2025 in Review: Top 5 Winning Promo Items & Print Projects Businesses Used to Boost Their Brand

What a year 2025 turned out to be! As we settle into the new year, it’s the perfect time to look back at what really worked in the promotional products and printing world. From sustainable swag that actually made people smile to print projects that stopped scrollers in their tracks, businesses found some seriously effective ways to get their brands noticed.

At AKOR Services, we had a front-row seat to all the action, helping our clients navigate the ever-changing landscape of promotional marketing. Whether you’re planning your 2026 strategy or just curious about what drove results last year, here’s our insider look at the promotional products and print projects that truly delivered.

The Top 5 Promotional Products That Dominated 2025

1. Custom Apparel (Especially T-Shirts)

T-shirts officially dethroned pens as the most desired promotional product in 2025, and honestly, it makes total sense. With 39% of Gen Z and 28% of Boomers actively wanting branded tees, apparel became the ultimate mobile billboard. What made custom apparel so successful wasn’t just the visibility: it was the emotional connection. When someone chooses to wear your brand, they’re making a statement about who they are and what they value.

The winning formula? High-quality materials, thoughtful designs that people actually wanted to wear, and messaging that resonated with target audiences. We saw clients nail this with everything from vintage-inspired logos to cause-related messaging that aligned with their company values.

2. Eco-Friendly Tote Bags

Sustainability wasn’t just a trend in 2025: it was a business imperative. Eco-friendly tote bags hit the sweet spot of practicality and environmental consciousness, with 25% of consumers actively favoring them. The most successful campaigns featured bags made from recycled materials, organic cotton, or innovative eco-friendly fabrics that told a story about the brand’s commitment to the planet.

What separated the winners from the wannabes? Bags that were genuinely useful (think reinforced handles and the right size for groceries or gym gear) and designs that people were proud to carry. The brands that succeeded treated their tote bags like a fashion accessory, not just a walking advertisement.

3. Tech Swag That Actually Works

2025 was the year tech swag grew up. Instead of cheap gadgets that broke after a week, successful brands invested in quality tech items that people integrated into their daily routines. Portable chargers with fast-charging capabilities, wireless phone stands for home offices, and Bluetooth speakers that delivered surprisingly good sound quality were the clear winners.

The key insight? People have gotten pickier about tech accessories. They want items that work seamlessly with their existing devices and enhance their productivity or entertainment experience. The brands that recognized this and invested accordingly saw their promotional tech items become genuine daily-use essentials.

4. Premium Drinkware

While basic water bottles still performed well (19% regular use among consumers), the real story was the rise of premium drinkware. Insulated tumblers with spill-proof lids, aesthetically pleasing coffee mugs with ergonomic handles, and water bottles with built-in fruit infusers dominated the landscape.

The marketing psychology here was brilliant: these weren’t just functional items, they were lifestyle accessories. The most successful campaigns positioned their drinkware as part of a wellness journey or professional image, turning a simple promotional product into a daily reminder of brand values.

5. Work-From-Home Office Essentials

The hybrid work model that solidified in 2025 created a whole new category of promotional products. Desk organizers, ergonomic mouse pads, blue light blocking glasses, and desktop plants in branded planters became surprisingly effective brand ambassadors. These items lived in people’s home office spaces, creating consistent brand exposure during video calls and daily work routines.

The genius of this category was the timing: brands that recognized the permanent shift in how people work and provided solutions for their new environment built genuine goodwill and practical brand visibility.

The Top 5 Print Projects That Drove Business Results

1. Next-Level Business Cards

Business cards made a major comeback in 2025, but not the flimsy rectangles you’re thinking of. The winners featured unique materials (think wood, metal, or textured cardstock), interactive elements like QR codes linking to digital portfolios, and memorable shapes or finishes that made them impossible to throw away.

The most successful campaigns treated business cards as conversation starters rather than just contact info dumps. Die-cut shapes that reflected the business, embedded NFC chips for instant contact sharing, and premium finishes that felt substantial in the hand all contributed to higher retention rates and more follow-up conversations.

