Promotional umbrellas can really make a statement for your company. Although if you run a company that caters toward children you may feel as though your money could be better spent on promotional items such as Frisbees and balls, promotional umbrellas can be interesting for children and the parents—the ones with the money—will be more likely to keep them.



When it comes to children, color is super important. There’s a reason why you never see children’s toys painting in deep, dark colors like burgundy. Children tend to go for the colors that are brightest, such as the primary and secondary colors—red, yellow, blue, orange, green, and purple. Pink is a popular color as well, especially for girls. This, however, raises an important issue. Ordering pink umbrellas for children could be a mistake, unless you specifically want girls to grab them. Although there are some boys who do like pink, this is a color that many boys would not like for their umbrella. Choose a variety of colors or choose a gender-neutral colors, like red.

When designing your umbrella, make sure that it will work for little hands. Tiny umbrellas should be big enough to shield children, but not large enough to become heavy. Consider the clasp options as well. For a child, the easier the umbrella is to open and close, the better. If possible, look at some prototypes of the umbrella you’re considering ordering. Better yet, ask some children you know—your own or the children of an employee—to try out the umbrella prototype. Is it easy to use? Is it safe? Is it light enough to carry? All of these things must be addressed when designing for children.

The display for giving away your umbrella is also very important. Children like anything that stands out. Glitter, flashing lights, and pops of color are extremely enticing, and your goal is to get as many children as possible to lead their parents by the hand to your table when you’re running a stand at a fair, convention, or other event. Spend some time thinking about how your space will look and how you will control how many promotional umbrellas each child takes. Remember, children will take three or four promotional items to give to their friends—they think they’re doing something nice, but because promotional umbrellas aren’t exactly the cheapest promotional products available, you may wish to control the flow a bit. Consider dressing up, caning a theme, and providing other enticing give-a-ways.

However, never get so wrapped up in catering toward children that you forget that mom and dad hold the credit card. Always act professionally and give parents your sales pitch before their children pull you away. With your promotional umbrella, hand out business cards and a small “adult" promotional product, like a magnet or pen. This will ensure that they call you whenever your business fit their needs. After all, promotional products are great, but the only real way to attract customers is to prove to them that you have a product or service that they really need.