Key Takeaways
• Personalized accessories have been named Counselor’s 2025 Product of the Year, reflecting the shift of many small, customizable items like stickers, patches and keychains from afterthoughts to headline offerings.
• Industry data shows strong momentum for personalization-ready products despite slower overall sales, with ESP searches for “custom stickers” up 40% year-over-year and notable gains in categories like pins and straw toppers.
• The trend goes beyond slapping a logo on a product. Brands, instead, are embracing fun, culturally relevant designs and collectible accessories that allow recipients to showcase personality while still promoting the company, creating a more authentic and memorable connection.
• Social media aesthetics and interactive experiences are also fueling this movement. From live patch customization at trade show booths to sticker sheets paired with drinkware, many promo distributors are turning giveaways into memorable, photogenic moments that boost perceived value and deepen brand connection.
Step into nearly any college classroom today and you’ll spot more than just distracted students. There’s the sea of brand-name water bottles emblazoned with stickers. Laptop cases covered with university logos and club paraphernalia. Backpacks adorned with pins and patches. Crocs with personalized Jibbitz shoe charms. And yes, perhaps even a Labubu keychain or two.
This type of expression isn’t limited to the next generation of professionals and tastemakers. Trade show attendees, concertgoers, commuters, sports fans, protestors, parents, weekend hobbyists – people from all walks of life are embracing personalization in its smallest form.
Data from ASI’s ESP platform underscore the rising demand for personalization-ready products, even amid slower sales and spending hesitancy during the industry’s first two quarters of 2025. Searches for “custom stickers,” for example, climbed 40% year over year for much of 2025. Interest in “pins” rose 13%, while searches for “straw topper” jumped 34% compared with the same period in 2024. The trend is mirrored in consumer habits too; according to Google Trends, Google searches for “stickers,” “pins,” “patches” and “keychain” hit their all-time peak popularity within the past 12 months.
One thing is clear: Once seen as afterthoughts or simple add-ons, “personalized accessories” are now becoming the center of attention for both buyers and end-users.
“To be honest,” says Tommy Gomez, senior director of creative strategy at Brilliant (asi/146116), “sometimes what sells the core product is the accessory.”
If a client is hesitant to do another drinkware campaign, for example, says Gomez, they might be enticed by a water bottle that’s accompanied by a custom sticker sheet, allowing the recipient to pick and choose how to decorate their new item.
Thanks in part to social media, accessorizing has become an aesthetic. And with it, these smaller items aren’t just bits and bobs – they’re ways to create meaning around an item, show off a recipient’s personality and, when done well, turn a piece of promo into a clever keepsake.
In a year where it seems that a bit of play is needed to cut through all the noise, personalized accessories are Counselor’s 2025 Product of the Year.
Read this full article on ASI Central.
