24 February, 2022
Top Stress Shape Categories Of 2021
2021 was a busy year for stress shapes and it’s easy to see why after all the turmoil we all experienced. We thought we’d highlight the top 4 categories of the year and what some businesses did to both help promote their business and at the same time help reduce stress for either their clients or staff.
- Stress Balls: They might be the simplest of all the shapes, but they are still the most effective. A basic round stress ball comes in a huge range of colours, which is appealing for companies as they can match their corporate colours to the stress ball. Another reason they were so popular is the branding area. You can print on one or both sides and most also have the option for full-colour print. Many companies included them in a care package for their employees along with other items. They were also used at meet and greet days with the balls being thrown around, and as they were caught, the person would introduce themselves. We also saw universities include them in their open day packs to possible new students.
- Construction Shaped Stress Items: It was a tough year for many industries to do business, but the construction and DIY sectors still saw solid growth and with that, we saw an increase in the use of construction-related stress shapes. There were several that stood out from the rest including our brick stress shape. Made from soft PU material they look like a standard brick. Another one was our stress hammer. This was a popular one with the kid as they could go around hitting things without causing any damage. The company logo and name were printed on the handle. Some companies gave them out at open house days to entice families to come into their showrooms.
- Medical Stress Shapes: Pills, Band-aids and doctor and nurse character shapes were the big sellers in this category. The pill shapes were used by many pharmaceuticals to promote new brands of medication. The band-aid stress shape was popular with kindergartens and doctors. They have a good-sized print area in the middle where a logo and company name could be added and they look just like the real thing. The selection of different characters, such as doctors and nurses were also used by many companies as a fun way to promote themselves.
- Character Stress Shapes: This category is always a big seller and it is easy to see why. So many fun characters with big facial expressions are almost guaranteed to bring a smile to anyone’s face. A range of emoji branded stress shapes including a smiley face, wink wink, smirk and hearts were very popular along with our range of “Maniac” stress shapes with expressions such as goofy, happy and anxious expressions. Our superhero series was popular for hospitals and our zany recycle man went down a treat with local councils.
Who knows what 2022 will bring, but if you want a place to start for your next promotion, you could do a lot worse than picking one of the above categories. If, however, none of these suit your business and you is unsure what would work best, we’d love to help. Just send us an email or call us and one of our sales team can help guide you to the best solution for your business.
The Stress Balls Only Team