An alarm clock. A Pok mon baby blanket. A bonsai tree. A pogo stick. Calls to the folks who manufacture and sell this stuff reveal deeper trends.
Promotional products are a huge industry, with a reach far beyond the tech field.
Now there's a spring season when new items are launched, much like fashions on the catwalks of Paris. Silly Putty, Etch A Sketch, paddle balls, yo-yos. Anything from your youth, they're finding their way back into this industry with a name on it. Jon Sloan of Halo Branded Solutions in Niles, Ill., says his big sellers are keyboard brushes, clips that get attached to computers to hold pictures, retractable laptop phone connectors, screen sweepers for PC monitors and mouse coordinators that keep cords untangled. Clothing is a big part of branding, as a visit to any trendy cafe in San Francisco's SoMa area will show.