Many retail trends in mainstream markets eventually find their way into the promotional channels. Getting involved with these trends is a great way to get your brand name out to the public. These retail-turned-promotional products fall into two categories. Either they are items which have long established themselves first in the retail market, or they are fad items which have graced the retail market for a short amount of time. In the first scenario, companies see the potential of promoting their brand through retail products that have already sustained mass appeal. In the second case, companies want to take advantage of the viral urgency of a fad by riding the coattails of the hype for the present moment. Let's first examine the promotional appeal of a specific fad item called Silly Bandz, since they seem to have a tremendous amount of allure in the present day.

Silly Bandz, distributed by BCP Imports, LLC in Toledo, Ohio, are custom rubber band bracelets which come in different design shapes such as crabs and princesses. Children are able to wear and trade these bracelets with their friends. Businesses are seeing an opportunity to benefit from the influence of this fad by having their logo printed on the outside of the Silly Bandz package. When children see your brand name on the Silly Bandz package, they will associate your product with the excitement and fun that they experience while wearing the bracelet. The parents of these children also see the package, and appreciate the fact that your company is in tune to the types of trends that their children follow. It shows that your company stays current in the times, and that you aren't solely interested in making a profit off of them. Other recent retail trend products that have found their way into the promotional market include Livestrong bracelets and Snuggies. All of these fad items serve the same purpose by brightening the spotlight of your brand in a very short period of time.

While trend items like Silly Bandz seem to be something that are only hot for the present moment, it does not mean that these fads are the only retail products that come over to the promotional market. Any retail item has the potential to end up in promotions, as long as it has some mass appeal or quality function. For instance, aluminum water bottles are a product that first developed a consumer base in retail. Once the attractiveness of this item began to spread, the aluminum water bottle ended up in the promotional market. Today, promotional aluminum water bottles are one of the best-selling products at Motivators.

Plenty of other retail items control the heart of the promotional products industry. Tee shirts and other wearable items are a prime example in this case. While clothing is always a leading product in the world of retail trends and fashion, it also ranks highest in terms of promotional product sales, making up over 31% of industry revenue in 2009.

If you are planning on getting your promotional marketing campaign aligned with retail trends, you should consider several things before investing. First, you need to do a little research on the product you are interested in. Fad items like Silly Bandz are great for the purpose of maximizing your exposure, but you need to make sure that the fad is going to sustain itself long enough for you to reap the benefits. Some retail fads die out before they ever catch on. You want to make sure you get in at a time after the trend has already begun to pick up steam, but before the market has become so saturated with the product that the trend begins its decline.

Second, think about the practical use that your client base is going to get out of the product. Tote bags are a perfect example of a retail trend that performs well in the promotional market, because they fulfill the two most important consumer needs that are typically sought out in the retail market: fashion and function. Go by the rule of thumb that as long as a retail product is looks good and is useful, it will probably be a good item to have your logo printed on.

Finally, keep a close watch on the current direction that retail trends are moving towards. When a new product makes the jump over to the promotional market, you want to be in a position where you already have a decent idea about how the item is going to perform for your specific needs.