What Branded Products Do People Actually Keep?

If you want people to keep a branded product -- merch you've spent time and money developing and producing -- usefulness matters. ASI’s 2026 Global Ad Impressions Study found that 78% of U.S. consumers would keep a promotional product because it’s useful.

But “useful” is only the starting line.

A power bank is useful. A notebook is useful. A water bottle is useful. That doesn’t automatically make any of them the right product for your business.

The better question is: why does it make sense that this came from you?

The strongest products connect usefulness to your audience, your work and the moment the product shows up. A tool that helps a client use your process after a session has a different job than a giveaway designed to bring someone to a conference booth.

Before you order merch, ask where the product will be six months from now. If you can picture exactly when and why they’ll reach for it, you’re getting somewhere.

Join my free Skool community, Get Your Merch Made, and bring the product you’re considering. We’ll put it through the Junk Drawer Test before you order.

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What Branded Products Do People Actually Keep?