How Custom Lanyards Can Work for Your Business

When you first think of a lanyard, you might get an old-school vibe… and rightly so. Like business cards and pens, branded lanyards are a classic promotional item — and though they might seem like a no-frills giveaway option, they’re an affordable and practical way to get your brand out there. After all, practicality and usability are key — the more the item gets used, the more your brand gets seen.

Best of all, there are plenty of creative ways to use company lanyards at places other than conferences and trade shows. Keep reading to learn more about the ways business lanyards can be used to help with day-to-day operations and as a budget-friendly marketing tool.

What Can Lanyards Be Used For?

Branded lanyards make such a great tool because they’re so versatile — they work for a variety of audiences and occasions, but are an ever-popular choice at trade shows. Because this type of event necessitates name tags and badge holders, custom printed lanyards make for a practical pairing. After all, an event lanyard is the perfect way for attendees to wear trade show badges in a fuss-free, highly-visible way.

Besides events, promotional lanyards also make a practical giveaway that all kinds of businesses and customers can use every day. Here are some examples:

• Safety lanyards to hold key cards for office or hospital employees
• Branded staff lanyards to attach to employee name tags
• Key card holders for gym members, university students, security guards and more
• Concert lanyards to hold VIP tags or passes at festivals and shows
• Extra-long key rings for car dealerships and rental businesses

What Should I Put On a Lanyard?

While badge holders are the obvious choice for business lanyards, there are so many other items that can easily clip onto a lanyard.

• ID Badges. From trade show badges to student ID cards, a branded lanyard is perfect for keeping identification easily accessible, especially during orientation events. Consider, for example, that there were over two million university students in the United Kingdom in 2022 — all of whom could have benefitted from attaching their student ID to a custom branded lanyard!
• Keys. Car keys, house keys, office key fobs… printed lanyards make it easy for customers to keep keys within easy reach.
• Card Wallets. Slim card wallets can also be easily clipped on to your promotional lanyard — perfect for stashing a credit card or loose change.
• Pens. Make sure your customers are never without a pen — give them one that clips to your business lanyards to double the brand impact.
• Glasses. Whether reading glasses or sunglasses, a lanyard is a hands-free way to keep eyewear easily accessible.
• Torches. Compact torches are always a customer-favourite giveaway — put them together with a conference lanyard for an extra-impactful piece of trade show swag.
• Whistles. Is your business sponsoring a local sports team? Or, maybe you’re starting a corporate football club. Either way, give the ref a printed lanyard to keep their whistle at the ready.

Our Favourite Promotional Lanyards

Recycled PET Sublimation Lanyard

Made from recycled material, this is a better-for-the-planet printed lanyard that your customers will appreciate.

Sublimation Lanyard with Buckle

Get your brand out there with this full-colour custom lanyard, complete with a buckle clip for easy attaching and detaching.

Zip Lanyard with Retractable Clip

This is the ultimate conference lanyard — the retractable clip is perfect for facilitating the attachment of badges, name tags, ID cards and more.