journal with matte laminate cover coating (11515) from Custom Color Solutions (asi/47905); customcolorsolutions.com

Why It’s Hot
Personalized items stand out, says Lee Marvin of Curtis 1000: “I don’t care if you’re a college intern or an executive at a Fortune 500 company. It’s one thing to get a gift with a corporate logo on it – it’s another to get one with your name on it.”

How to Use Creatively
Personalize and pair items for instant success. Marvin recommends personalizing a high-end pen and putting it with a nice padfolio that has the recipient’s name emblazoned in the corner. LoCurto is a fan of engraved stainless-steel stemless wineglasses for year-end toasts, which Tekweld can put in old-school lunchboxes as a creative way to pack and present. “It’s another form of customization, which is huge right now,” he says, “and anything personalized or custom-packaged gets you on someone’s radar.”

5. FUN & GAMES

Classic, old-fashioned “fun on the go” is becoming a bigger and bigger thing, says Lindsey Schultz, adding that IMAGEN Brands boasts a collection of more than a dozen fully portable indoor and outdoor games. “Cornhole Toss is really hot right now,” she says, as are activities involving oversized wooden yard dice and giant checkers and mat sets.

Gaming is big – as in size, with products like this oversize wooden yard dice game (VOUT002) from Vitronic/IMAGEN Brands (asi/93990); imagenbrands.com

“Fun on the go” extends to other products as well. Brainstorm Logistics (asi/41515), the product sourcing and fulfillment arm of RYMAX Marketing Services, has found demand for retro-inspired products like the Polaroid Originals OneStep Camera that takes instant pictures. “It evokes a sense of nostalgia, which is going to be top-of-mind this holiday season,” says Allyson Krichman, vice president of sales for the product group at RYMAX. “Companies celebrating milestones should consider retro-inspired products from the year or decade they were established.”

Why It’s Hot
In today’s world, “consumers want experiences,” Schultz points out. Games instantly create an interactive experience with users, and make parties and events more memorable. Fun get-togethers have also been pushed into mainstream media through TV programs like The Tonight Show, where host Jimmy Fallon routinely plays games with his celebrity guests.

How to Use Creatively
Schultz says games can be used as ice breakers, at company picnics or even “in a conference room to add humor to a long day of meetings.” For an event, include instructions with a fun hashtag for the hijinks to be memorialized on social media.

6. FOOD & DRINK

It’s no question that all thoughts turn to food and drink during the holidays, which is why premium food and beverage items will be a hot ticket this year, as in years past. Baskets filled with mouth-watering chocolate, nuts, wine, cheese and a couple of Omaha Steaks, are “never out of style,” says Creative Marketing Concept’s Brian Camp.

Pair food with other items for a winning combo. This group (KTSNUG) features a sherpa blanket and pair of insulated tumblers filled with candy from Chocolate Inn/Lanco (asi/44900); chocolateinn.com.

Savory and salty offerings are also becoming more popular in the food gifts arena. At a recent gourmet food show, Lisa Goldberg-Belle, owner and president of It’s a Wrap Gifts and Promotions (asi/229662), says she saw many types of beef jerky and even mushroom versions for vegetarians. Meats and cheeses ruled the day, along with gourmet popcorn and pretzels. “We source from mom-and-pops around the country,” says Goldberg-Belle, “because often their quality surpasses that of the big guys.”

Of course, sweets still reign. Chocolate Inn/Lanco (asi/44900) says its most popular offerings include dark chocolate-covered pretzels with crushed peppermint, sea salt caramel balls, milk chocolate-covered marshmallows, birthday cake bites and high-end almonds in a variety of packaging options like boxes, bags, baskets, tins and towers.

Why It’s Hot
“It’s a staple,” says Curtis 1000’s Lee Marvin. “It’s been this way forever and it’s not going away.” Camp adds: “Overseas tariffs have taken some of the benefit out of the personalized custom backpacks and jackets our big clients always want, so specialty food items and chocolates are definitely going to play a larger role in gifting this year.”

How to Use Creatively
Depending on the client’s budget, Goldberg-Belle will suggest pairing the food with an imprinted item that lasts after the food is gone. Popular choices include knives, spreaders, dishes, slicer/servers, cutting boards and even garden gnomes.

Since Chocolate Inn joined forces with Lanco, the newly merged company has been combining food gifts with hard goods, including health and beauty products and apparel. “We’re focused on kitting options,” says marketing manager Nick Caputi. “We’ll bundle a piece of high-end apparel with a blanket, Godiva chocolate and drinkware in a soft-touch box.”

7. SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Reusable and sustainable gifting is on the rise, says Creative Marketing Concepts’ Jacques Marais, who predicts it will surface as a major movement in promo in the not-too-distant future. Promotional Consultants’ Brian Potter notes the industry has been slow to respond to this trend, but believes that’s starting to change as “more clients are requesting gifts with charity tie-ins.” In addition, Creative Marketing Concepts’ Camp says, “companies are beginning to consider whether the brand’s core values align with theirs to tell a larger story.”

As part of the Re-Spun program, new crewneck shirts are made from old tees that have been cut into new fabric without any added water, dye or new materials. Available from Marine Layer (asi/68730); marinelayer.com.

Why It’s Hot
Corporations are becoming increasingly concerned with how they’re perceived in the public eye. “They want to be seen as giving back to the community, so they’re more cognizant of their impact when giving holiday gifts,” says Marais. “Companies will continue trying to partner with organizations that somehow positively benefit the communities they’re situated in.”

How to Use Creatively
Marais says your run-of-the-mill water bottle can actually make a splash as a holiday gift, particularly one imprinted with a special bar code. “Every time you refill the bottle and scan the code with a phone app, the company will donate a few cents to a project of one’s own choosing,” Marais explains.

Another client of Corporate Marketing Concept plans to gift upcycled T-shirts from Marine Layer (asi/68730), which takes old tees, removes all labels and logos, and reprocesses the materials to create a brand-new shirt. It’s not cheap, says Marais, but it’s environmentally friendly because “a substantial amount of water is wasted when a shirt is dyed, but with this method there’s no dyeing whatsoever,” as the original colors remain intact. With logoed packaging, a corporate logo isn’t necessary on a gift of this magnitude, notes Camp, because “you’ll never forget who gave it to you.”

Michelle Gillan Larkin is a contributing writer for Advantages.