Promotional merchandise is cost-efficient and can serve as a brand reminder for days, weeks or months. Think of all the free branded T-shirts still being worn years later! Or the many branded pens that businesspeople pick up and use again and again.
There is a distinction between inexpensive branded merchandise and more expensive gifts like concert tickets and free trips, which may raise ethical concerns. Many countries do not allow pharmaceutical firms to give away valuable goods or services as a way of influencing doctors, for example. And India has announced that doctors must pay tax on freebies they receive from medical marketers, such as foreign travel.