2. Eye-Catching Signage and Wayfinding

As businesses adapted to new foot traffic patterns and hybrid events, strategic signage became crucial for guiding customer experiences. The standout projects combined clear messaging with bold visual design, using materials and printing techniques that commanded attention without overwhelming the space.

Window graphics that told brand stories, floor decals that guided customer flow, and modular banner systems that could be reconfigured for different events all proved their worth. The key was thinking beyond just “putting up a sign” to creating visual experiences that enhanced brand perception and customer journey.

3. Direct Mail That Didn’t Feel Like Junk

In a year when digital fatigue was real, smart businesses rediscovered the power of tactile marketing. The direct mail pieces that worked weren’t generic postcards: they were dimensional mailers with unique textures, personalized packaging that felt like a gift, and interactive elements that bridged offline and online experiences.

The most successful campaigns used variable data printing to create truly personalized experiences, integrated augmented reality elements that came to life when scanned, and included promotional products as part of the mailer experience.

4. Event Materials That Told Stories

Trade shows and events roared back to life in 2025, and the brands that stood out invested heavily in cohesive, story-driven print materials. This wasn’t just about having matching colors: it was about creating a visual narrative that guided visitors through the brand experience.

Pop-up displays that transformed throughout the day, printed materials that worked together to tell a complete story, and interactive printed elements that encouraged engagement all contributed to higher booth traffic and better lead quality. The winning approach was treating every printed piece as part of a larger experiential puzzle.

5. Custom Packaging That Became Unboxing Experiences

E-commerce packaging evolved from protective necessity to marketing opportunity in 2025. The most successful projects created unboxing experiences that were so memorable, customers shared them organically on social media. Custom tissue paper with brand messaging, boxes that revealed hidden messages when opened, and packaging that could be repurposed for organization or decor all drove engagement beyond the initial purchase.

The psychology was simple but powerful: when opening your package felt like an event, customers associated that positive emotion with your brand. Many of our clients saw measurable increases in customer retention and social sharing from packaging upgrades alone.

What Made These Strategies Work

The common thread among all these successful promotional products and print projects was intentionality. The brands that succeeded in 2025 didn’t just slap their logo on random items: they thought strategically about their audience’s daily life, values, and pain points.

Sustainability wasn’t just a checkbox; it was a genuine value proposition that resonated with consumers who increasingly make purchase decisions based on environmental impact. Quality over quantity became the mantra, with brands investing in fewer, higher-quality items that created lasting impressions rather than flooding the market with forgettable freebies.

Personalization and customization reached new levels of sophistication, with brands using data to create truly relevant experiences rather than generic one-size-fits-all approaches. The integration of digital and physical experiences also matured, with QR codes, NFC chips, and augmented reality creating seamless bridges between tactile promotional items and digital brand experiences.

How AKOR Services Made the Difference

Throughout 2025, we helped our clients navigate this evolving landscape by focusing on strategic thinking before execution. Rather than just fulfilling orders, we became partners in understanding what would truly resonate with their specific audiences.

Our approach started with listening: understanding not just what our clients wanted to achieve, but who they were trying to reach and what would genuinely add value to those people’s lives. We guided material selection based on durability and environmental impact, advised on design elements that would enhance rather than clutter, and coordinated timing to maximize impact.

The project management piece was crucial too. With supply chain challenges still affecting the industry, our vendor relationships and proactive communication kept projects on schedule and within budget. Many of our clients told us that working with AKOR felt like having an in-house marketing team focused specifically on their promotional and print needs.

As we head into 2026, the lessons from last year are clear: authenticity beats flashiness, quality trumps quantity, and strategic thinking about your audience’s real needs will always outperform generic approaches. Whether you’re planning promotional products that people will actually use or print projects that tell your brand story effectively, the fundamentals remain the same: understand your audience, invest in quality, and create experiences that add genuine value to people’s lives.

Allen Beck
AKOR Services
Allen@akorservices.com

Website: https://akorservices.com/promotional-products-and-printing/
Phone: (360) 334-3373
Email: info@akorservices.com

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