The Ultimate Guide to Promotional Products in Australia

Promotional products have been around forever, and despite everything going digital, they're not going anywhere. There's something about handing someone a physical thing with your logo on it. They keep it on their desk. They use it every day. Try getting that kind of ongoing visibility from a Google ad.

The industry's changed a lot since we started tracking it in 2008. Eco-friendly went from niche to expected. Quality expectations went up. The range of what you can get expanded massively. This guide covers what's out there now, what it actually costs, and what's worth your money.

What's Actually Out There

There's a massive range of products, but most orders fall into a few core categories. Knowing what exists helps you figure out what makes sense for your situation.

Writing Instruments

Pens. Still the most popular promotional product by volume, year after year. Useful, cheap in bulk, everyone needs them. The range goes from basic plastic ballpoints at 40 cents to premium metal numbers at $15 or more.

The sweet spot for most businesses is $1.50 to $4 per unit. That gets you something that writes properly and looks decent. Cheap enough to give away freely, good enough that people actually keep it rather than binning it immediately.

Pencils, highlighters, marker sets - all in this category too. Schools and creative industries love them. Carpenter pencils are popular in the trades.

The thing with pens is they get used constantly. Someone picks up a branded pen every day, your logo is in their hand every day. Hard to beat that kind of repeated exposure for the price.

Drinkware

Mugs, drink bottles, travel cups, stubby holders. This category's grown a lot in the last decade. People care about sustainability now. Reusable beats disposable.

Ceramic mugs are a staple. Affordable, practical, sits on someone's desk for years. Basic mugs from $4-5. Quality ones with full-colour printing, $8-15. They're visible in offices, break rooms, home kitchens - anywhere people drink coffee or tea.

Reusable drink bottles and keep cups have taken off massively. $10-20 each for something decent, and people feel like they're getting their money's worth. They use them daily. Gym, work, out and about. Your branding travels with them.

The stubby holder remains an Australian icon. Under $3 each, light to ship, perfect for Aussie events and outdoor gatherings. Footy clubs, tradies, BBQs, camping trips - they end up everywhere.

Apparel

T-shirts, polos, caps, jackets, hoodies. Costs more than other categories, but someone wearing your branded polo is a walking billboard. Hard to beat that visibility.

T-shirts run $12-25 depending on quality and print method. Basic screen-printed tees at the lower end, premium brands with embroidery at the higher end. Polo shirts for uniforms sit around $25-50. Caps anywhere from $5 for basic truckers to $30 for quality fitted options.

The headache with apparel is sizing. You need a range, which complicates inventory and ordering. For giveaways, stick to unisex styles and popular sizes. For uniforms, measure everyone properly first - returns and exchanges eat into any savings you thought you were making.

Decoration method matters too. Screen printing works for simple designs and large quantities. Embroidery looks more premium but costs more per unit. Direct-to-garment printing handles complex full-colour designs.

Bags

Tote bags, backpacks, laptop bags, drawstring bags, cooler bags. Another category that's grown with sustainability awareness - reusable shopping bags have become almost a default promotional item.

Basic cotton tote bags start around $3-4 each. Better quality canvas totes run $8-15. The advantage of bags is their large print area - your branding can be prominently displayed and visible whenever the bag is used.

Conference and event bags (usually drawstring or messenger style) are popular for trade shows and corporate events. They're useful on the day for carrying around collected materials, and often continue being used afterwards.

Cooler bags have their own niche - perfect for food and beverage businesses, outdoor events, or anyone targeting people who pack lunches or head to the beach.

Tech Accessories

USB drives, power banks, phone accessories, Bluetooth speakers, wireless chargers. High perceived value, but quality varies wildly. Cheap tech products that don't work properly will reflect badly on you.

USB drives have gotten cheap - 8GB for $6-10 now. They're less essential than they used to be with cloud storage everywhere, but still useful for preloaded content or specific industries. Power banks from $15 basic to $40+ premium. Phone stands and cable organisers, $5-15.

The critical thing with tech: it has to work. A power bank that dies after three charges gets binned, and your brand goes with it. A reliable one gets used every day. Worth spending a bit more here rather than gambling on the cheapest option.

Bluetooth speakers and wireless chargers sit at the premium end - $30-80 typically. Great for higher-value clients or staff rewards, less suitable for mass giveaways.

