Branded water bottles are one of the best options when using promotional products to gain exposure and brand recognition for your company. Since they can be used every day and taken almost anywhere, branded drink bottles can show off your company name and logo to all manner of different people.
What’s more, they’re a practical gift that your clients will value highly, helping to strengthen your relationship with them.
But what do you need to consider when using branded water bottles to promote your company? This guide will cover everything you need to know when ordering your very own promotional drink bottles!
Why Use Branded Water Bottles?
Promotional products are a long-standing marketing technique based on a simple premise. By giving clients a valuable gift, you can build stronger relationships with them by providing them with added value from your company. Furthermore, this gift effectively promotes your brand as it exposes new people to your name and logo.
Promotional drink bottles work exceptionally well as promotional items for many reasons. First, they’re helpful on an everyday basis, ensuring that your clients will use them for a long time. Research from the Promotional Products Association International (PPIA) shows that 3 out of 4 people will keep using promotional products that they find useful.
Promotional drink bottles are also very affordable and easily manufactured in bulk. Combined with their long-term use, this means personalised drink bottles can create high levels of cost-effective exposure for your brand. Over their lifetime, hundreds of different people could see them – and see your brand as a result!
The average cost-per-impression of a promotional water bottle is estimated to be under 0.5 cents – making them highly cost-effective. 
Overall brand exposure from personalised water bottles is likely to be very high since drinks bottles can quickly become part of a daily routine. It can soon become a habit for your clients to take your bottle with them to work, when travelling, or during exercise.
The link between water bottles and fitness is particularly beneficial thanks to growing fitness trends among young people. Melissa Ralston, marketing vice president at BIC Graphic, explains: “Fitness is more than a trend, it’s a lifestyle. As health and wellness awareness has increased, so too has the variety of products to support it. We carry shaker bottles, athlete’s bottles, and vacuum-insulated drinkware to keep drinks cold through the whole workout.”
Finally, custom drink bottles help promote an eco-friendly image since they offer several environmental benefits. Reusable branded bottles help reduce plastic waste by avoiding buying bottled drinks. They can also be made from sustainable, recyclable or biodegradable materials to help further reduce waste.
In recent years, promotional product experts have often highlighted this particular benefit of branded bottles. For example, Toni May, marketing manager for Fully Promoted, says: “Trends will continue to follow the consumer demand for environmentally-friendly products like reusable water bottles.”
What Choices Do You Need To Make With Branded Water Bottles?
When picking out the perfect branded bottle for your company and clients, there are several essential factors to consider. From material and function to colour and design, all of these choices will impact how successful your bottle will be.
Which Material Should You Use?
One of the first choices to be made is the material your bottle will use. This decision is crucial as it will affect pretty much every other aspect of your bottle as well. There are many different materials to choose from for your bottle, but the main four are stainless steel bottles, aluminium bottles, glass bottles, and plastic bottles.
Each of these materials has a unique look and feel that may suit different uses or contexts.
For example, a stainless steel drink bottle can be great for outdoor activities like camping or hiking since it is durable and well-insulated. However, a stainless steel drink bottle may be too bulky or heavy for taking on a run or other exercise. In this case, a lightweight aluminium bottle may be better.
As another example, glass bottles can be a unique gift to a few selected clients due to their elegance. But they’re also more expensive than other materials, making them less-suited to bulk orders. In this case, cheaper plastic water bottles can be the better option for bulk orders.
For more information on each material, check the table below.
| Material | Advantages | Disadvantages | Ideal For… |
| Stainless Steel | Very durable and long-lasting
Recyclable Helps keep drinks hot/cold for longer Doesn’t stain, and flavours won’t leech into the bottle Easily cleaned and dishwasher safe Mould-resistant Tends to look very high-quality |
Can be hot to the touch in hot weather/direct sunlight
Painted or inked designs are prone to fading or scratching away over time Heavy and bulky More expensive than other materials |
Outdoors activities like camping and hiking where the user needs to keep liquid hot or cold for long periods
Great for brands with a focus on the outdoors |
| Aluminium | Lightweight
Recyclable material Rustproof for longer life Keeps water cool for a long time Tends to look high-quality |
Doesn’t provide much insulation
Can be hot to the touch in hot weather or direct sunlight Can leave a metallic taste in drinks Not usually dishwasher safe |
Everyday on-the-go use or for sports bottles – whenever the user needs a lightweight but durable bottle
Ideal for sports or activity-focused brands – highly adaptable for any other brand though! |
| Glass | Looks and feels very high-quality
Doesn’t affect the taste of drinks Doesn’t stain Helps to keep liquid cool for longer Feeling of prestige/luxury Recyclable Makes for a great backdrop for your logo and branding |
Can be broken if dropped – not suitable for children
More expensive than other materials Heavyweight |
Static everyday use at home or in the office – great for comfort and more attractive than other materials for placing on a desk
Perfect for giving to smaller numbers of clients to make them feel special with a more elegant bottle |
| Plastic | Lightweight and durable for use in any situation
Easy to clean Highly affordable to manufacture Can be frozen for ice drinks in summer Good for more detailed or colourful prints Eco-friendly options available |
Not all options are eco-friendly – may not be recyclable, biodegradable, or made from recycled material depending on source
Can’t be used with hot drinks Flavours may permeate the bottle and affect the taste of drinks over time Can stain or dull with time May look cheaper than other materials |
Adaptable for any everyday situation, but especially useful for taking with you on the go
The best option for bulk orders since plastic bottles are often the cheapest – but be aware of the environmental impact |
As a final note, if you choose plastic for your custom water bottles, be sure to use BPA-free materials. BPA is an industrial chemical that can be bad for your health – so picking a BPA-free option is essential to keep your branded drinks bottles safe!
