Determine who your target audience is.

Your advertising efforts will make a much bigger impact if your promotional items are more personally appealing.

I recommend: choosing promotional gifts that appeal to a targeted segment of the population.  For example, non-profit groups which cater mainly to women (i.e. The American Breast Cancer Foundation, The Center for the Advancement of Women, etc.) should consider gifts that appeal to women.  Athletic organizations (i.e. Athletes in Kind, The Lance Armstrong Foundation) should invest in promotional giveaways like water bottles or sweatbands.  Children's charities (i.e. Ronald McDonald House Charities, The Children's Wish Foundation) will make an indelible impression by choosing items that appeal to children, like frisbees or beach balls.  Targeting the right group means that those who receive your promotional giveaways will remember you long after the initial contact.

Carry a variety of promotional gifts.

Stocking more than one type of item means that you'll always have just the right gift to hand out.

I recommend: appealing to individual's hobbies and interests.  Whether you come across a golf lover, a fisherman or a scrapbooker, you'll have gifts that fit the individual.

Always carry the old stand-bys.

Pens and mugs are among the oldest of promotional gifts, and for very good reason. Everyone uses them, and they are some of the most cost-efficient advertising items to invest in.

I recommend: never leaving home without a box of promotional pens.  Hand them out like business cards to everyone you meet.  Pens are also portable and easy to carry.  Having a pocketfull of them means that you'll never miss an opportunity to promote your organization.