Evidently, a lot. Recently, a customer came to me wanting to purchase mousepads, and he was confused because of the great variety that we sell and have access to. So, I thought I would take this time to talk about the differences between mousepads, particularly as it relates to branding and putting a logo on one.
Firstly, there are a lot of advantages to using a mouse pad as an advertising medium. 1) The recipient will likely be looking at your logo on his/her desk for all day, every day for a very long time. 2) There is a lot of space to get whatever message you want to get across. 3) They are quite customizable, which can be the confusing part.
There are many options to choose from when it comes to mousepads. You must choose the size and the shape. You must choose the thickness – do you want a thin backing, a thick one, or even an adhesive backing that will stick to the recipient’s desk? What type of surface do you want – hard or soft surface? Do you want to go green? It can leave one very confused.
One of the most important decisions that you can make is the type of surface. This will determine how well the artwork/logo/message is going to show up and also the longevity of the mouse pad. Bear in mind the following: while fabric surface mouse pads are the most popular and the most economical, you will likely find that the print quality is sharper with a hard surface mouse pad. Also, while fabric also performs better with optical mice, your image will be more protected and look better longer with a hard surface. This article sounds like I am biased against fabric mousepads – I am not. I think they are more comfortable to work with altogether, which I think most people do, thus, their popularity; however, since the question came up, I thought this was a great topic to let people know the pros and cons of both.
What are your thoughts? Have you used mousepads in the past to advertise your business, and how did they work for you?