Fall is certainly filled with themes on which businesses can capitalize. For example, there is back-to-school, turning leaves and pumpkin-spiced everything. There is also the second-most lucrative holiday for most retailers, Halloween. Other important events include Thanksgiving and Veterans' Day, as well as marketing-driven occasions such as Sweetest Day.

Yet, for all of the fun this time of year, sometimes it can be overwhelming. So we have narrowed down to a few ideas you can use to help your customers promote their businesses.

No matter who their target audiences are, our passion for wearables and sports provides opportunities for effective marketing and branding.

Sensible Wearables

Really, no matter the month or where you are geographically, wearables remain one of the best (and most sought after) promotional products — both for businesses and consumers.

For example, hats and headwear are not so much a specialty but more of a staple in American attire. ASI says that 19% of Americans own hats or caps they got free from businesses. Plus, hats are especially popular with Generation X, people of ages 35 to 44.

Meanwhile outerwear such as light jackets, fleece pullovers and zip vests are popular too. Outerwear is, according to some research, even more powerful that any billboards or TV ads. ASI's study on outerwear found that nearly half of all consumers surveyed say that are more likely to do business with advertisers who give them logoed jackets. Plus, ASI has discovered that brands using outerwear as giveaways have a 95 percent recall rate in the minds of consumers.

Items like scarfs have gained popularity because of their warm functionality, but also because of the wearables' increased use in promotions for sports and educational institutions including colleges and local high schools.

Tapping into Sports Enthusiasm

You've heard plenty before about expensive "swag bags" distributed at big award shows, the holy grail of promotional giveaways. Or when you hear the term, you might automatically think about trade shows. But branded promotional items can be used for anything, really.

Just ask football players who reported to the first week of training camp to find swag bags full of promotional products. ESPN reported that these giveaways were full of sleek gadgets such as helmet speakers and smart water bottles, as well as hats, t-shirts and other small and portable athletic gear.

But if your customers are not trying to reach pro athletes (and most aren't) there are millions of other people who will get excited by football-related promotions. Businesses near colleges and universities or in locales where high school football is big (basically everywhere) can boost their profiles with game day giveaways to fans or by distributing promotional products to existing customers.

Moreover, ASI suggests that any wearable can get be enhanced "by adding a team mascot on the pouch pocket" or team colors when that sport’s season kicks off.

Whenever the sweaters come out and all year long, Idea Custom Solutions is here to deliver the best vector artwork and embroidery digitizing. This means you provide customers with the winning combination of your strong product recommendations with our superior graphics so their brands stand out.