A giveaway is cheap or expensive depending on how long it stays in use, not on its price. Pens, keychains, mousepads and bags compared.
You have a stand at an event, a few hundred visitors expected and a budget that will not stretch to a gift for everyone if you buy anything nice. So the question becomes which cheap item does the most work. The answer depends less on the price than on how long the thing stays in somebody's hand.
Cost per hand, and cost per month
Two numbers matter. The first is what you pay per person reached. The second is how long the item keeps your name in front of them. A cheap item that is thrown away tonight is expensive. A slightly dearer one that sits on a desk for two years is a bargain.
There is research on how long that is. The 2016 Global Ad Impressions Study by the Advertising Specialty Institute, a US trade body for promotional products, found the average promotional item is kept for about eight months. Writing instruments last about six. Umbrellas often stay around for more than a year. Kenyan habits will differ, but the order of that list is the useful part.
| Giveaway | Price each | Minimum | Typical life |
|---|---|---|---|
| Branded pen, normal | about KSh 15 | 50 | Weeks to months, often passed on |
| Branded pen, executive | about KSh 25 | 50 | Months; kept as a "good pen" |
| Sublimation keychain | KSh 150 | 12 | Years, carried daily |
| Branded coaster | KSh 150 | 12 | Years, on a desk or table |
| Custom mousepad | KSh 200 | 12 | Years, under one hand all day |
| Non-woven carrier bag | KSh 30 to 40 | 200 | Reused until it tears |
Pens: the volume answer
Branded pens are the lowest-cost way to put your name into a lot of hands: about KSh 15 for a normal pen and about KSh 25 for an executive pen, both with a minimum of 50. Pen models change, so those figures are confirmed against the current price guide when you ask, before you commit.
What makes a pen work is that it travels. It is signed with at a counter, borrowed in a meeting and lent again. Put your phone number on the barrel as well as the logo, because the person holding it next week did not visit your stand.
Mousepads and keychains: the long game
A custom mousepad is KSh 200 with a minimum of 12, printed edge to edge. It sits under the same hand every working day, and nobody throws away a working mousepad. For an IT supplier, an ISP or anyone selling to offices, it is hard to find a giveaway that stays in view longer.
A sublimation keychain is KSh 150, also from 12 pieces, and it goes everywhere its owner goes. Because sublimation prints into the surface, a photograph or logo stays sharp rather than peeling. Coasters at the same price do a similar job on desks and in restaurants.
Bags and umbrellas: big surface, real use
A non-woven carrier bag at KSh 30 to 40 (minimum 200) carries your logo through a market or a mall long after the event. Bags have their own rules worth reading before you order, which the guide to non-woven, jute and tote bags covers. Branded umbrellas, from KSh 800 with a minimum of 12, are the opposite end: expensive per piece, but used in public every time it rains.
What to print on it
A giveaway with only a logo tells people who you are and nothing else. The details that make it work are the ones that let someone reach you later: a phone or WhatsApp number, a web address, and one short line saying what you do. On a pen there is room for the logo and one line. On a mousepad or a bag there is room for all of it, so use it.
Keep the design simple enough to read at a glance. Small text on a curved pen barrel or a busy photograph behind a phone number defeats the purpose. Ask for a preview, and read the number on it twice before approving.
Putting it together
A sensible mix for a two-day event with a few hundred visitors might be pens for everyone, mousepads or keychains for the visitors who leave details, and one premium gift for the handful of serious prospects. For those premium pieces and for client gifting generally, see corporate gifts that still get used.
Sources: ASI, 2016 Global Ad Impressions Study (US industry research) (read 14 Oct 2026).
Common questions
What is the lowest-cost branded giveaway?
Printed pens, at about KSh 15 for a normal pen and about KSh 25 for an executive pen with a minimum of 50. Pen models vary, so the exact price is confirmed on quote before you commit.
Which promotional items do people keep longest?
Things with a daily job: mousepads, keychains, coasters, flasks and umbrellas. They cost more per piece than pens, but they stay in use for years, so the cost per month is often lower.
How many giveaways should I order for an event?
Order pens for your expected footfall plus a margin, and a smaller number of better items for the visitors who stop and share their details. Running out on the first morning is a bigger loss than carrying a box home.
Can giveaways carry different designs in one order?
For keychains and coasters, yes: each piece within the minimum of 12 can carry its own photo or artwork. For pens, bags and mousepads, ask when you order.
