According to a 2019 study by Global Ad Impressions, most promotional items are only kept for a year at the very longest. Only a little over 20% of promotional items make it past the one-year mark. This means that much of the swag given out at races and other events eventually winds up filling landfills all over the country.
When it comes to race swag ideas, most coordinators are looking for something memorable, something useful, and something eco-friendly recipients will be happy to save. This is where custom ceramics come in.
The Problem: Forgettable Race Swag
T-shirts and hats are pretty traditional when it comes to race swag ideas. They’re easy, and in the grand scheme of things, they’re pretty forgettable as a result. Because they’re so common, promotional textiles are considered to be of lower value, and therefore more likely to wind up tossed to the side and thrown away.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans throw away 13 million tons of textiles every year. This makes up about 9% of total non-recycled waste in the United States.
Not only is traditional textile swag something your recipients are likely to forget, but it’s also something that will likely contribute to the negative impact fast fashion has on our environment.
The Solution: The Power of Custom Mugs
Ceramic keepsakes have something that most typical race swag ideas do not – heirloom quality.
They’re pieces that hold up through the tests of time, reminding recipients over and over again of their attendance or achievement at a race or any event through custom branding.
They’re not just promotional items, they’re useful household items that tell a story each time they’re used. They’re durable pieces, so they won’t shrink, crack, fade, or tear over time.
Custom ceramics aren’t a one-size-fits all type of item. Race planners or coordinators can choose between big coffee mugs, soup mugs, tavern style beer steins, bistro mugs, and more to best fit their branding or race theme.
No matter the style choice, branding always fit seamlessly front and center to highlight your race.
Benefits for Race Planners
Custom ceramics don’t just provide benefit to racers and attendees, they also benefit race planners as well.
A few simple and effective benefits for race coordinators are:
Enhanced Brand Image
The promotional items you choose say a great deal about your brand.
Custom ceramics communicate that your brand has a dedication to quality as well as a focus on a recipient or customer-centric experience.
Putting your logo on a high-quality item is likely to have recipients associate your brand with the same quality standard.
Increased Participant Satisfaction
When participants are satisfied, they simply can’t wait to share that positive experience.
Word-of-mouth is one of the most impactful forms of marketing a race coordinator can hope for.
After all, people are most likely to believe those they trust, and when those in their circle tell them about a great experience, that’s going to make a much bigger impact than a billboard, online ad, or brand social media post.
A promotional item, like a custom mug, makes that sort of positive impact.
Each time a recipient uses their mug or stein, that’s another opportunity to spread the word about the positive experience they had at your race. When word spreads organically and positively through word-of-mouth marketing, more individuals will be interested in what your race has to offer.
This may lead to higher registration numbers year after year.
Memorable Marketing Opportunities
Your custom ceramics can include your logo, or they can include other elements to create your own even-specific design.
Brand logos, race logos, dates, details, and even inspirational messages can all be included as part of your custom ceramic creation. This allows you creative control to represent your race exactly as you want it to be represented.
When it comes to race swag ideas, the sky’s the limit when it comes to the creation of your promotional ceramics.
Grey Fox Pottery: Your Partner in Race Promotion
Race swag is memorable, durable, heirloom quality, and highly customizable with Grey Fox Pottery.
Our experience collaborating to create custom promotional ceramics spans a vast array of industries and events, including creating memorable race swag and finisher prizes.
Why Grey Fox Pottery? A few highlights include:
- We have a commitment to high-quality products made to outlast the tests of time and all made right in the USA. Creating all of our products in the USA allows us to cut down on carbon emissions while enjoying high-quality American craftsmanship.
- Our wide variety of different glazes, styles, and sizes suit any race theme or need. This allows us to work with you to create the perfect ceramic frame for your logo on the perfect product to suit your race event.
- We have expertise in logo design and creation. We work with our race coordinator clients to turn their vision into reality. Event dates, imagery, brand logos, and messages can be incorporated into your ideal ceramic design
- With competitive pricing and bulk order discounts, we keep promotional race swag ideas affordable for our race coordinator clients. You’re able to get a high-quality product that markets for you for a price that doesn’t stress your budget.
Finishing a race is an achievement, and such an achievement deserves a gift to match.
High-quality custom ceramics can be enjoyed by anyone, and they say quite a bit about your brand at the same time. They show a commitment to care for your race attendees, they show a commitment to eco-friendliness and a real effort to keep promotional swag out of landfills, and they show friends and family of race attendees the kind of experience they can enjoy should they choose to join in on the fun themselves.
To get a quote for your race mug, simply fill out our contact form.