The Merch Matrix™ | Decision Driver #8 – Distinctiveness Go to any trade show and you'll probably come home with a bag full of promotional products. Pens. Lollies. Stress balls. Keyrings. Notepads. By the time you get home, can you remember who gave you what? Probably not. It's not because those businesses did anything wrong. It's because there was nothing memorable about the products. That's the challenge with promotional merchandise. You're not just competing for attention.