Consider the potential for company branding on the average desktop?pens and coffee mugs will immediately spring to mind, of course. These two items are perhaps the most well-known and widely-used desktop promotional items. The printed mouse mat, while not as commonly used for promotional merchandising, is an increasingly popular desktop promotional item. Computers are now an essential item for most businesses and home offices, so it makes perfect sense to utilize the mouse mat as a vehicle for your promotional message. In fact, mouse mats are so competitively priced?less expensive than the average ceramic promotional mug and less expensive than many pens?that they're quickly becoming a must-have promotional item.

Mouse mats are, of course, more complicated to design than are printed pens, but the effort is well worth the time as effective promotional gifts or items. With so much more space to work with, you have ample opportunity to create an eye-catching design and add relevant information, your company logo, slogan, contact information and web site address can all be included. The traditional printed pen, while a popular promotional item, certainly does not have the space to include all the information that a mouse mat can accommodate. You can even buy double-sided mouse mats that give you twice the advertising space of a typical mat, and double the opportunity to make a lasting impression on your clients.

Creating an effective company brand that will look great on a promotional mouse mat comes down to just three or four important principles.

?Keep your design simple. Don't confuse the important information?your company name?with flashy designs or loud color schemes.
?Use pictures and symbols that are relevant to what your company does.
?Choose clear, legible fonts to create a bold statement. It's perfectly fine to use a font that is a little out of the ordinary, as long as it can be read easily.
?Make sure the design you choose represents your company in the best way possible. Every aspect of your design should contribute to the overall theme.

Once you've decided on a design, it's easy to order your printed mouse mats online, and there are a range of online suppliers that can print your mouse mats and deliver them to you within just a few days ? and then you're ready to start getting your company brand out there! Consider using printed mouse mats for promoting new products, as trade-show or convention giveaways, thank-you gifts, purchase incentives, and more. Distribute printed mouse mats to employees, particularly those who work with clients, to promote company awareness both in-house and for customers who come through your door. Having these types of promotional items on hand means you never have to miss an opportunity to deliver a lasting impression of your business.