Search Schwag

Yahoo wasn’t fooling around with this one. This pack of schwag is probably the most intensive giveaway I’ve ever seen. Accordingly, it’s given only to partner companies and business clients. The shot glass, mugs and rubber duckies are awesome giveaways by themselves. However, the thing that really catches my attention is the skateboard.

If you look close enough, it incorporates the name of almost every Yahoo search engine and service into the design. It’s bright and eye-catching, perfect for spreading brand awareness. Plus, it’s functional!… or really awesome as a wall decoration (for those busy execs out there!).

A year ago Yahoo sent out an interesting promotion for their (at the time) new open search platform, Search Monkey. The box contained a “happy hour in a box” kit including a mini-keg of Heineken and 6 beer mugs. On the sides of the box were informational flaps about Search Monkey.

It’s definitely an interesting concept, “get ‘em drunk and sell ‘em on a new idea!” Either way, you go Yahoo! for coming up with something awesome and original. Now all they need are nice little beer totes and maybe some koozies to keep it chilly on a hot day.

Twitter has become the capital of giveaway land. With hundreds of products being handed out every day, it’s the schwag-lover’s playground.

Among top giveaways (going on now!) are digital cameras, a laptop, a Wii, and a honeymoon. Just google “twitter giveaways” and suddenly anything is possible!

So what’s the deal? Marketing teams have finally realized the power of twitter. With a big dollar give away companies can attract thousands, if not millions, of followers within a matter of days. Suddenly website traffic soars, links to different products become more valuable and brand recognition grows exponentially.

Not interested in SEO? Most people aren’t. But that doesn’t mean you can’t benefit from these incredible promotional items! Unfortunately your new mp3 player may be branded with a company logo and your awesome laptop bag may say “Tom’s Cookie Factory” on the side, but it’s still free and any win is exciting!

So go twitter crazy and capitalize on the SEO schwag!

Google caught up with the business card craze and put out these customized business cards to promote Google Profiles and Google Sites. Both programs are easy to use websites that allow users to create profiles, blogs and photo sharing pages (Check out my favorite Google Site!).

Now users can promote themselves even more with this clever marketing ploy (all the while promoting Google and it’s services). I think I’ll order my own sometime soon, along with a swanky business card holder and some oxford shirts. That way I have the whole ‘professional’ image down.

Maybe you’ve never heard of dogpile.com, or maybe you’ve seen the name and never used the search. Whatever the case may be, it’s one of my favorite search engines on the web. It takes search results from Google, Yahoo, Ask and Bing and then compiles them for the most relevant results.

So why is their largest promotional campaign a pile of dog friendly frisbees? Well, that’s because Dogpile generates money from advertising for donations to animal Search and Rescue. Over $200,000 dollars were raised and donated last year alone. They’ve also used paw print promotional items- and even a few human friendly items.

Which is why I love the frisbee in the photo; it’s pet and people friendly! Not only does this promotion get right in the hands of dog lovers, but it’s also great for frisbee-lovin’ college students.  What a great alternative to t-shirts.

To promote the new (at the time) eBay Desktop, Ebay came out with this creative promotion. Unlike a t-shirt, this memory stick is conveniently used right where you need Ebay services- your computer. This was a really good idea from their marketing department; unfortunately Ebay desktop isn’t as popular as once imagined. However, the schwag is still gorgeous with those bright colors on a glossy white background!

Keep in mind that Ebay isn’t the only company who’s used USB drives as a promotion. Some of my favorite schwag items are creative drives. Like this teddy bear one. Because, really? What’s better than shoving a bear’s head into your computer?

This one is also one of my favorites, perfect for medical professionals. I’ve seen robots and business men as well! Long gone are the days of boring USB drives!

Ask.com is one of the lesser known search engines, although super fun to use! I’ve always liked being able to type in a question and get a result right back (better yet, a relevant answer!). While Ask killed off their mascot, Jeeves, a few years ago, I still love Ask Jeeves jokes and promotional products.

Here’s a comic I found and even if it doesn’t fit into the strict category of “schwag”, I thought it might elicit a chuckle. I wish they had this comic on a t-shirt, I’d definitely pick it up!

I never thought I’d see the day when Yahoo, Google, Youtube and Myspace all coexisted on one t-shirt. It reminds me a little of a Lennon song,

“Imagine all the people, Sharing all the world…”

But warm fuzzies aside, this is an awesome shirt. I believe it’s innuendo for something a little risque, but I can’t really be sure. What I do know is this- every name on that shirt has gotten a whole lot of internet publicity just from being on a tee. Good job, dirty Search Schwag Shirt!

Forget the promotional pens and cheesy gifts. If you really want to get a permanent advertisement out there, do it in tattoos. I recently read about a snowboard company who had a company wide spirit competition. The top competitors got a cash prize of over 1,000 dollars. People lined up with printed t-shirts and custom bumper stickers galore but no one stood a chance against two dedicated corporate heads. The men snagged the prize money after getting company logos tattooed across their wrists. Now that’s spirit.

The Apple logo and Google logo seem to be above cash incentives, though. Hundreds of people are tattooing themselves with computer logos every year (just check out these photos for a quick sampling). Just recently, the Google craze joined the ink scene as well. Now it’s not just Macintosh fans who are opting in for permanent advertising, but Google fans too.

Pretty soon the search engine will not only be all over the internet, but all over our skin!

Almost 150 million people use Google every month. Imagine if each one of those users simultaneously donated to non-profit organizations. Even if everyone only donated one penny it would come to 1,500,000 dollars in donations every month! Can you imagine the impact?

We aren’t to the point of donated pennies on a massive scale via search engines, but you can make a difference surfing the web when you use Search Kindly. SK is a google-powered search engine that donates the profit from advertising and donations to charitable organizations. Save Darfur, Invisible Children and Students Helping Honduras have already received significant funds from SK efforts.

All you need to do is search the web through the SK homepage. The site traffic alone can change the world just by increasing the value of advertisements.

SK also makes promotional t-shirts that you can purchase on CafePress. Every penny, and every t-shirt, will make a difference.