Eco-Friendly Products

Used to be niche. Now it's mainstream. Recycled materials, bamboo, organic cotton, biodegradable options - available across pretty much every category.

Eco products typically cost 10-30% more than conventional equivalents. For plenty of businesses, that's worth it. Aligns with corporate sustainability goals. Resonates with customers who care about this stuff (and plenty do now).

Bamboo pens and drinkware are popular. Recycled plastic products. Organic cotton bags and apparel. Seed paper products that can be planted afterwards - bit gimmicky, but people seem to like them. Wheat straw items as an alternative to plastic.

Watch out for greenwashing though. "Eco-friendly" gets slapped on things that barely deserve it. Look for actual certifications and specifics about materials, not just marketing claims.

Novelty and Specialty Items

Stress balls, keyrings, magnets, calendars, notebooks, sticky notes, and thousands of other options. This category covers everything that doesn't fit elsewhere - which is a lot.

The classic stress ball remains popular, especially in custom shapes related to your industry. They're cheap (often under $2) and genuinely useful for desk-bound workers. Keyrings and fridge magnets have loyal fans, though their effectiveness is debated - some end up in drawers, others stay visible for years.

Calendars, notepads, and sticky notes are practical office items that keep your brand visible throughout the year. They work particularly well for B2B audiences who actually use them.

Then there's everything else - lip balm, sunscreen, hand sanitiser, first aid kits, playing cards, puzzles, tools, sports equipment, and on and on. If you can think of it, someone's probably put a logo on it.

What Things Actually Cost

Pricing in this industry can be confusing. The quote says one thing, then setup fees, artwork charges and delivery get added. Suddenly you're paying 30% more than you expected. Here's how to read the real numbers.

Unit Costs

Here are typical price ranges for common items at moderate quantities (250-500 units):

Plastic pens: $0.40 - $1.50 each
Metal pens: $2 - $15 each
Ceramic mugs: $4 - $12 each
Drink bottles: $8 - $25 each
T-shirts: $12 - $25 each
Polo shirts: $25 - $50 each
Cotton tote bags: $3 - $8 each
USB drives (8GB): $6 - $12 each
Power banks: $15 - $40 each
Stress balls: $1.50 - $4 each
Stubby holders: $2 - $5 each
Caps: $5 - $20 each

Prices drop with quantity - ordering 1,000 units typically costs 15-25% less per unit than ordering 250. Very large orders (5,000+) can see even steeper discounts. But the setup costs stay the same, so the per-unit saving is most dramatic on bigger runs.

The Extras That Add Up

Setup fees: $30-80 per colour/position. Some suppliers include this, some don't. Always ask. Screen printing and pad printing typically have setup costs; digital printing often doesn't.

Artwork charges: If they need to fix or convert your logo, that might cost $50-150. Simple conversions are sometimes free. Complex redrawing costs more. Best to provide print-ready files in the format they specify.

Delivery: $20-60 for metro on a typical order. Regional costs more. Express can double it. Bulky items like furniture or large quantities cost significantly more. Always get delivery quoted specifically.

GST: Always check whether it's included in the quote. Often it isn't. Add 10% to your mental calculation if the quote is GST-exclusive.

Lead Times and Planning

This is where people come unstuck. Promotional products take longer than expected, especially anything that needs printing or decoration.

Standard Timelines

Stock items with standard printing: 10-15 business days from artwork approval. That's assuming nothing goes wrong - no stock issues, no artwork problems, no printing errors. Something always goes wrong occasionally.

Custom-manufactured items: 4-8 weeks. These are made specifically for you rather than pulled from stock and decorated. Could be custom-shaped stress balls, bespoke packaging, unusual products.

Apparel: Allow 2-3 weeks minimum. Longer if you need specific colours or a full size range. Embroidery takes longer than printing.

Imported products: If it's coming from overseas (and a lot does, ultimately), add time for shipping and customs. Could be 6-12 weeks for made-to-order overseas manufacturing.

Rush Orders

Most suppliers offer rush services. Expect to pay 20-50% extra. And "rush" doesn't mean "miracle" - if the stock isn't there or the print queue is full, money won't fix it.

Better approach: plan ahead. Event with a fixed date? Start the ordering process at least four weeks out. Six is better. Gives you time to see samples, approve proofs, deal with problems without having a breakdown.

