Does the Quality of a Promotional Product Actually Affect Your Brand? What the Data Says
There is a version of branded merch that does its job quietly and well. Someone receives it, uses it regularly, and thinks a little more favorably about your company every time they do. And there is a version that gets set aside, forgotten, or thrown away — taking whatever goodwill was attached to it along for the ride.
The difference between those two outcomes is often not the category or the logo placement. It is the quality of the item itself, and the signals that quality sends about the brand behind it.
In Part 1 of this series we looked at cost-per-impression data that establishes branded merchandise as a legitimate budget line item. In Part 2 we covered what consumers actually want to receive and why usefulness drives retention above everything else. This final post looks at the data on what happens to brand perception when the item itself signals quality — specifically when it is sustainable, Made in USA, or produced in a socially responsible way.
The 2026 Global Ad Impressions Study from the Advertising Specialty Institute asked consumers directly how their opinion of an advertiser would change based on these product attributes. The results make a clear and measurable case for investing in better merch rather than more of it.
Does Receiving a Sustainable Promotional Product Change How People Feel About a Brand?
Yes, and by a meaningful margin. Across nearly every product category in the ASI study, receiving a sustainable promotional item made consumers view the advertiser more favorably than receiving a standard version of the same product.
All three attributes move brand perception in the same direction and by similar magnitudes. Made in USA leads slightly overall, but the gap is narrow enough that all three are worth paying attention to as a marketer making product decisions.
What makes this data useful is that it is not measuring a vague sentiment. It is measuring a specific outcome: would this person think better of the company that gave them this item? That is a brand impression question, and the answer is consistently yes when the item signals that someone made a considered choice about how it was produced.
If you want to understand how traceability and material transparency work in practice on the product side, our piece on Aware technology and sustainability traceability is worth reading alongside this data. And if you want to see the broader case for sustainable promotional products, we have covered that in depth as well.
Which Product Categories See the Biggest Brand Perception Lift from Quality Attributes?
The attribute data is not uniform across every product category. Some items see a larger perception lift from sustainable or Made in USA attributes than others. Here is how the most relevant categories break down across all three attributes.
| Product Category | Sustainable | Made in USA | Socially Responsible |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bags | 86% | 81% | 87% |
| Fleece / Jackets | 74% | 79% | 76% |
| Drinkware | 75% | 77% | 71% |
| Desk Accessories | 83% | 84% | 81% |
| Writing Instruments | 75% | 86% | 73% |
| Power Banks | 76% | 84% | 79% |
| Notebooks | 77% | 81% | 72% |
| T-Shirts | 68% | 83% | 68% |
| Food Gifts | 80% | 80% | 77% |
| Health & Safety | 74% | 81% | 71% |
Source: 2026 ASI Global Ad Impressions Study. Made in USA column highlighted as the leading attribute across most categories.
A few things stand out in this data. Writing instruments — one of the most ordered and least expensive promotional products in the industry — see an 86% favorable impression rate when Made in USA. That is a significant return on a modest price increase for a domestic product. Bags score above 80% across all three attributes, which reinforces why a well-chosen bag continues to be one of the most versatile and high-performing items in a merch program.
The practical takeaway is that quality attributes are not reserved for premium price points or sustainability-focused brands. They apply across every major category, which means every merch buyer has an opportunity to make choices that strengthen brand perception rather than just fill an order.
What Does This Mean for How Recipients Actually Feel?
The perception data is compelling on its own. But it connects to something larger that runs through all three posts in this series: branded merchandise is not just a vehicle for a logo. It is a physical expression of how much thought a brand put into the moment it was given.
A well-made item signals care. A cheap item signals the opposite, regardless of how good the logo looks on it.
Those numbers are measuring the standard version of those products — before any sustainable, Made in USA, or socially responsible attribute is added. Layer in those attributes and the numbers climb further. The compounding effect of choosing a quality item in a category people want, produced in a way that signals responsibility, is measurable in consumer data and felt in the moment of receiving it.
This is why the approach to merch that produces the best results does not start with a budget ceiling and work backward to the cheapest item that fits. It starts with the recipient, the occasion, and the brand impression you want to create. The budget conversation follows from that. It does not lead it.
That approach is also more defensible internally. When you can point to data showing that a $40 sustainable tote generates a more favorable brand impression than a $12 standard one — and that it will be used monthly and kept for over a year — the conversation about spend shifts from cost to value. That is a conversation worth having, and the data supports it.
How Do You Actually Find Merch That Meets This Standard?
This is where most merch programs run into trouble. The data tells you what works. Finding the actual products that deliver on quality, sustainability, and brand alignment — without spending hours in a catalog — is a different challenge. That is the work we do every day at The Branded Things.
Our process starts with what you need the merch to do and who is receiving it, not with a product grid. We source across domestic and international suppliers with an eye on quality, brand fit, and the kind of detail that tells a recipient someone paid attention. Whether that is sustainable materials, quiet luxury finishes, or simply an item that is genuinely well made in the right category — the goal is always the same: merch that earns its place in your budget by doing something real for your brand.
If you want to see examples of what intentional product selection looks like in practice, the Sparkling Ice and Van Leeuwen pop-up project and the non-profit gifting project in our project spotlights show how product choices ladder up to brand outcomes in real programs. Our piece on 8 tips for creating branded merchandise is also a practical companion to everything covered in this series.
Part 1: Are Promotional Products Worth the Budget? — The cost-per-impression data that makes the case for merch as a legitimate line item alongside every other channel in your mix.
Part 2: What Promotional Products Do People Actually Want? — Why product selection is a strategic decision, not a shopping one, and what the preference and retention data tells you about what to order.
Part 3: Does the Quality of a Promotional Product Affect Your Brand? — You are here. The data on how sustainable, Made in USA, and socially responsible attributes shift brand perception, and why better merch is a more defensible budget conversation than cheaper merch.
If you are ready to approach your next merch program with this kind of intention, we would love to be part of it. No catalog, no guesswork — just a curated recommendation that fits your brand, your audience, and your budget.
Start a ProjectResearch referenced: 2026 Global Ad Impressions Study, Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI). Research provided by the Advertising Specialty Institute, ©2026, All Rights Reserved.
