Umbrellas have long been a popular promotional item for advertising businesses. Choosing the best promotional umbrellas for your business requires you to carefully consider how you intend to use the umbrellas, whether as giveaway items for customers or as permanent fixtures, such as for outdoor dining tables. You will also need to set a budget. Whenever you search for promotional items, you should try to get pricing from at least three separate vendors and request samples whenever possible.
The first step in selecting promotional umbrellas is to determine whether you want personal umbrellas or table umbrellas. Table umbrellas are usually purchased by restaurants to place on their outdoor tables. Such umbrellas might also be purchased by vendor companies and printed with their logos to be placed at restaurants that carry those brands. Personal promotional umbrellas are generally purchased as give-away items for customers, visitors, donors, or others and are popular items for businesses across all industries.
If you are purchasing personal umbrellas, you'll first need to choose the size. Personal umbrellas come in three basic sizes. The largest size is commonly referred to as a golf umbrella. These large umbrellas can easily cover two or three people and can protect against both rain and sun. The panels between the spines are often different colors, making these umbrellas ideal for reinforcing your company colors.
Standard size umbrellas are similar to the personal standard size umbrellas carried in stores. They can easily cover two people. Compact umbrellas, on the other hand, fold into small, easily-portable bundles and are ideal for protecting a single person. Compact umbrellas often come with a cover or pouch that can be personalized to match the umbrella.
Once you've determined a size, you'll need to decide what color umbrella you wish to purchase and decide how many colors to use to print your logo — you will need to check with your vendor to find out how many print colors are available. You'll also need to decide whether you want to print your logo, your company name, or both. You might also want to print a slogan or tag line.
Before ordering your promotional umbrellas, you should obtain quotes from several vendors, making sure that each is using the same specifications. Remember that your number of printed colors, the size of the umbrella, and the quantity that you order will all affect the price. Also remember to include shipping costs in each quote and ask each vendor for a delivery time, particularly if you are ordering the promotional umbrellas for a specific event.