Look around your house, and you will be amazed at the number of corporate gifts you have been given. Now have another look at how many you actually use, and how many have been stuck away in a cupboard, and only brought out for very occasional (if ever) use. The key to choosing good corporate gifts is considering how useful the recipient will find them.

Good examples are those which have a specific use ? beach umbrellas and cooler bags are always well received ? you'll always have the opportunity to use them outdoors, when you go on a picnic or to the beach. Golf umbrellas are another firm favorite ? whether they are used on the golf course (which many of them are) or whether they are used for other purposes such as watching weekend sports games (particularly the school weekend games) in the pouring rain. Umbrellas are also wonderful to shade off the sun in the middle of summer ? they most definitely are one of the best used corporate gifts you can give out. In just about every home, you're bound to find coffee mugs, pens, pencils, calculators, computer mouse pads ? all sorts of items can carry your company name and keep your customers exposed to your logo and brand.

It doesn't even have to cost a fortune. While there are some rather more expensive such as hand held GPS devices or personal diary assistants, there are many corporate gifts that don't have to cost your company very much at all. Engraved pens are relatively inexpensive to have made and they make a perfect personalized gift. Small items like a hand held massager are great for stressed out executives, and many of them cost less than $50 each.

Novelty items always fare best as corporate gifts, and the most effective way you can promote your company using a gift is to give people something they have never seen before. In today's competitive world only the newest, most innovative and most interesting ideas ever get any time in the spot light, and the gifts you give as promotional items or rewards should reflect this.

If your company is forward thinking and paradigm breaking, don't you think you're a little bit beyond giving gifts that were printed out by a secretary on their lunch break? People appreciate the ingenuity and perceived value of a gift, and not just the price tag of the gift itself. If you can find a gift or series of gifts that is unusual but still practical, affordable without being cheap, you will have found a very valuable business tool.

Corporate gifts play an important role in promoting morale, and promoting your brand. If you devote the time to their choosing and distributing they will reward you many times over. Giving gifts is one of the most potent business strategies, as it is the only way to transcend business protocol and make connections with your staff and clients on a personal level.