Which Lid Type Should You Use?
The type of lid you use on your bottle can affect its appearance and functionality in several ways. As with materials for your branded water bottle, different lid types are suited to different contexts. As such, make sure to think about who you intend to give your bottle to and how they will use it when selecting which lid type to use.
| Lid Type | Pros | Cons |
| Flip-top | Flips up easily to allow quick access
Handy for frequent drinking during exercise |
If not closed properly, flip tops may increase the risk of leaks |
| Screw-on | Easy access to the full mouth of the bottle for deeper drinking
Spill and leak proof Classic, elegant appearance |
Not as convenient for quick, frequent access |
| Push-button | Allows quick, convenient one-handed use | Risk of leaking if not closed properly |
| Push/pull spout | Easy to use with one hand – can be opened with your teeth
Perfect for outdoor use or during sports |
May not seal as effectively the longer you use it
Can look cheaper than other options |
| Straw lid | Great option for kids
Helpful when you want to put ice in your bottle |
Not as practical for on-the-go usage since it may spill more easily than other lids and harder to seal completely |
| One-way valve | Low risk of leakage
Easy access for frequent sips Great for sports or other exercise/outdoor activities |
Can be harder to clean
Can look cheaper than other options |
What Extra Features Could You Add?
One way to make sure your branded water bottle stands out from other bottles is to add helpful or exciting extra features to it. Doing so will make it more beneficial to your clients, ensuring it’s the bottle they’ll choose to take with them every day.
Think about who you plan to give your bottles to and what they might find helpful. Are they outdoor enthusiasts? Do they spend a lot of time travelling? What sort of lifestyle do they have?
Some of the added features you could consider for your bottle include:
- Clips and carabiners: Allow clients to fasten their bottle to a bag or belt during hikes, runs, climbing, or other outdoor activities
- Infusers: Give health-conscious clients the option to add fruity flavour to their drinks with a sit-in infuser
- Lid covers: If your bottle doesn’t have a screw-on lid, a cover can help to keep the lid and drinking valves clean
- Insulation: Increase your bottle’s versatility by helping it keep hot drinks hot and cold drinks cold
- Lid cups: For outdoors use, a lid that screws off for use as a separate cup can be convenient, especially for hot drinks
Customisation & Printing
Last but not least, you need to think about how you’ll customise your bottle to reflect your brand. Think about the details that are the most important to display and promote – such as:
- Company name
- Logo
- Contact details
- Your motto or slogan
You also need to consider colour – both the base colour of the bottle and the colours you’ll use for your design. You need to ensure that your branding will stand out and be noticeable to everyone who sees the bottle, so choose carefully!
It may help to base these off your existing colour schemes from other marketing and branding, but don’t be afraid to mix things up if it fits better. For example, light, summery colours might be better than dark ones if your bottle is designed for use in hot weather.
You should also think about how you’ll print your design onto the bottle. Some of the main printing techniques include:
- Ink printing: Uses screen printing, pad printing or heat transfer for simple designs. Ideal for plastic or metal bottles.
- Laser engraving: A more bespoke feel and ensures permanence and durability. Suitable for metal or glass.
- Wrap printing: A wraparound print to cover the entire bottle. Suitable for putting patterns over the whole bottle or printing larger logos and more information.
- Full-colour digital printing: Digital printing is suitable for more complex or detailed designs as it retains high quality in printed images. It also allows more colours to be used and gives more vibrancy, but it can be more expensive.
The more complex your design or the more colours you use, the more it’s likely to cost you. As such, for the most affordable bottles, it can be handy to stick to simple monochrome designs that stand out from the base colour of the bottle and catch the eye.
Conclusion
Whichever style you go for, custom drink bottles are a great way to promote your business whilst giving clients a gift they’ll love. You could even extend this gift to other groups for even better exposure. For example, think how many people would see your bottles if you gave them to local sports teams and sports clubs!
Using this guide, you can find the perfect custom drinks bottles for your brand, building exposure while delighting your clients.
