The new age of promo items

Whether it’s a cheap pen, a cap, or a fidget spinner, most of us have received a promotional item at some point in our lives.

Usually, they get thrown out immediately after the event, never to be seen or worn again.

But since 2011, New Age Promotions has been changing the game and creating quality items customers actually want to use.

Director Peter Demetriou said that he saw a gap in the market to create promotional products and branded merchandise that left a real impression on consumers.

“We wanted to create something that lifted the bar for the entire industry and provided something higher quality in terms of the products and the service offering,” Mr Demetriou said.

“The items which are throw-aways are a result of not putting any thought into the strategy behind it, particularly who the recipients are and what will be useful and appeal to them.”

New Age offers more than 12,000 different products including bags, clothing, stress items, umbrellas and pens which can be customised to fit any business.

The products can then be distributed at in-person or virtual events of any size.

Mr Demetriou said that he was inspired to remove the stigma around promotional products being “cheap and nasty” and instead bring the brand to life through everyday items.

“We took every day, useful items and turned them into promo tools that allows people to interact on a brand on a physical level,” Mr Demetriou said.

“We’re able to conceptualise something really unique with the client and bring it to life with them.”

Since they began, New Age has created a number of innovative campaigns, including a branded terrarium which won them the 2020 APPA Award for Promotional Product Innovation and Design.

Mr Demetriou said that the custom builds were his favourite as you could tailor the impression the brand wanted to make.

“We created a terrarium which had a live plant inside with rocks, gravel and moss for Pronto, and they sat on the tables at a national conference where there were 1100 attendees,” Mr Demetriou said.

We’ve also done a cap for the Grand Prix, a tote bag for Fashion Week, and many others, and it’s always great to see people enjoying those items out in the real world.

Although New Age works with supply partners all over the globe, they have always had a strong push towards using Australian made products.

Mr Demetriou said that he has seen the industry evolve over time, and counter to the globalisation trend, more Australian products have come onto the scene in recent years.

“When I entered the business, it was all offshore and the transition had already occurred,” he said.

“But I’ve seen now that there’s a lot more Australian-made products coming on the scene which is a really positive trend, and we will always try and push them first.”

Mr Demitrou said that a number of items, including umbrellas and pens, were hard to manufacture in Australia as they were usually one-off pieces which couldn’t be produced in bulk.

For these items New Age relies on their global partners, which they have carefully selected to ensure the supply chain is ethical.

“We’ve undergone many hours of training in regard to recognising the risk that are associated with sourcing and modern slavery,” Mr Demetriou said.

“We as a business have developed an extensive modern slavery policy and make sure that our supply partners that we work with are externally audited and committed to the making sure the products are supplied in an ethical manner to minimise risk of child labour.”

Although COVID has taken out many of the events which New Age would usually be promoting, Mr Demetriou said the key was to be proactive and adaptable.

“It’s challenging but there’s also been new doors of opportunity open up and new trends,” Mr Demetriou said.

“Whether it’s distributing working from home kits or sending employee wellness kits direst to doors, you have to adapt to support your clients and promote them in more creative ways.”  •