Peak Periods

October through December is chaos in the promotional products industry. Christmas gifts, end-of-year events, summer promotions - everyone wants everything at once. Lead times blow out. Stock runs low. Pricing sometimes goes up.

January's tight too as everyone comes back from holidays and panics about the stuff they should have ordered before Christmas.

Ordering during peak? Add extra time to your timeline. Confirm stock before you commit. Consider placing orders earlier in the year to avoid the rush.

What Actually Works

Not all promotional products are equally effective. Some get used for years. Some go straight in the bin. Here's what we've learned makes the difference.

Usefulness Trumps Everything

If people use it, it works. If they don't, it doesn't. Simple as that. A pen that writes well sits on someone's desk for months. A cheap keyring goes in a drawer and never comes out. A quality drink bottle goes to the gym every day.

Think about your audience's actual life. What would they genuinely use? That's what's worth buying. Don't pick what looks cool in a catalogue - pick what'll get picked up repeatedly.

Quality Beats Quantity

Tempting to go for volume - cheapest option, maximum distribution. But quality items that last create better impressions than disposable junk that breaks immediately.

A marketing manager told us she'd rather give out 200 good notebooks than 1,000 flimsy ones. The good ones get kept and used. The flimsy ones get binned, and people remember that your brand was associated with garbage.

This doesn't mean everything has to be premium. But it does mean the product should do its job properly for a reasonable amount of time.

Context Matters

Match the product to the situation. Conference? Bags and notepads. Outdoor event? Caps and drink bottles. Tech crowd? USB drives and phone accessories. Tradies? Tape measures and stubby holders.

Think about when and where people will receive it. What would be useful right then? A drink bottle at a summer outdoor event makes sense. The same drink bottle at a seated dinner less so.

Brand Consistency

Your promo products should feel like your brand. Colours, logos, quality level - all aligned with how you want to be seen. A premium brand giving away cheap plastic sends a confusing message. A budget brand with luxury gifts might seem inauthentic.

Think about what the product says about you, not just whether it has your logo on it.

Australian Market Specifics

A few things are particular to the Australian market.

Local vs Imported

Most promotional products sold in Australia are manufactured overseas - primarily China, but also Vietnam, India, and Bangladesh. The products are imported and held in Australian warehouses, then decorated locally.

Some items (particularly apparel) can be sourced domestically, usually at higher cost but faster turnaround. Australian-made options exist across many categories if that's important to you. Expect to pay 20-50% more than equivalent imports.

For rush orders or when supporting local manufacturing matters to your brand, Australian-made can be worth the premium.

Geographic Considerations

Australia's size affects delivery costs and times significantly. Sydney and Melbourne have the best access to supplier warehouses and the fastest delivery options. Perth, Darwin, and regional areas face longer lead times and higher freight costs.

If your business operates nationally, consider suppliers with multiple warehouse locations. Or budget additional time and cost for distribution to remote areas.

Compliance and Safety

Australian consumer safety laws apply to promotional products. Items that could be used by children (stress balls, for instance) need to comply with toy safety standards. Food-contact items (mugs, bottles) must meet food-grade requirements. Electrical items need appropriate certification.

Reputable suppliers handle compliance as standard, but it's worth confirming - especially for items being given to schools, families, or anywhere children might be involved.

Getting Started

If you're new to ordering promotional products, here's a straightforward process to follow:

Define your objectives: What are you trying to achieve? Brand awareness? Customer loyalty? Event giveaways? Staff rewards? This shapes everything else.
Set your budget: Include setup fees, artwork, and delivery in your calculations, not just unit costs. Add 20% buffer for things you haven't thought of.
Choose appropriate products: Match items to your audience and context. Use our product categories for inspiration.
Find suitable suppliers: Our supplier directory lists verified operators with customer reviews. Get quotes from 2-3 to compare.
Request samples: Always review physical samples before placing large orders. Touch it, use it, verify quality.
Allow adequate time: Start the process early to avoid rush fees and last-minute stress. Four weeks minimum, six is better.

Promotional products work. People keep them. They use them. That's a physical connection digital ads can't replicate. Pick the right things, buy from people who know what they're doing, and give yourself enough time that you're not scrambling at the last minute.